Abraham Lincoln
Located at the end of County Line Road, near Alfalfa, Oregon, the large sign at the entrance served as a notice that I was entering the Oregon Badlands Wilderness. Exploring the wilderness areas in Central Oregon and absorbing the seclusion they offer is invigorating. Beyond the dirt parking lot at the trailhead a gravel road continued into the federally protected wilderness area. Designated wilderness areas do not allow any vehicles, but here was a well-maintained gravel road. Disembarking from my Subaru and heading out, down the gravel road a strange sign appeared. The sign warned about sled dogs being on the road. This location rarely gets …show more content…
The book, No End in Sight: The Rachael Scdoris Story, records her story. Living in Central Oregon myself, I am aware of some of the bullying she endured as a blind child. The book tells about school bullies taunting her, and knocking her books out of her hands. In one episode she reacted by making a well know obscene gesture with a finger at her tormenter. The school contacted her father, Jerry, and asked him to get her to stop behaving like that. Bullying had been a regular part of what she had endured, which the Redmond school had seemed to ignore. However, her gesture-required action. Rachael’s recollection about her father’s reaction provides a window into the soul of this family. His words were, “We are Scdoris and we do not act like that”.
Early in November of 2015, I visited a training session for the Scdoris sled dogs. Jerry had been very receptive to a visit, recalling both of our love for dogs. He had asked me to arrive between 7:45 and 8:00 AM. Driving down the gravel road towards their house, I could see a truck, as it watered down the road. The driver pulled over as I caught the water truck. Nick, Rachael’s husband, and their one-year-old boy, Julien were inside. The smile from both of them put me quickly at ease. Nick climbed out of the truck, turned the water off, and greeted