Built in 1855, the Ballston School house was originally constructed 1/2 mile southwest of Ballston with lumber from Elias Buell’s mill on Mill Creek; bricks from the local area, and square nails. Pulled by Oxen on log rollers, it was moved to its present site in 1874. Used as the only school until 1866, it stood alone until narrow gauge railroad and a station came in 1878. The school was donated to Polk County in 1862 by J.J Sechrist. [Ref: On-site kiosk]

The Ballston School is thought to be the oldest school building still standing in Polk County and perhaps in the entire state.

The Brigittine Monks follow a contemplative and structured monastic lifestyle centered on prayer, work, and community. Their daily routine is rooted in spiritual devotion, periods of silence, and reflection. Living together in a close-knit brotherhood, they share meals, worship, and responsibilities.

To sustain themselves, the monks have embraced artisan chocolate-making, crafting renowned truffles and fudge using traditional recipes and high-quality ingredients.

“The life of the cloister is austere, self-renouncing, the more austere, the happier they who dwell there. Love delights in sacrifice and immolation to the one loved, so the more complete the renunciation, the better.”

There are many types of irrigation that Oregon farmers use to water their fields: drip, flood, gated pipe, handlines, wheel lines, pivots, big and little guns, and linear moves. In the wheat field pictured here is a linear move.

As the name implies, linears move in a straight line across fields and can go forward or backward. Their design and mobility allows farmers to maximize the irrigated coverage of their fields. An electric motor drives synchronized wheels so the entire system moves as one across the field. A GPS system ensures that movement is accurate. Assuming everything is working correctly, this reduces a farmers labor when it comes to irrigating hundreds or thousand of acres of crops.

Oregon is known as the grass seed capital of the world. Statewide, as much as 500,000 acres of land are used to grow grass seed. Polk county, through which this ride ambles, is one of the top producing counties of grass seed. Thanks to its climate, Oregon is one of the few places in the world where farmers are able to harvest grass seed directly out of the field and place it straight into storage. You will ride past thousands of acres of grass fields on this route and now you know it is one of the drivers of the agricultural economy.

Almost lost to extinction due to DDT use and habitat depletion, it is a wonderful sight to see multiple Osprey nests along this route.

Oregon’s state raptor is a migratory bird, calling Oregon home during their breeding and nesting season. These birds like nest sites that are as tall or taller than surrounding features, often resulting in the selection of utility poles for their nests. To accommodate this habitat need, utility companies have started building nesting platforms to give the Osprey a safe place to rear their young.

Ospreys are more tolerant of human activity than many other birds of prey, but they are sensitive to cyclists. Please avoid stopping or lingering near their nest sites, as this can cause unnecessary stress to both the parents and their young. Instead, admire these magnificent birds as you cycle by.

What is seed crop country without a cluster of grain bins?

The round structures with conical roofs are grain bins (not to be confused with silos!). Made of corrugated metal with ventilation, they are used to dry and store grains like wheat, oats, corn, and soybean serving as both domestic and export supply for feed, food, and fuel.

Silos are cylindrical but are commonly made of concrete, bricks, metal, and sometimes even wood. Their tops are usually dome-shaped, and they tend to be narrower and taller than grain bins. Silos traditionally store silage, which is grass or other fodder harvested green and wet, primarily to feed dairy cattle.

Wheat. Everyone knows what that is, right? But did you know that there are many varieties of wheat? In fact, there are thousands of varieties of wheat, but all wheat falls into six recognized categories: hard red winter, hard red spring, soft red winter, durum, hard white, and soft white. Wheat can also be bearded or beardless.

Wheat is Oregon’s biggest export, with 85% of it shipped overseas.

Over 40,000 acres of clover are grown in Oregon, with the Willamette Valley proving itself as the premier region for growing high quality seed. The four main varieties grown are white, red, crimson, and arrow leaf. Oregon farmers produce 85% of the crimson clover seed in the United Sates and 75% of the red clover seed.