swimming pool , the town theatre , and the abundance of concrete roads throughout the town . Stopping for breakfast at the Corner Café , I order a bacon and egg roll , the waitress asking me how I would like my egg cooked , and the sauce I would like . I spied a coffee machine and tentatively inquired about milk options . I received a positive reply , “ We might be a small town , but we keep up with what ’ s going on . We have soy , oat , almond , lactose free , skim or normal .”
Customer service , a great coffee , and a sumptuous bacon and egg roll – the one where the bacon is cooked perfectly , the egg yolk soft and runny , mixing with the barbecue sauce and running down your fingers .
Silo art now adorns what remains
of the Portland Cement Works . Eight concrete ( naturally ) silos remain on the site , now painted with images of former workers . Closing in 1991 , the impact on the town was significant , employment and associated industries gone . The murals were completed in May 2018 and command the attention of any person passing along the concrete main street .
Leaving Portland I made my way west , through the more populous and more frequented towns of Bathurst and Orange . Avoiding the highway as much as possible , the back roads delighted with their random alignment , magnificent scenery , and serenity .
Yep , no doubt there ’ s a truck load of things going on in the world today , we can ’ t control a lot of it . We can control our reactions to it though . Getting out on a motorcycle , meeting up with mates , immersing yourself into the local culture , visiting a small town , talking to the local characters like ‘ Jack ’ and Heather , taking the back roads and the dirt roads for me had been the perfect antidote . What ’ s yours going to be ? PL
TRAVERSE 29