Day 2: La Grande to Pendleton

September 7, 2023

This morning I checked out of The Landing hotel and drove my car to Riverside Park which is just across the Grande Ronde river from La Grande. The park advertises free overnight parking because it's the designated trailhead for the 134 mile Grande Tour Scenic Bikeway. I will park there for 6 nights while pedaling the northern loop of my route.

Today will be very long. I tried to get an early start but the coffee shop across from the Landing didn't start selling food until 8 AM. So I drove to McDonalds for breakfast before driving to Riverside Park. And then it took a few minutes to unload the bike, attach panniers, tidy up and lock the car, put on sunscreen, helmet, and mirror. Finally on the road at 8:28 AM.

I stopped to take a picture of the river on the north side of town. The Union Pacific railroad goes through the middle of La Grande but the river is just north of town. Riverside Park is just north of the river in a rural setting. It's a large and well developed county park.

Grande Ronde river in La Grande near Riverside Park.

From Riverside park I want to go northwest, but I had to go a mile south into town to get onto I-84. Unfortunately, today's route starts with 10.3 uphill miles on I-84. The scenery was nice but the uphill traffic was loud and the shoulder was strewn with rocks and tire debris.

Grande Ronde river, I-84, and Union Pacific railroad threading into the Blue mountains.

View of a historic arch bridge from I-84.

I was very happy to exit I-84 onto the Old Emigrant Road which has basically NO traffic. Maybe 2 cars per hour. The old road mostly climbs at a 3% grade close to the Union Pacific railroad tracks. The railroad has a 3% grade for many miles. Union Pacific trains must need extra locomotives to cross the Blue mountains.

Happy to be on the old emigrant highway with no traffic.

La Grande is at 2785 feet elevation. I pedaled 10 miles uphill on the Interstate and continued uphill on the old highway, climbing at 3-5 percent grade up to 4300 feet elevation. The entire route is pine forest. No houses, no signs, few crossroads.

This was probably a National Forest welcome sign.

There is no sign at the double summit, 4330 and 4340 feet elevation. No view because of trees all around, but I could tell I'm finally looking down instead of up. I got to the summit at about noon. I'm making good time but this is only the first of two summits.

Top of the world at 4300 feet elevation.

The descent to Meacham is gentle, continuously forested. Meacham isn't really a town. It has the Meacham store, a rock quarry, and an ODOT highway maintenance station. But only about 10 houses.

I arrived in Meacham at about 1:30 and stopped at the store to have pie with ice cream. The only services on today's long route. Meacham seems to be a popular day trip destination even though it doesn't have much to see or do. It's a quaint mountain escape but the town and the scenery are nothing special.

Meacham has this store, an ODOT maintenance station, and not much else.

A few miles past Meacham I stopped for a few minutes at Emigrant Springs State Park. It has a kiosk of Oregon Trail interpretive signs. The area was an important water source on the Oregon Trail. The trail stays on mountain ridges and most water sources are far below in deep folds.

Soon after the state park I entered the Umatilla Indian reservation. I went 25 miles in the reservation. The part I saw is mostly forested mountains and appears to be unpopulated and undeveloped.

I pedaled 25 miles in the Umatilla reservation.

I turned off the old road to the tribal scenic overlook which is 1/4 mile off the highway on a gravel road. It has no facilities. No interpretive signs, no table, no toilet. But the view is great. It also seems to be on the path of the original wagon road. Of course the tribe would never put up a sign honoring the Oregon Trail.

Blue Mountains view from the tribal scenic overlook.

Possibly the original Oregon Trail wagon road.

A few miles past the tribal scenic overlook I passed the Deadman Pass I-84 rest area. This is the summit for I-84 but the old road continues climbing much higher.

North of Deadman Pass the old road keeps climbing while I-84 descends.

The old road keeps climbing and climbing, often with a view of I-84 descending below. Panoramic views because the summit has very few trees to obstruct the view.

Finally I could see radio towers at the summit ahead. At the 3814 foot summit I started to have hazy distant views of the Umatilla river valley 2600 feet below. Again, with no trees to obstruct the view. I'm about to descend to the low desert. Trees will be rare for the next several days.

Beginning of the 2600 foot descent to Pendleton.

The extremely meandering descent follows the original Oregon Trail very closely. Switchback after switchback, all with a 3% grade because the emigrant wagons had poor brakes.

Still gradually descending. I-84 far below.

In the valley I passed through the main population center of the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation. The tribe has been relatively autonomous since about 1960 but the headquarters area still has many reminders of the era when the Bureau of Indian Affairs made most decisions.

Administrative headquarters for the Umatilla tribe.

Former Bureau of Indian Affairs office building.

The Umatilla tribe headquarters is only 6 miles east of downtown Pendleton. The tribe and the city are neighbors. I didn't go near it but the tribe has the fanciest hotel in the county at the Wildhorse Resort and Casino. It has 300 hotel rooms. I wanted to stay there tonight but the hotel was blocked out for 2 weeks because of the Round-Up. The hotel is hosting visiting Indian tribes participating in the Indian encampment.

I stopped to look at some fancy houses while coming into Pendleton. It's a different universe than the Umatilla reservation.

I also detoured 2 blocks to a bridge for my first view of the Umatilla river.

Umatilla river in Pendleton looking east, upstream.

High temperature of 80F in Pendleton, cooler in the Blue mountains. Blue sky for most of the day but the sky became cloudy late in the afternoon. In the evening I saw occasional lightning flashes to the west and north. I could smell rain but there was no rain in town.

I arrived in Pendleton at 6:12 PM. I was on the road for almost 10 hours. I checked into Motolodge on the east edge of downtown. I hoped to stay at the historic Working Girls Hotel but it was booked because of rodeo visitors.

The Motolodge logo resembles an antique Motorola logo. The sauna resembles a giant barrel of Pendleton whiskey.

Pendleton Whiskey is a big deal in Pendleton. I'm not sure why. The whiskey is distilled in Alberta, Canada and bottled 200 miles west in Hood River, Oregon. It's the official whiskey of the Pro Rodeo Cowboy Association but it has little or nothing to do with Pendleton.

I walked to dinner 3 blocks away at Hamley's Steakhouse. Family owned since 1901, a good introductory western experience in Pendleton, Oregon.

Dinner at Hamley's Steakhouse. Family owned since 1901.

Dinner was good. I had two Pallet Jack IPA beers, didn't sample any Hamley whiskey. The restaurant has amazing woodwork on the walls. Also wood beams, stamped tin, and belt-driven fans on the ceiling. I appreciated the old-school extremely western decor. Experiencing the Old West is one objective of this tour.

I crossed the Blue Mountains today. I knew it would be one of the most difficult days of the tour. Fortunately the grade was mostly 3%, so the big climbs weren't too abusive.

Distance: 59.7 miles
Average Speed: 8.4 mph
Ascent/Descent: +2762/-4300 feet

Today's ride: 60 miles (97 km)
Total: 110 miles (177 km)

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