Day 26: To Page Springs campground

September 22, 2008

I was up before 7 and on the road at 7:50. There's not much to pack and I can get moving faster in a heated cabin. 4 miles down the road I stopped for breakfast #2 at the cafe in Crane. It was interesting to listen to the ranchers' conversations. One rancher boasted about his new fuel-efficient tractor that uses only 70 gallons of diesel in an 8-hour shift. I left the cafe at 8:50. It was still cold despite the sunshine and tailwind.

Fancy ranch gate. I suppose the heart symbol is their "brand".

I'm not sure where the irrigation water comes from.

I pedaled south to the settlement of Princeton, then turned right on the Diamond Backcountry Byway. It's mostly county roads, hillier, and now with a headwind. But at least the temperature was not so cold. Irrigated fields ive way to high desert.

This is what it looks like without irrigation.

Dry Lake reservoir. Rabbit brush blooming in the foreground.

I took a long stop at the Peter French Round Barn. Near the barn is a large gift shop in the middle of nowhere. The round barn was impressive. Hauling the logs and rocks from miles away must have been difficult. The barn is 100 feet diameter with a 60 foot diameter stable in the middle and a 20-foot wide circular paddock around the perimeter. It was used to break and train horses used on the ranch. Some of the visitor facilities are funded by a grant from Cycle Oregon. The man at the gift shop said he sees many touring cyclists each year. That surprises me because the round barn is very far off the beaten path.

Peter French round barn is 100 feet diameter, built in about 1880.

Inside the circular stone wall is a stable. Outside the stone wall is a circular paddock used to train horses.

The barn is built with Juniper logs hauled from many miles away.

View from the open portion of the paddock.

Shortly past the round barn the road enters a lava zone. I expected spectacular formations and interpretive signs, but those are apparently several miles off the paved road. I didn't see the most impressive lava formations.

Progress was slow today because of the headwind. I spent a lot of time pedaling and took short stops in order to get to Frenchglen at a reasonable hour. The backcountry byway ends at highway 205. From there it was 27 miles south to Frenchglen. The road stays very close to a ridge to my west, always slightly above the sometimes-swampy valley to the east.

The gradual slope is deceptive. Steens Mountain is the highest mountain in southeast Oregon, rising 5000 feet above the Donner und Blitzen valley.

I got to Frenchglen at 4:58 PM on my clock. Frenchglen Mercantile is supposed to be open until 5 but they were closed. So I pressed on another mile to Barnes warm spring and had a short soak there. The 89.4F water wasn't exactly hot, but it was much warmer than the 61F air.

Barnes warm spring. The water was 89.4F. Not hot, but warmer than the 61F air.

My destination for the night is Page Spring campground. It's a very scenic campground 4 washboarded miles off the highway. The campground is truly an oasis in the desert, next to the Donner und Blitzen river. Donner und Blitzen is mangled German for thunder and lightning. The campground was nearly full. After dark the campground host came by to collect the $8 fee but he let me camp for free since I arrived on a bicycle.

Today was partly cloudy with a high of 65F and a steady wind from the west. The temperature dropped rapidly in the evening. Down to 43F by 8 PM. It will be a cold night. It's time to rest - tomorrow will also be a long day.

Distance: 69.9 miles (111.9 km)

Climbing: 1257 feet (381 m)

Average speed: 9.3 mph (14.9 km/h)

Maximum speed: 26.5 mph (42.4 km/h)

Today's ride: 70 miles (113 km)
Total: 1,145 miles (1,843 km)

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