In Dixie, Idaho

We haven't been able to post for a few days because internet access was non-existent or too poor to be worth the effort.  We are now spending a day at the cabin of close friends in Dixie, Idaho, so I'll take advantage of the time to update my postings.

June 11, Baker City to Oxbow Dam, Oregon.  After our day of rest in Baker City, we headed out at 6 a.m. toward Oxbow Dam, about 72 miles away next to the Idaho border.  Brother, Larry, had to return home, so each of us had to take an 18 mile stint driving the truck.

[Brief interruption in the narrative -- two deer just appeared on the lawn outside the cabin.  Mad rush to get cameras, but the deer moved on too soon.]

The road out of Baker took us a scenic route called Hell's Canyon.  Our first stop was an overlook of the Baker City valley which was called Lone Pine Valley or something like that.  The name came from a large, solitary pine tree that could be seen by Indians and pioneers entering the valley for centuries past.  In 1843, the tree was felled, according to a famous explorer, by "an ignorant emigrant axe."

The day passed quickly, because it was mostly downhill.  A good part of the ride was spent winding through a deep gorge following the Powder River.  Should have taken more photos, but we seem to be moving too quickly, trying to stay on the schedule to meet the family at Yellowstone by the 23rd.  Need to slow down.

We stopped in the town of Richland at Amy's Cafe, a one man shop, for small snack and picked up four "Eagle Valley Energy Bars."  The owner explained that outside Richland, they would just be called "brownies," but the new name is more appealing to bikers like ourselves!

Outside Richland, we started another long slog uphill.  After about three miles into the climb, a jeep came up the road behind us and pulled over.  The driver said he was looking for "Terri Lee."  Terri had left her wallet at Amy's Cafe.  The owner got a friend drive it up us.  More amazing people.

We arrived at Oxbow Dam around 2 p.m. (or 3 p.m.; our cellphones kept switching between Pacific time and Mountain time) and set up the tents on the shore of the Snake River.  The campground, run by Idaho Power, was beautiful.  Lots of deep green grass, nice restrooms and showers.  All for the grand total of $8 (usually $10, but because of our advanced ages, we got a $2 discount).

June 12, Oxbow Dam to Council, Idaho.  We packed up for another early start, planning on a 64 mile day.  Just before leaving, Mike walked over to the restrooms.  Terri was driving the first shift, so Margie and I got on the bikes, told Terri we were riding over to the restrooms and she should wait until Mike returned before leaving. Mike didn't see us (and we didn't see him).  He got back to Terri, who failed to tell him that Margie and I went over to the restrooms.  He assumed we had left without him, and headed quickly up the road to catch us.  We came out of the restrooms and, after circling the campground a couple of times trying to find Mike, became concerned that he had gone on without us.  We started up the road, and sent Terri ahead, who found him a couple of miles later.  Still no explanation why Terri didn't tell him where we were -- I think she was reading her book!

The first 10 - 12 miles was south alongside the Snake River, which followed the Oregon/Idaho border between the Oxbow Dam and the Brownlee Dam.  The Brownlee Dam was a massive earthen structure, at which we formally crossed over into Idaho.  The crossing also meant the start of a long 5% climb.  Terri wanted to tackle the hill, so she and Margie traded places.  After about 5 miles of constant climbing, she joined Margie in the truck, with Mike and I continuing to the top.  My turn to drive the truck, and I had a hard time keeping up with the other three during my 16 mile shift which was all downhill.  After lunch in Cambridge, Idaho, we continued on to Council.  We had hoped to meet up with a Bentley cousin, who lived in the area, but could not link up.  We had no planned place to stay, so stopped in at the local post office.  The lady was very kind; she said we could camp in the town park, but without showers.  She then got on the phone and found an RV park that would allow tents, and had showers.  On our way to the park, we passed a barber shop.  Margie and Terri insisted that I needed to stop there, at least to get my eyebrows trimmed, if nothing else!  An elderly lady (at least older than us) was the owner/operator.  I told her I had just ridden for many miles, so I apologized for the sweaty hair.  She said, "You should see the hair of some of the farmers that come in here.  If I can get a comb in it, I can cut it!"  We had a good time talking to her.  When she finished the cut, she pulled out one of those large hand massagers and gave me a neck and shoulder massage.  When she asked if anyone else wanted a neck/shoulder massage, Terri took advantage.  Final tab:  $10.  I gave her a $10 tip, which at first she did not want to take, but I insisted.  As I said in an earlier post, nice people should be treated nicely!

June 13, Council To White Bird, Idaho.  The wind blew quite hard last night (Mike said he expected we would all be rolling through the fields in our tents at some point).  Then the rain started.  Margie's tent had a slight leak, but otherwise all was fine.  It looked threatening when we got up, so we all put on our foul-weather gear, expecting a wet day.  However, just before leaving, the sky started to clear and we removed the outer garb.  A few intermittent drops during the day, but not enough to get us wet.

Our original plan called for us to go to Riggins (about 60 miles away), but most of the day was to be downhill, so we decided to proceed to White Bird, about 88 miles away.  We knew there was a tremendous climb after White Bird, so thought starting that climb fresh the next day was a good idea.

Downhills are great for cyclists, except when they are accompanied by strong headwinds, which we had most of the day, with the winds getting stronger as the day progressed.

For future riders, my suggestion is to avoid Riggins.  When approaching the town, Terri, Margie and I were on the bikes.  Because of the high wind, I was leading, with Terri, then Margie, following close behind me in order to use me as a wind blocker.  We passed a family parked off the side of the road.  As I passed them, I thought I heard Terri call to me (hard to hear with the wind whistling past the helmet).  Then I heard another call, so I assumed they wanted me to stop.  I slowed quickly.  Terri saw me stopping and also slowed quickly.  At that moment, Margie, who heard the people on the side of the road calling, turned her head toward them and waved.  She did not see Terri and I stopping.  When she looked back she was almost on Terri, with not enough to time to stop completely.  She clipped the back of Terri's bike, and down she went.  She was laughing about it, until she tried to get up.  Strong pain in the groin area.  We hoped it was just a strain or sciatica nerve result, but as she tried walking, we were concerned it was something worse.  Mike caught up to us with the truck.  We put her in the truck and Mike drove on to Riggins to see if there was any medical facility, while Terri and I followed on the bikes.  There turned out to be a medical center in Riggins, but they did not have the equipment to properly diagnose what could be wrong.  The receptionist alerted the hospital in Grangeville, about 26 miles up the road, and Terri and Margie headed there, with Mike and I riding.

Before leaving Riggins, Mike and I stopped at a Hamburger Grill place for something to eat.  The spicy hamburger I had would later give me fits for another day and a half.

Tough 28 miles to White Bird.  Even though it was all downhill, the wind had increased to the point that if you did not pedal hard, you would come to a standstill.  It took us about 3 hours to cover those 28 miles.  We arrived in White Bird totally spent.  No phone service, so we still had no word on Margie's condition.  Fortunately, about 15 minutes after our arrival, Terri and Margie arrived in the truck.  Margie fractured her Pubic Rami (look it up, I have no idea what they is).  Doctor recommended 3-4 days on crutches, four weeks of taking it easy and 8 weeks before getting back on a bike.  Margie says, "We'll see.  I plan to be back on the bike to finish this trip."

Because she had a rough day, Mike and I went out scouting for a place to stay.  We found a nice (not) state campground with toilets, but no showers, but at the great price of only $10 total.  The ladies were not thrilled when they got to the site, but it was getting dark so they went along with us, only after we promised not to do that again!

June 14, White Bird to Dixie, Idaho.  With Margie out of commission for a bit, and a huge climb facing us, Terri opted to be the driver for the relatively short trip into Grangeville (about 20 miles).  The normal route is straight up Highway 95, a seven plus mile ride up a 5+% grade, with heavy traffic/trucks.  A local in White Bird suggested that we take old Highway 95 instead.  Longer, but containing switchbacks instead of the straight new highway.  Turned out to be a good suggestion.  For the 10.5 miles up the old highway (it finally rejoined the new highway a mile or so before the top of the climb), we were not passed by a single vehicle.  Beautiful scenery, too.  At the end of the climb, the last 8 or so miles were downhill, aided by a tailwind.

In Grangeville, we had breakfast, gassed up, hit banks and the grocery store to stock up for the ride to Montana.  We then loaded everything in the truck, and took off for a 2.5 hour drive to Dixie, Idaho, and to the beautiful cabin home of two good friends, Dennis and Toni. Two nights here and we will resume our ride on the 16th.