Day 16, Richland, OR to Brownlee Dam, ID

Miles – 41

Ave Riding Speed – 3-23 mph

Hours Start to Finish – 7.0

Weather – Partly Sunny 68

No wi-fi service last night so posting a day late.

We were up at 7:30am and turn on the coffee pot. I have a habit of preparing the brew the night before. There’s something about making coffee when you get up and not fully awake that makes it feel like work. We weren’t moving to fast as I was getting a pulse of Kim to figure out how the day was going to go. The last couple days have been a struggle for her and I’m just trying to make things as positive as possible. We showered up, had our vitamin and supplement drinks and packed our bikes up for a day of more than the unknowns. We walked over to the Hitching Post Grocery to turn in our key and grab some buns for sandwiches, protein bars and chips for the day.

As we continued east out of town on Hwy 86 and about a mile up, we saw our first task for the day, 6-mile 1,200 feet climb. We could see the cars switching back and forth up the side of the grassy slopes to nearly the top. It was steep and we must have walked 90% of it.  About three quarters of the way up one of the racers, the only one we saw all day, was coming up behind us. He was packed very light and I’d estimate he was going about 6-7 miles an hour. All in all I don’t feel to bad about having to walk up with our more than 50 additional pounds each.  

Kim was struggling with a few tears and questioning why and the heck she is doing this and possibly that she can’t. My only advice was to say’ “but you have been doing it and you can.” When we reached the summit of the pass during the overcast morning we were drenched from sweat and put on our light water resistant jackets for the cold stint down the other side. As the road leveled off we were passing the town of Halfway, about a mile off the route. I figured we were cold and we should see if we could get a cup of coffee. As we rode through the small town there sat The Main Place café, grill, bar and hotel. We pulled our bike into the courtyard seating area and asked for a table, indoors.

We never did have that coffee and opted for a burger and fries. Based on the maps there might not be any place to stop for a hot meal for the rest of the day. We thought about calling it a day after only 14 miles, but figured we’d push on and camp. We met a nice older couple all geared up a few miles out of Halfway. They were heading west and pulled over to our side of the road to ask where we’re heading. They were coming from Missoula, MT and staying in Halfway tonight.  We recommended The Main Place for dinner.

While we were chewing through our lunch and water Kim asked me if I had mentioned anything to our kids about how she was doing. I told her I pulled the “kid card” and told them mom was having a tough go and needed some encouragement. They pulled through and I think she’s feeling better about what’s she doing out here, out of her box, and on a bike.

A few miles from Oxbow we stopped for a potty break, Gatorade and Moon Pie. Something about those Moon Pies that draw me in. Yum. Coming into Oxbow we turned south onto the Oxbow-Brownlee Hwy which ran along the Snake River, dividing Oregon and Idaho. It was a beautiful trek for 11-miles to the Brownlee Dam where we crossed the bridge over into Idaho, just below the Brownlee Reservoir. We are camping at McCormick Park along the Idaho side of the Snake River. It clean and nicely kept. They had a kiosk check-in station and the place is well worth all of the $17 for the night. Our tent is setup and we had our PBnJ sandwich with chips.  We are camped on the corner of Wildhorse River where it meets up with the Snake River and the sounds of the Wildhorse waters churning into the Snake River is soothing to the ear and the eyes. Should be in for a good night sleep.