Covid Cross Day #47 Roosevelt, WA to The Dalles, OR
Covid Cross Day #47
July 21, 2020
Roosevelt, WA to The Dalles, OR 59 Miles
Start 6:16 AM Finish 6:09 PM
Ride Time 6:25
Ascent 2595 Feet
Descent 2076 Feet
Tour Total Miles 3781
There were numerous worries last night. The ranger could show up at any time, fine us, and make us ride thirty miles in the dark to the next town. My biggest concern though, were the sprinklers. They were definitely in the park, and Rich had warned us. We needed to camp as close as possible, up against the bathroom building, so as not to be seen from the road. We set up our tents in the dark to avoid detection. Hopefully there were no nearby sprinkler heads. Linda’s tent pole snapped in the center of the spine, and she had to fix it with duct tape.
There were millions of bugs and I gave up editing my report at the picnic table. I used the bathroom to shower and do laundry. The hand drier was useful to begin drying my clothes and I hung everything on hooks around the bathroom where it was warm with a steady air flow. As I was leaving, feeling like I had conquered the world, the door closed and locked behind me, with my clothes and our food inside. I tried to wake Rich, but he didn't stir. I considered leaving my Brooklyn jersey and everything behind. I looked around and sought a solution. The door had ventilation louvres within an arm's length of the inside door handle. I managed to twist my arm through and reopen the door. Once back in, I stuck a piece of wood in the door opening so that it wouldn't happen again. I was all worked up when I climbed into my tent. It was hot inside and I couldn’t sleep. Across the river was the roar of I-84, in addition to the thunderous rattle of freight trains on both sides of the river. I was worried about sprinklers that never came on, or if they did I never noticed. It wasn't a very good night's sleep.
We had planned a 5 AM wake up time and a 6 AM start. I had heard from Sidd who had run into the couple who gave me the roadside can of beer outside Great Falls. It was such a small world, and the cycling community was tight. Jeff was beginning his tour east out of Chicago and Tim was enjoying Colorado. I heard back from Sara, whom had seen my name in the guest book in Lowell. She had also camped in this park.
This morning I packed, shaved, ate my cereal, and drank my orange juice. We moved the picnic table back to it's original spot before leaving. I felt bad about the bent and damaged louvers. My left arm had scrapes and bruises. I rode back up the hill to the store where we had been told we could fill our water bottles. Here I noticed that I had a flat tire, my first of the tour. Henry and Linda were impressed with how quickly the fix went. Sometimes those simple things could turn into a disaster. I had no idea what caused it, and couldn’t find anything in the tire or old tube. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky and a TURD flag was blowing west to east.
Out on State Highway 14 there was sagebrush growing alongside the shoulder with more scrub off the side of the road. There was brown grass on the ridge to the right and three sets of high voltage power lines running in between. On the Oregon side, a wind farm was visible high up on the ridge. The wind was out of the west and it was forecast to get strong in the afternoon. I passed a large apple orchard to the right and another fruit orchard to the left. A freight train passed just to the left. I rode past Old Navy Canyon on the right. Both sides of the Columbia River Valley now had exposed rock walls. A vineyard appeared to my right, and I spotted a mile long freight train on the Oregon side of the river traveling west. From my perspective it seemed two inches long. The wind was starting to get strong and I had to pedal to descend a hill.
At the thirteen mile mark I stopped and took a break at Rock Creek Road. I was over a third of the way to my first service stop. I found a shady place in a rock cut. The idle freight train that I had recently passed, had powered up and was heading west. I then continued and crossed over Rock Creek. The canyon that I was entering was becoming more pronounced. Eventually the rock walls transitioned back into steep hills. I passed another vineyard and spotted another wind farm on the Washington side. All of a sudden, as I rounded a bend in the river, I spotted snow-capped Mount Hood far to the west. It was remarkable, and I couldn't get over it! What had the Corps of Discovery thought when they saw this?
The John Day Dam came into view from five miles away. It was getting hot and the wind was strong. I took a break at the entrance to the dam, where there was also a massive aluminum plant. The sun was blazing and there was no shade. I took off my shoes to relax my cramped toes. There was yet a five hundred foot bump up to the ridge before the bridge crossing to Oregon. It was a two mile long climb with a headwind. For some reason my GPS cut out for five miles during this section.
I stopped at the Maryhill World War I Monument that honored servicemen from Klickitat County. The monument was a concrete replica of Stonehenge, commissioned by wealthy businessman Sam Hill. I was more interested in the billboard for the Gunkel Orchards down below in the valley. I sped down the hill to peach beach where I found a fruit stand that sold the most sumptuous peaches I've ever tasted. I woofed down my first and went back for a second.
I rode past the peach orchards and passed another fruit stand on the way to the Sam Hill Memorial Bridge that took me across the Columbia River into Oregon. There was a strong cross wind blowing from the west, and I had to focus from being blown into traffic. I entered Biggs Junction, population 22, which was essentially a truck stop for I-84. I went to Subway where I ordered a tuna foot-long, with a large coke and jalapeño chips. The television news was covering the protests in Portland.
Back outside, it was hot as an oven. I took the Biggs-Rufus Highway west. It had two lanes of motor traffic with a nice wide shoulder and very little traffic. All of the motor traffic was just to the right on I-84. The road was up against a rock cut, and there were two train lines between me and the interstate. Beyond that was the river. I entered the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. I crossed the Deschutes River and entered Wasco county. At Heritage Landing Henry, Linda, and I took a refreshing swim in the cold snow melt water from Mount Hood. The Deschutes was a renowned fly-fishing destination, and anglers were packing it up for the day.
The highway ended and I was forced onto I-84 with strong headwind and whitecaps out on the river. It was amazing scenery, but I had to keep my eyes on the road. We traveled as a tight pack on the interstate. The westbound lanes jutted out over the river on a causeway, and it was extraordinarily windy. Snow covered Mount Hood was ahead in the distance. The Dalles Lock & Dam appeared, along with the transmission lines from the hydroelectric plant.
I passed a sign that welcomed me to The Dalles, and I left the interstate at exit 87. I was hot and thirsty, and stopped at a Chevron for a giant Pepsi with crushed ice. We rested in front of the Shilo Inn and considered our sleeping options. Instead of camping nine miles off route on the other side of the river with a five hundred foot climb, we decided to get hotel rooms in the center of town.
On my way to the hotel, I passed a fruit stand where I purchased apricots. Their peaches weren't ripe. I checked into The Dalles Hotel. The cover was falling off the air conditioner in my room, and Linda and Henry's TV didn’t work. I immediately set up my tent to air out, laundered my clothing, showered, and began my online training session for the New School. We went to Rivertap for dinner where I enjoyed the Oakshire Amber Ale from Eugene, along with Halibut fish and chips. After dinner we rode over to Dinty's Market West for Tillamook ice cream.
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