Kia Motors Presents Summer Tour 09: Klamath Falls
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BY BILL EVANS
KLAMATH FALLS, OR. – Two skills camps in Medford on Monday left our coaches a bit weary and bleary on Monday afternoon, which might explain how one of our Kias ended up in Ashland en route to Klamath Falls.
Or, perhaps we were misled by a GPS with a twisted sense of humor. At any rate, we were in a comfortable ride, and the scenic detours are another reminder of how beautiful our state is.
The Trail Blazers take pride in being “Oregon’s Team,” and it’s not lip service. The opportunity to visit Trail Blazers fans outside of the Portland area is one major reason this tour was conceived. It’s as fun for us as it is for the fans we encounter along the way.
We are reminded, as we were last summer, that there are a lot of Blazers fans in Southern Oregon. We also learned there is a bit of a friendly rivalry between K-Falls and Medford, but we’re not about to take sides.
During our day in K-Falls, we encountered a lot of the friends that we made last year, including the folks at Gino’s, who opened their restaurant just for us and gave us a royal reception. They treated us so well at dinner Monday that we came back for lunch on Tuesday.
In between, we attended a Rotarian breakfast, where Jerome talked about his career, and was peppered with question about former and current Blazers teams alike. Then it was off to the basketball clinic … without basketballs. Oops.
Somehow eight fairly intelligent people packed up two Borregos and didn’t notice that the giant green bag was not taking up space as per usual.
Another Blazers partner – Bi-Mart – to the rescue. We nearly bought ‘em out of their entire supply of balls, and made it to Altamount School to find nearly twice as many kids – more than 75 – than attended last year’s camp.
Coach Adrian, JK25 and the rest of our coaching crew taught the kids a few new tricks, Jerome signed a few more autographs and we embarked for a two-day trip to Eugene.
Coach Dick Vardanega put on a driving clinic, navigating the winding back roads to Canyonville with aplomb to the soothing sounds of the ‘60s and ‘70s from our Sirius/XM. We were the first of the caravan to arrive.
Tonight it’s a stay at the Seven Feathers Hotel and Casino in advance of a Wednesday a.m. breakfast and clinic in partnership with our friends at Cow Creek Tribe. Wish us luck!
KLAMATH FALLS, OR. – Two skills camps in Medford on Monday left our coaches a bit weary and bleary on Monday afternoon, which might explain how one of our Kias ended up in Ashland en route to Klamath Falls.
Or, perhaps we were misled by a GPS with a twisted sense of humor. At any rate, we were in a comfortable ride, and the scenic detours are another reminder of how beautiful our state is.
The Trail Blazers take pride in being “Oregon’s Team,” and it’s not lip service. The opportunity to visit Trail Blazers fans outside of the Portland area is one major reason this tour was conceived. It’s as fun for us as it is for the fans we encounter along the way.
We are reminded, as we were last summer, that there are a lot of Blazers fans in Southern Oregon. We also learned there is a bit of a friendly rivalry between K-Falls and Medford, but we’re not about to take sides.
During our day in K-Falls, we encountered a lot of the friends that we made last year, including the folks at Gino’s, who opened their restaurant just for us and gave us a royal reception. They treated us so well at dinner Monday that we came back for lunch on Tuesday.
In between, we attended a Rotarian breakfast, where Jerome talked about his career, and was peppered with question about former and current Blazers teams alike. Then it was off to the basketball clinic … without basketballs. Oops.
Somehow eight fairly intelligent people packed up two Borregos and didn’t notice that the giant green bag was not taking up space as per usual.
Another Blazers partner – Bi-Mart – to the rescue. We nearly bought ‘em out of their entire supply of balls, and made it to Altamount School to find nearly twice as many kids – more than 75 – than attended last year’s camp.
Coach Adrian, JK25 and the rest of our coaching crew taught the kids a few new tricks, Jerome signed a few more autographs and we embarked for a two-day trip to Eugene.
Coach Dick Vardanega put on a driving clinic, navigating the winding back roads to Canyonville with aplomb to the soothing sounds of the ‘60s and ‘70s from our Sirius/XM. We were the first of the caravan to arrive.
Tonight it’s a stay at the Seven Feathers Hotel and Casino in advance of a Wednesday a.m. breakfast and clinic in partnership with our friends at Cow Creek Tribe. Wish us luck!
