Our hotel stay, despite the name, felt luxurious since we had a working shower with hot water and clean sheets. Across the street was a great little breakfast spot, Java Junky where we fueled up on egg and bacon wraps before hitting the road.
After a short few minutes on busy roads and across the bridge at McNairy dam we hung a left and, to my delight, were on a back road surrounded by fields of apple orchards. We were treated to that scene for about 15 miles before taking Highway 14 west. Highway 14 had a generous shoulder and the traffic was light. Across the Columbia river we could see the heavy traffic on the WA side and were glad to have heeded the local advise to cross at stay on the OR side.
About 25 miles in we stopped in Paterson, population about 6, and had lunch. During the next 30 miles I got my yearly allotment of vitamin E. There was absolutely zero shade. Fortunately we were all well sun screened and the temperature was manageable at around 85. There was an occasional breeze off the river and the scenery continued to stun me. The gods of the rear wheel flat were not happy with me today - I got two. Sho got one as well. I've used up all my tubes (which I've never done before) so am relying on CR's for any other flats. He has plenty, but when I used my last one I thought how stuck I'd be without another. Next time, I'll bring double the tubes.
When the lady at our lunch spot said there was 'nothing until Roosevelt' she meant it. Other than a couple wineries which sat high atop the ridge, there was not a sign of humanity. We had plenty of food and drink but were hungry for real food when we rolled in to Roosevelt, population, 7. The diner at Roosevelt is the town center and there were a couple other bikers there in addition to drivers coming from Portland or Umatilla. We lingered there for about an hour and then headed down to the camp ground which sits on the river.
We had just finished setting up our tents when the moon began to appear over the hills. Within a few minutes we were awed by its size and color. A large fish (salmon?) jumped much to Saya's delight and we sat, mesmerized, for half an hour watching it rise (see pic).
Before leaving Nashville, I saw a sign on a trash can at a Kinkos that said 'trash only' and wondered who decides what's trash and what's not? I think the same is true with what's funny to some and not to others. We had been tucked away in our tents for 10 minutes when the sprinklers in the camp ground went off - it was like a hale storm. The seemed to pop up everywhere and were not your neighbors gentle sprinklers, but the industrial type that will take your skin off. CR and another camper guy, ran around placing barriers up - this is obviously a problem, because there was a stack of thick white plastic barriers available for just this purpose. The sprinklers were on a timer and a new batch sprang to life in the middle of the night, spraying directly into my tent. CR got to it before I could even get out of the tent and Saya, who shared a tent with me, went right back to sleep after I dried her face and hair. I laid there chuckling thinking how funny it would look to see us dashing around hollering and getting soaked before I drifted off.
Today we are heading to The Dalls about 55 miles away - it's cool this morning as I type with my lower extremities tucked in my sleeping bag and dream of a grande one pump extra hot mocha.
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