Day 47 – A Short Windy Ride Gives Way to a Relaxing Afternoon!

The newspaper on the picnic table this morning predicted that the temperature would rise to 111°! Since we didn’t want to become cooked road kill for the turkey buzzards to eat, we left early again. Breakfast certainly did not live up to the last part of the word but it did taste good. The road was quite quiet before people were on their way to work. The road left the river and with it went the beautiful sights and sounds that come along with it. They will be missed. Following a river assures that there are no major climbs and sure enough only a few miles after leaving the comforts of the riverbanks came a nice long steep hill.

Alpowa Summit was where Lewis & Clark crossed the ridge also. It has been neat feeling a little like I am a part of history following the Lewis & Clark Trail. They crossed in May when the Camas was in full bloom. Their sharp blue flowers served to break up the monotonous brown and green landscape. I wish that they were in bloom. I could have gone completely color blind and not known it until I saw my children’s coloring book pages that they are so excited to show me at the end of each day. The brown and green have a beauty all its own and since it provides much of the country with its wheat, I should be very thankful for it regardless of the monotony!

The wind was very kind and it blew us the 10 miles to Pomeroy, WA in no time. We stopped for a snack and in the short time that we were inside the wind changed from going with us to going against us. This slowed the pace considerably, but with the two of us taking turns in the front and the other drafting, we were able to keep up a decent pace. After Pomeroy, WA there was nothing until Dayton, WA except wheat fields and hills.


The road we have been riding on is of some interest. US12, if we stay on it long enough, will lead us right to the Pacific Ocean. If followed the other way, US12 will lead us to within less than 1 mile from my parent’s house and a little while later within 20 miles of my house.
The wind, although antagonistic to westbound cyclists, is a good way to produce electric.

These giant wind generators could be seen clearly from the road we were on even though they were miles away. I learned that they have impellers and not propellers since they are not propelling anything. I learn something new every day!

Climbing hills is hard enough, but with the wind blowing as it was, the normally slow pace of climbing hills nearly came to a grinding halt with the combination of them together. The day ended with two long and much steeper hills than this morning. When we got to the top of the first we could see the top of the second, so it was not so long, but it was just the fact that we would descent for 1 minute so that we could ascend for 15 more that was not a nice prospect. We finally made it to the top and pedaled down the hill since it was still into the wind into the town of Dayton, WA.

It is a nice little town with a historic train depot.

My family came back later and enjoyed looking at the depot and the caboose! One plaque next to the depot told a very amazing fact about the building itself. It was first built at another location and used there for many years. The railroad was then sold to another company and they moved this very building across the river to this location with roller logs and a winch. This feat is difficult enough with today’s technology and heavy equipment; I couldn’t imagine the amount of work and effort it took then without the aid of diesel or gasoline. The main street was made a little more elegant with this simple yet fine courthouse.


We stayed the night at Lewis & Clark State Park.

It had some beautiful roses and we enjoyed getting the only full hook up site in the entire park. Lucky us!! We arrived here at 1:00 and enjoyed a nap and some reading from books we have picked up along the way. It was so nice to be able to do this that we will do the same tomorrow. Our 70 miles jaunt will begin at 6:30 so we can, LORD willing, get to our destination early enough to beat the heat and relax for a few hours! We praise the LORD for another day of safety and glorify Him, since He alone could grant such a request!