July 26, 2018
Halfway to Richland
To clarify, we went all the way to Richland. From Halfway.
Before we begin today's post, please rise and join us in singing the national anthem.... No, wait. I mean, please watch this short video I put together belatedly for our anniversary:
Today we decided on a short ride because of the heat, the climb and Jen's crud. She is feeling better, except for a cough at night, so we'll take it easy today, if a 1200 foot climb in 5.7 miles is taking it easy.
The accommodations last night were great. There was a small hitch when an alarm clock in another room started beeping at around midnight. Apparently those alarm clocks are designed to rouse even the most hearing-impaired from a sound sleep up to 200 feet away, because this thing was screeching. We were the only guests here so I called Tim, the property manager, and left a message. He came over and turned it off and we got back to sleep.
As we were packing the bikes in the morning, he came over and invited us to the breakfast buffet at the lodge across the street for free as an apology for the alarm clock. So we accepted. There were waffles, sausage, eggs, cereal, fruit, coffee etc. We also got to talk to him a bit. He has had some interesting jobs, including climbing communication towers to replace parts, install components, etc. It sounds terrifying to me. He has the customer service thing down. If you're ever in Halfway, Oregon , stay at the Pine Valley Lodge or The Main Place.
We left about 7:30 expecting another scorching day. Traffic was minimal, but it started heating up early and there was no shade, seeing as we are in the desert. But the lack of shade was more than compensated by the presence of blazing, intense sun and oppressive heat.
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6 years ago
We descended into Richland with minimal effort at about 9:15. We stopped to evaluate the RV park for shade before continuing into town. The owner came out and it turns out she was the person who recommended the dentist for Gay in Baker City.
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6 years ago
Thanks!
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6 years ago
We headed to the Hitching Post general store and were impressed by the selection of stuff, but also by the taxidermied critters everywhere, including a large mountain lion in the Ding Dong aisle! Sadly we neglected to take any photos. The motel is next door and is owned by the store owners, so we paid for the room, with kitchenette ($87!), and with high hopes we went over. We were underwhelmed. It wasn't nearly as bad as the Belair, but it could have been cleaner, and way over-priced at $87. But it had air conditioning and sugar ants, (no extra charge for the ants) so we sequestered ourselves there napping and writing the blog. We have been discussing what are next move is after getting to Portland. We have offers of lodging with friends and will take them up on that but we also will need some space to decompress and make some decisions before we get on the train bound for Palm Springs for my neice's wedding in September. We were able to secure an AirBnb for part of the time in Portland, and we'll figure out the rest.
We made dinner of salad, beans and canned chili and went for a walk in town which didn't take long. It cooled off nicely around 8:30.
Tomorrow is Baker City.
Distance:14 miles
Elevation Gain: 1300 feet, mostly in 5.7 miles
Today's ride: 14 miles (23 km)
Total: 1,788 miles (2,878 km)
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