Amazing Drive

I spent the night in Twin Falls, a small town in Idaho. I hit the road by 5am and as I gained an hour when I crossed the Pacific time zone, by 8 am I had already done 400km's!
I am really glad I chose to drive accross, I was a little worried about so many miles to do, but it was a lot easier than I thought, and got to see some really impressive and changing landscapes.
I chose to go North through Pendleton, as there was a weed scientist there I had hoped to catch up with, however I was not able to see him. It was a good choice of scenic routes though, and as I came out of the mountains, there was a fantastic view of rolling wheat fields

When one travels alone you tend to take far far too many photos as you really want to share it with others, so I clicked away the whole trip, with nothing to impressive to show for it!

Note to hockey girls - In my jogging gear above!! Stopped for a run in a state forest, TRYing to keep fit for our last few games ahead!

As you come down through Pendleton to Portland, there is a great drive along a dammed valley, it is the border between Oregan and Washington. The countryside changes from bare, open rolling fields to dense forest and steep mountains. I made it thought the busy city Portland (Obama was there and added to the traffic problems I think), and am staying for three nights in Salem in the Willamette Valley.

The Valley here is an extremely productive area, with 35-40 inches of rain, and a wet not to cold winter and drier warm summer. perfect for growing pretty much anything. It is the heart of GM controversies as there is such a divers range of growers in a small area. Many speciality seed crops are grown here, and they are worried the introduction of GM canola will contaminate there crops and lose their precious niche markets. A decision is currently being made as to wether Canola will be allowed to be grown! Co-existance is the hot topic of discussion, and they are working hard to get to a situtation where everyone is happy. With the diverse range of crops and proximity to neighbours in this valley, if they can do it there, then we should be able to do it anywhere! But it is a major challenge.

I have been able to meet with Carol MSmith from the Oregan State University. She is a weed scientist, but has a strong interest and involvement in the GM debate. I have also been able to visit with a board members from both the Oregan Seed Trade Association and  the American Seed Trade Association. Today I hope to meet with some more people from both sides of the Canola - Speciality Seed Crops debate, and Friday the president of the Sugar Beet Assocation.

And then Saturday is Vancouver and home - it's been a great trip but I sure cant wait to get home!

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