Day 73: Cambridge, ID to Halfway, OR

Tuesday, July 31, 2012,  58 miles - Total so far: 2236 miles*
    * Miles ridden on the TransAm route
    Odometer miles - Today - 61.4 Total to date - 2327.1 miles  
 
Welcome to Oregon - our final state!


(More catching up from Baker City, OR)

We started the day riding out of Cambridge, ID by leaving behind U.S. 95 - our route for the last couple of days.  It was a pleasant relief because there was much less traffic as we traveled up Idaho highway 71.  We started with a long slow climb, about 19 miles to a pass at 4,131 ft.  It might have been a relatively easy climb, but there was a steady headwind right from the start of the morning.  The temperature was also rising towards another day close to 90 degrees.

The farmlands outside Cambridge with mountains in the distance.

Hay stored is stored in open-air shelters throughout the region - here there are two or three different types.

A farmer has created his own old farm machinery "museum" with labels on the equipment.

Highway 71 leading up to today's mountain pass.

Ubald, Simon and I encountered several cows making use of the roadway.

The top of the pass - Elev. 4,131 ft.

The ride down from the pass led us to Hell's Canyon, the Snake River canyon region in Oregon.  It was quite a beautiful and steep ~6 miles down from the top.  After a top at a small store on the way down for a mini-second breakfast we continued down to Brownlee Reservoir.  This and Oxbow Reservoir are formed by dams on the upper Snake River.

When we crossed the Brownlee Dam we crossed into Oregon.  Beyond that the river is dammed to form the Oxbow Reservoir.  Brownlee Reservoir looked like it was 15-20 feet below it's normal level, but Oxbow Reservoir seemed to be a full capacity.  These dams and a third further downstream are used for power generation and to control the flow of the Snake River.  Further to the north (downstream) the Snake River enters an extremely deep canyon (deeper than the Grand Canyon).  Much of the economy in this region is centered around tourism to the canyon regions.

Our favorite sign once again - just beyond the pass.

Great views on the downhill.

Brownlee Dam, 8 miles; Oxbow Dam, 20 miles.

One more view of the high mountains above our downhill route.

Brownlee Reservoir on the Snake River.

A view of Brownlee Dam from above.

Below Brownlee Dam.

I made it to Oregon - our last state.

Oxbow Reservoir on the Snake River.

A couple of miles beyond the Oxbow Dam we came to a small store where we got drink refills and took a break.  We then continued on Oregon highway 86 along the Pine Creek for about 15 miles to Halfway, OR.  It was a long steady climb with a couple of steeper sections, but not big climbs.  Still a tough go on a hot afternoon.  I made it to Halfway, a town of about 300 people, by about 2:00pm and immediately found a small bakery for a dish of ice cream.

Interesting metal sculpture at the store at Oxbow Dam.

More mountain views across the highway from the store at Oxbow Dam.

Cows alongside highway 86 from Oxbow to Halfway, OR.

"Entering Halfway, Oregon's Wilder Side, The FUN starts here"

Our destination in Halfway is the Halfway Motel and RV Park.  The motel allows tent camp in what was a bit of a barnyard or at the RV park down the road.  I opted for the motel location because they had real high-speed wi-fi - the first in several days.  Most of the others chose to pay for rooms at the motel instead of camping out.  We had another round of trivia questions for the TransAm Olympics.

Our campground in the horse pasture beside the Halfway Motel, Halfway, OR.