End of Week One...

March 12, 2019
​Today we packed up and headed to Rickreall Oregon via Highway 22. Ron and Fonyx encountered unpleasant road conditions as there was lots of rain and hail. After a few stops he arrived at the Polk County Fairgrounds in Rickreall, Oregon. Once we reserved our spot, we were able to hook up to shore power (an actual electrical outlet) and charge our devices and run the heater. Ron and Meghan were both able to grab real showers in the bathroom facilities provided on site. It sure felt nice to be able to take a real shower. After getting settled for the evening, they discussed their next destination and made contact with the people who invited us to camp on their property. We also had two businesses reach out to us to to invite us over for a visit as well. We ended the evening with food from Rock N Rogers. 

March 13, 2019
Today we traveled into Salem. We traveled along the East Side of Salem on Edgewater Street,where we stopped at Safeway along the way. As we were preparing to leave, we got a surprise visit from our friend Lynn F and her husband. It was nice to see people we knew. We even got some phone calls from other people we knew that saw us on our travels. When we got close to the Carousel Riverfront Park, Ron was having some issues with his bicycling directions as the bike path there is very confusing if you have never rode it. After fighting with directions for awhile, Ron decided to cash in some of his banked miles so we could drive the rest of the way for our night's stay in Aumsville, OR. Upon our arrival in Aumsville we were greeted by a lovely couple, Brenda and Brian Watts. Brenda made us a home cooked meal and offered hot showers to us. Since Ron was feeling so under the weather he spent his evening in bed to rest up for their upcoming busy day. While Ron rested, Meghan was able to visit with Brenda, play with their black lab Duke and even get to hold their pet skunk Ruby. 

March 14, 2019
At 9:30 am we departed from our stay at the Watts' home in Aumsville, and headed out to highway 22 towards Stayton, OR. Today we have two stops to make, the first is to stop at
D'-Tail Pet Grooming and then head down the road a mile to Squatchy's BBQ. We stopped at D'-Tails first around 11 am and met Theresa and her fabulous grooming crew. We got to meet lots of new furry (and non) faces. Onyx and Phoenix thoroughly enjoyed romping around the fenced in area with a few other dogs during our visit. If you are in the area, we highly suggest you check them out for your grooming needs. Next stop, Squatchy's BBQ. Jason and his crew were ready for us. We had pictures taken by Elizabeth G from Beating Hearts Photography. Jason and his staff were super friendly, they went above and beyond to welcome the entire crew from Team Ronyx (even the dogs) into their establishment for a delicious lunch of Pulled Pork, Smoked Mac N Cheese, Pork Belly Burnt Ends, and Corned Beef sandwich. The dogs even got to have some scraps. Squatchy's posted on their Facebook that 10% of today's sales would go to Canine Partners for Life. We were so honored to have them donate to our cause. Once our bellies were full, we hit the road to head to Mill City. Ron rode for 7 more miles making the days total of riding miles 11.5. Due to being under the weather still, we cashed in 7 miles and drove the remainder of the way to Mill City. We arrived in Mill City at 4:30 pm. We stopped and got fuel and then dropped in on Angie and Rex of Rex Images. They invited us to their house to park for the night and shower. Tomorrow would be another busy day but not for riding. These events would be for visiting with people, spreading the word about our journey and helping Rex Images welcome their new friend "Big Foot". 

March 15, 2019
This morning is a slow go for Team Ronyx. We are tired. Last night Meghan was able to finally figure out how to embed their Facebook feed onto their website so that there were updates on the website as well as Facebook. She has a lot to learn and is learning it all very quickly while on the road. There is a lot to keep track of, miles ridden, miles banked, miles driven, updating the map, figuring out their next stops and communicating with followers and news outlets as well as taking pictures and trying to keep a log of events and invitations. Today we went to Rex Images to welcome the arrival of Big Foot. A ten foot high, 5,000 lb chainsaw carving made by Kevin S and crew at Oregon 3D Art. Kevin also carved our Fonyx (Fake Onyx) statue for Ron to use during questionable road conditions to protect the live Onyx. We met Charene and her family as well as many other people who were interested in our journey. We even got a surprise visit from Virgil and Sally M. They drove all the way from Newberg, OR to Mill City to see us and of course spoil the dogs with treats. Virgil is the one who made our custom signs (Click here to email Virgil for a brochure) for our camper box and is offering to make custom plaques for anybody who wants them for their pets too. After we visited at Rex Images, went to the post office to pick up our first package and then headed to Brenda and Rik's home. We hung out there for awhile and rested. At 6 pm we went to the local Eagles club to have their prime rib supper and talk about our cause. Brenda and the Eagles club arranged a bake sale to a benefit Onyx's Great Adventure. We had a lovely dinner, spoke about our journey and then headed home for some much needed rest.

March 16, 2019
It's Saturday, we have decided to stay a few more days to rest up. Ron and Meghan are still recuperating from this nasty bug. Rex Images is printing us new hoodies as we speak. Today Ron, Meghan and the dogs head out for a hike around Mill City. They ended up that the Fisherman's Bend Campground. Unfortunately they couldn't explore inside the campground/park due to logging in the park but were able to see the beautiful mountain town scenery. Our hiking total for today was about 3 miles. The rest of the day was spent resting and visiting with Brenda and Rik. Lynette B, came to town to spend the night too. Our shirts were delivered, Meghan organized the orders to be shipped and delivered. Tomorrow will be prep and play day. 

Check out our photos below to see our busy ending to our week.