On this stretch Donna and Doug cross into Idaho and encounter more heat ... and some Harleys!
July 6 - This big smile was for a cool morning with a mostly flat road.
This area reminded us a lot of a movie we saw about biking through Mongolia so it is easy to imagine the Oregon Trail pioneers feelings on the matter!
Stinkingwater Creek just after Stinkingwater Pass, the first of 2 passes for the day.
Now we are headed up Drinkwater Pass, out of the Great Basin and back into the Columbia River Basin.
Not so flat anymore and notice the amount of shade trees lining the road. We figure it was getting close to 100 degrees about now as we had to stop alot just to cool off and drink fluids.
Donna drinking water at the top of Drinkwater Pass.
And Doug drinking water there too. This was definitely a place to celebrate as this is our last major pass in the state of Oregon. Just east of here we traveled into the Mountain Time Zone
Coming into Juntura ... These tall trees were very much a welcome oasis at the end of our ride for the day. It got up to 109 later in the afternoon.
Notice the major tan line ... the sunscreen is really working or I would be toast by now.
About 7pm a major windstorm blew through the area knocking down one of the beautiful old cottonwoods right over the highway. A local weather instrument station clocked one gust at 63 mph. Turns out that was just the start of the evening's excitement.
It brought everyone out of their RV's and tents and cars. The Ruggles are from Idaho Falls camping with one of their kids from Oregon.
About 7:30 ODOT closed Highway 20 because a lightening fire about 8 miles west of town had blown up and smoked out the road. It ended up being closed all night and was the talk of the locals....most excitement they had seen for awhile.
July 7 - A beautiful sunrise on the Malhuer River due to all the smoke in the upper atmosphere.
It was a very nice ride along the river almost all the way into Vale and almost all downhill!
We are headed into a major agricultural area ... lots of hay, cows, sugar beets and onions ... lots of onions!
This guy had the right idea for the day as it is supposed to be close to record high temps again.
We are here! We stayed at the very nice Prospector RV Park just a couple of blocks off Highway 20. Best showers so far!
My cousin-in-law, Ellen, with daughters Caitlin and Amanda. We had a very pleasant visit and Ellen served us a wonderful meal, including potatoe salad from her mother's recipe.
This is Doug and Rick Robbin, Ellen's partner.
Ellen and her mare (spoiled according to the girls)
July 8 - Actually we are leaving Vale but Donna liked the sign.
A great view of the Malhuer River Valley and its abundant agriculture and irrigation system.
Onions really are everywhere! About a half hour after this, just south of Cairo Junction, Doug got our second flat tire of the trip from a bullhead thorn. Two different motorists stopped to ask if we needed help.
Now we are even leaving our home state 493 miles since leaving Newport, Oregon. Hello Idaho!
This couple is from Belgium and are bicycling the Americas. They have been in Canada and the US and are headed to the Oregon Coast. From there they head to San Francisco then take the train to Mexico from there they plan to bicycle to Argentina.
Some Idaho history in Notus, Idaho. It is called "Not us" because some Oregon Trail travelers decided that the rest of the wagon train might be moving on but "NOT US!". We've also been through the little town of Parma.
We had just entered Caldwell when we happened upon this Harley Hog rally. Talk about chrome!
This is Michael and his beauty of a bike. He took us under his wing for the hour or so that we hung out at the rally ... looking a little conspicuous in our spandex. We watched the Slow Bike Race. Talk about good balance and hog handling! July 9 - This is a rest day so we just rode to Boise, fixed another flat tire (Donna's bike this time), visited a local bike shop, got to see Stage 2 of the Tour de France, and visited local sights.
July 9 am - This was the first of many fancy entrances to new subdivisions that are taking the place of sod farms and nurseries that line Highway 20 between Caldwell and Boise.
Donna gets a flat tire. At least this time we had shade and a nice level area to work in!
On this stretch Donna and Doug cross into Idaho and encounter more heat ... and some Harleys!
July 6 - This big smile was for a cool morning with a mostly flat road.
This area reminded us a lot of a movie we saw about biking through Mongolia so it is easy to imagine the Oregon Trail pioneers feelings on the matter!
Stinkingwater Creek just after Stinkingwater Pass, the first of 2 passes for the day.
Now we are headed up Drinkwater Pass, out of the Great Basin and back into the Columbia River Basin.
Not so flat anymore and notice the amount of shade trees lining the road. We figure it was getting close to 100 degrees about now as we had to stop alot just to cool off and drink fluids.
Donna drinking water at the top of Drinkwater Pass.
And Doug drinking water there too. This was definitely a place to celebrate as this is our last major pass in the state of Oregon. Just east of here we traveled into the Mountain Time Zone
Coming into Juntura ... These tall trees were very much a welcome oasis at the end of our ride for the day. It got up to 109 later in the afternoon.
Notice the major tan line ... the sunscreen is really working or I would be toast by now.
About 7pm a major windstorm blew through the area knocking down one of the beautiful old cottonwoods right over the highway. A local weather instrument station clocked one gust at 63 mph. Turns out that was just the start of the evening's excitement.
It brought everyone out of their RV's and tents and cars. The Ruggles are from Idaho Falls camping with one of their kids from Oregon.
About 7:30 ODOT closed Highway 20 because a lightening fire about 8 miles west of town had blown up and smoked out the road. It ended up being closed all night and was the talk of the locals....most excitement they had seen for awhile.
July 7 - A beautiful sunrise on the Malhuer River due to all the smoke in the upper atmosphere.
It was a very nice ride along the river almost all the way into Vale and almost all downhill!
We are headed into a major agricultural area ... lots of hay, cows, sugar beets and onions ... lots of onions!
This guy had the right idea for the day as it is supposed to be close to record high temps again.
We are here! We stayed at the very nice Prospector RV Park just a couple of blocks off Highway 20. Best showers so far!
My cousin-in-law, Ellen, with daughters Caitlin and Amanda. We had a very pleasant visit and Ellen served us a wonderful meal, including potatoe salad from her mother's recipe.
This is Doug and Rick Robbin, Ellen's partner.
Ellen and her mare (spoiled according to the girls)
July 8 - Actually we are leaving Vale but Donna liked the sign.
A great view of the Malhuer River Valley and its abundant agriculture and irrigation system.
Onions really are everywhere! About a half hour after this, just south of Cairo Junction, Doug got our second flat tire of the trip from a bullhead thorn. Two different motorists stopped to ask if we needed help.
Now we are even leaving our home state 493 miles since leaving Newport, Oregon. Hello Idaho!
This couple is from Belgium and are bicycling the Americas. They have been in Canada and the US and are headed to the Oregon Coast. From there they head to San Francisco then take the train to Mexico from there they plan to bicycle to Argentina.
Some Idaho history in Notus, Idaho. It is called "Not us" because some Oregon Trail travelers decided that the rest of the wagon train might be moving on but "NOT US!". We've also been through the little town of Parma.
We had just entered Caldwell when we happened upon this Harley Hog rally. Talk about chrome!
This is Michael and his beauty of a bike. He took us under his wing for the hour or so that we hung out at the rally ... looking a little conspicuous in our spandex. We watched the Slow Bike Race. Talk about good balance and hog handling! July 9 - This is a rest day so we just rode to Boise, fixed another flat tire (Donna's bike this time), visited a local bike shop, got to see Stage 2 of the Tour de France, and visited local sights.
July 9 am - This was the first of many fancy entrances to new subdivisions that are taking the place of sod farms and nurseries that line Highway 20 between Caldwell and Boise.
Donna gets a flat tire. At least this time we had shade and a nice level area to work in!
2 comments:
Donna & Doug, I'm really enjoying the trip! Eagerly looking forward to each new posting. I brought Grammy over Wednesday evening to look at the pictures. She's one of those who question your sanity :), but she really did enjoy seeing what you are doing and where you've been so far.
Mom
Hey, Doug! Wow! You're living my dream, pardner. It looks like a hell of a lot of fun, (but I'm sure there are days you don't want to climb aboard and ride another 50-75 miles....) I'm enjoying following along. By the way, Marvin Brown instituted a reorganization in Salem... we no longer have a staff silviculturist.... Enjoy the ride!! MITCH
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