Snakes, Frogs, and Crawdads

To Austin, Oregon -- 50.9 miles, 11.1 mph, 3200 ft -- Mon-Tues, July 3-4

There was some talk amongst the group yesterday of maybe skipping the full rest day in Baker City and instead heading out part way up the first pass. There are a total of six passes over the next 300 miles on the way to Eugene, the first three in quick succession within the first sixty miles. In the end, however, there was too much group inertia to move on. Laundry,  grocery shopping, a game of cards, ice cream, a visit to the local theater (Despicable Me 3), and a stop at the pizza parlor rounded out the full rest day's activities.

Today, on the other hand, we were determined to get an early start and carry extra water to avoid the suffering from Sunday. A few minutes after 7:00 we rolled out of the hotel parking lot. In a mile or so we were out of town and starting the gentle climb. The first summit came after thirty miles and thankfully Mother Nature was kind, it was warm but not hot and a light breeze cooled us once the serious climbing began.

It was one of those no-services days, so lunch consisted of sitting on the ground just off the main highway. We made due with the gravel and dirt, not because we wanted to but because it's the only option, and because after three hours or so it's a lot more comfortable than the bike seat. Fortunately, the softer seat I picked up in Great Falls has greatly improved my sore behind. Still, there’s nothing better than just getting off the bike for a while.

We called it quits after the second pass even though it was only 2:00. We would save the third pass for the cooler hours of tomorrow morning and then spend the afternoon slowly losing altitude in preparation for the next day's climb. I can definitely see how disappointed Lewis and Clark must have been after crossing the continental divide in Western Montana only to face a relentless series of mountain passes all the way to the Pacific.

The lovely Bates State Park, served as our campsite tonight, which to my surprise was completely empty except for the camp hosts and the nine of us. It is the Fourth of July after all, but then, we are kind of in the middle of nowhere. In addition to April, Kevin, Kirk and Sue, Bobby has decided to tag along for a few more days. We are happy to have him, he’s good natured, interesting, and has a good sense of humor. He admitted he doesn’t mind riding slower for a while -- my translation: he doesn't mind riding with us old folks!

Dex and Kylie had a field day in camp. First they ran through the sprinklers that were spraying the large grassy areas. Then, after hearing about a pond, ran off with fishing poles in hand. They were anxious to use some new lures that they were given for free the other day. We had stopped at Scotty’s Hell’s Canyon Shop and they were perusing the dozens of different fishing tackle. After asking the clerk what he would recommend to catch fish in the area, he handed them a half dozen different lures.

Snakes, frogs and crawdads were the young one’s focus for the rest of the day. Dex really has amazing eleven year old eyesight and both of them love to find and observe wildlife, whether mammals, birds, reptiles or bugs. I'm not sure Meg was very happy with the snakes, but I thought they were really pretty cool. It is amazing how they can zip along through the grass, plus these particular ones can swim. Homework has almost completely fallen to the wayside lately, which I worry a bit about. On the other hand, when I see them totally engaged in running around ponds and into creeks looking for animals, I take some solace in the fact that many kids these days never get a chance to play and explore like they have. I'm going to assume for now that it's a net positive in the learning department.