It’s the dog days of summer and the fruit trees of the Hood River Valley are just about ready for picking. The Red d’Anjou and Bartlett pears are getting plump from constant irrigation with water from the nearby Hood River
The tree branches are heavy with fruit and need to be propped up with long boards to keep the branches from breaking under the weight of the rapidly growing pears. Empty fruit bins are distributed around the orchards, soon to be filled up with freshly picked fruit
I passed through the orchards in the valley and headed into the hills. Some of the creeks are still running strong from the spring rains and heavy late spring snow
As you get farther up into the hills that surround the Hood River Valley, you reach the end of the line
And a short time later, you reach the end of the paved road. The road bike with skinny 700c tires is not going to cut it on this road. Time to turn around and head another way
