Day 07
It just don't get any better than this

DAILY REPORT: 

Oh, the joys of a bike ride.  We woke to a beautiful morning with cool temperatures and a brisk westerly wind... and did someone say we were going downhill today???  We started out with a gentle climb out of town and rode a frontage road that paralleled the interstate for the first 25 or so miles.  The climbing lasted about 4 miles and then we started a slow descent of over 2000 feet over the next 30 miles...I heard yodels of ecstasy all morning as riders zipped by my van as I was snapping photos.  After the last two long days with lots of climbing, it's nice to get an active rest day with down hills most of the day and a nice push from the wind.  All the tired bodies, legs, and minds were in good spirits today.

Once again, the scenery today was spectacular. Many high brown grassy hills folded one behind the other, long swooping roadways cut through the hills and stone; cattle ranches, cattle and cowboys; vegetable farmers growing onions, sugar beets corn, potatoes, wheat, and mint. Derelict wooden buildings, a cement plant, even one place where two RR tunnels cut through the hillside. Picture perfect romantic west--the unsuspecting would never guess that this was Oregon, our next to last day in the state.

Today was our first day on the interstate and some of the riders were a bit apprehensive about the fast traffic.  I tried to give them a few pointers about interstate riding, such as how to get around exit ramps and trash on the shoulder.  Out west, it is legal to ride the interstate in some areas, especially areas in which the interstate is the only road.  We popped onto I-84 twice for a short period.  We'll be on again a few more times before this ride is through.  We usually have more flats on interstate from all the little wires that blow out of radial tires so I told cyclists to check their tires every time they stopped...more times than not, they pulled out a wire...hopefully, most of the time before it got into the tube. 

The final portion of the ride today took us along the fertile Oregon Slope Belt that lies adjacent to the Snake River.  When we climbed away from the river all we saw was dry, brown rolling hills, but when we descended back into the valley, the stark change was astounding.  I've never seen such a diversity of crops in one area.  I'm from Indiana where there's miles and miles of corn and soybeans with maybe some wheat thrown in for variety.  Now, I live in Alabama where all you see is cotton fields, but out here it's one crop in one field and another crop in the next.  In one short stretch I passed fields of onion, wheat, corn, barley, potatoes, alfalfa, mint, sugar beats, soybeans, peaches, apples, and cherries.  Where I'm from, we relied on the summer rains to nourish our crops, but out here they irrigate...and you can tell exactly where the extent of the irrigation is...if it doesn't get irrigated here, nothing grows and it's brown.  I was talking to a farmer today and he said the water they use for irrigation comes from a reservoir that's 66 miles away.  They've even developed underground irrigation.  They place "seep hoses" under the surface which requires less water to irrigate the crops and helps prevent evaporation...neat idea.  The Ore-Ida Food Corp is in this area.  Somehow it's connected to Heinz Foods.  I see where it got its 57 varieties now...Oregon.

Tonight we are staying in Ontario...Oregon, not the province.  It is located in an area of Oregon known as Western Treasure Valley--is an Indian word said to mean "beautiful lake" or "beautiful prospect of rocks, hills, and water."  In this city on the Snake River and the border with Idaho, you can still walk in the wagon wheel ruts where the Oregon trail crosses the Snake River.  Four rivers converge in the Western Treasure Valley: The Snake, the Malheur, the Owyhee, and the Payette. The origin of their names is interesting.  Malheur means evil hour (bad fortune) and was named by the Hudson's Bay Company's Peter Skene Ogden who lost a cache of furs there in 1825.  The Owyhee 's name evolved out of a scouting expedition led by Donald McKenzie in 1818.  Two Hawaiian Islanders accompanying the party disappeared in the Owyhee River area and by the 1830's the river had become known as the "Owyhee," a derivation of the word "Hawaii."  The Payette River was named after the French trapper Jose Payette, and the Snake's name is suggestive of its snake-like windings and was also given to a tribe on its banks.

I was in the van today and really missed riding in these perfect conditions, but I kept busy taking photos and checking on the riders.  Most of the time I couldn't keep up with them as they were flying.  Hopefully we can keep these nice days...we'll need them as we have some tough ones coming up.  Well, we've completed another day...tomorrow we ride to the Capitol of Idaho...and to a much needed rest day.  I think everyone is looking forward to the time off and a chance to do something besides ride a bike...I know I am.  See you tomorrow.  M

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