Day 3 - Willamette Pass......Up and UP and UPPPP

Day 3 - Oakridge to Odell Lake Resort
One of the best motel bike storage spots we've seen.

Salt Creek

Yep, the Co-Mo is just about to hit the 10,000 mile mark.

There is a nice hot springs at this spot. We did not jump in as we were already warm enough.

Highway 58 has a really decent shoulder and is fine riding even with the amount of truck traffic.

No chance of snow today....just happy most of the shade is on our side of the road.

We'll be going over this trestle on our way back home.

Making progress though it barely feels like it at times.

Time for lunch. Not quite as cushy as yesterday but pleasant anyway.

Our shade........these trees are REALLY tall.

Guess we are ready to go.Tunnels are never our favorite place to be. This button starts the flashing lights.

It is always great to get to the other end and this tunnel was no exception. The way the noise echoes it is hard to tell if vehicles are ahead or behind. BUT we had an escort this time. Just after entering, a semi (from Gulick Trucking, Portland) slowed to our speed and stayed a ways behind us while we pedaled like crazy. He smiled and tooted his horn as we gave him huge smiles and the HIGH sign in gratitude after exiting the tunnel. We LOVE truckers.

We left Oakridge at 9:15, it is now 2 pm and we still have 1100 feet to go.

The long views are really hazy today between the heat and the fires.

This is a really good sign!

This is an even better sign!

Willamette Backcountry Ski Patrol "headquarters". We are usually dressed a lot differently when we come here. We promised ourselves some M&M's at this spot to power us the rest of the climb.

The top has to be close now! We found out later than one of our biking buddies was heading down from a day of fishing at Odell Lake and observed Donna taking this picture but didn't know it was us at the time.

HURRAY! and it is only
 4 pm. We are ecstatic to say the least.

Odell Lake at Princess Creek Campground....a nice rest stop with only a couple of miles to go.

Fireweed shedding its seeds.

ODOT maintenance station....CCC era builidings.
We reached Odell Lake Resort at 5 and were quite happy that we had decided to book a room (which turned into a cabin) as the thunderstorm started while we were at dinner an hour later. What a great but challenging day!