~BunceMan's TranzAmerican Bike Ride~
Log Entry #9: June 16, 2005
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Day 4: Clyde Holliday State Recreation Site to Vale, Oregon. According to "Road Trip USA, Cross-Country Adventures on America's Two-Lane Highways" by Jamie Jensen, "John Day was a fur trapper hunting along the Columbia River in 1810 when he was attacked by Indians. He turned up two years later at Astoria on the coast, but never again went anywhere near the river, the town, or the region that now bear his name." John Day's name is everywhere in this part of central Oregon. The town of John Day and Dayville, the John Day River, the John day highway, the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument..
Got an early start because I had a long way to bike. Before reaching the first of five passes* on the day, I noticed evidence of days when early settlers follwed the Oregon Trail and moved into the area in 1800's. Old fence lines, delapidated wooden structures, and more time-defying structures made of rough-hewn stone bricks.
I have to mention it. Roadkill. I probably notice it more than most because I'm traveling the roadways at a slower speed. I had just wheeled back on to the main road from visiting a memorial/tribute to the early Oregon pioneers, when a bird unwittingly flew into the path of a motorhome traveling in the opposite direction. History. Nothing I could do. But as has been my penchant lately, I have taken pictures of roadkill.. not the massacred kind splattered in parts all over the road, but the kind that look as if they're merely asleep.. on the road. Morose fasination perhaps, but it's the closest I can get to capturing their beautiful feathers, fur, etc, in a photo..
Yeah, more flowers. Peggy and I saw a magnificent display of desert flora in Death Valley last April. This is a good time of the year to cruise the high deserts of Oregon to see 'all the flowers'. They're everywhere.
Oo, what else did I see today? A Goldern Eagle (couldn't get my camera out fast enough), a couple of pronghorns (couldn't...), and a hawk tending a nest on top of a power pole.
More about winds. As I've mentioned, tailwinds are good, cross and headwinds are bad. I experienced all from Unity, Oregon to Vale. There are other small towns in this windy, dusty part of Oregon. I managed to meet up with Peggy in Vale at a reasonable "mountain" time..
Day 4 mileage: 122 miles | Peggy Pics |*Technical Note