Day 70 - August 12, 2013 - Cambridge, ID to Oxbow, OR

Miles - 40

Total mileage - 1,887

We were totally looking forward to 12 miles of climbing first thing today!  Oh, and to add to the fun, the wind decided to whistle through the canyon we were in directly at us!  And, by the way, the wind in a canyon changes direction with you, so no matter where we turned, it was still a headwind!

We finally summited the climb, met up with the cyclist who had camped behind our motel last night - he had to hurry off because he planned to do about 30 more miles than we had planned - and we headed down the other side at a 7% grade.  Good times!

We stopped at the one cafe on route today for a quick lunch, and then began our afternoon of riding beside a couple of reservoirs.  It was very hot - I don't think where we are is considered Hells Canyon, but it's pretty darn close.

The road today was lined with blueberry trees, cherry trees, and raspberry bushes - the smell was delicious!  I stopped and tried a couple of the cherries...yum.  Mel decided not to eat any, in case they were somehow poisonous - at least one of us would make it out alive!

We crossed into Oregon, the last official state on the TransAm route!  It's a little bittersweet to start thinking about the end of the trip, but it also sounds nice to live normally again and have a little bit of time on the west coast before heading back to real life.

And in true TransAm route style, we had a tough uphill right before we ended our day at the Oxbow dam.  We stayed at an Idaho Power park, with plenty of camping for RV's and tents, and nice restrooms and showers, all for $10.  We were close to the river too - I decided to take a quick dip while Mel cooled her feet in it.  We got to watch a doe and two baby deer drinking from the river and eating near it, just downstream.  Pretty neat.

And I think we had an illegal campfire, oops.  I think there is a burn ban in effect, we had some leftover firewood at our site, so we enjoyed a little campfire before turning in.  It was difficult to sleep because it was so hot, and it sprinkled on us off and on all night.  

Day 69 - August 11, 2013 - Council, ID to Cambridge, ID

Miles - 14

Total mileage - 1,847

We got a very late start at the B&B this morning!  Our room was so cozy, and then Debra made us a fabulous breakfast of sausage, scrambled eggs from her chickens, toast, fried potatoes, and coffee.  Roma and Debra's friend John who was going to help her pick up hay later in the morning joined us for breakfast.  Sage the Weimaraner let me cuddle her while breakfast was being prepared - she is such a sweetie!!

We didn't leave the B&B until around 11. We knew we were going to make this a short day, after getting a late start, and knowing that after the first 14 miles, we had a steady climb of 12 or so miles.  Ugh.  So 3 miles in, we were already stopping for a drink and ice cream!

It was mostly downhill to Cambridge - we checked in to a motel so we could work on some laundry, grabbed lunch at the one cafe that was open on Sunday, did some blogging and other random things, grabbed dinner at the same cafe, and are now relaxing before falling asleep and hopefully getting an early start tomorrow!

We have reached the point in the trip where we have to start thinking about what our next steps are after we get to the West Coast...pretty unbelievable actually how fast time has flown by.  We have no idea how to get from Florence, OR to a more major metropolis yet, and eventually to Seattle (biking is probably out, lol).  Everything is all up in the air now, but we will iron it all out!

For now, sleep.  Goodnight all :)

Day 68 - August 10, 2013 - New Meadows, ID to Council, ID

Miles - 38

Total miles - 1,833

The smoke and haze has really been messing with our ability to wake up early. It looks much earlier than it is lately, so we were surprised to look and find it was 8 a.m. when we woke up at the campsite in New Meadows. We started to pack and get ready to leave when our kind camping neighbors, the Webers, brought us some coffee made in their spiffy RV. They were such kind people and we really enjoyed talking with them! It's such a blessing to meet kind folks throughout our journey. 

We got out on the road and stopped in at the A&W in town for a brunch that was more of a lunch. 

Today's ride was a lot of uphill and downhill, with some really nice downhills for the most part. We rode through the town of Tamarack, where there was a giant logging facility...and might be the only reason the town even exists.

 There were decent roads today and the traffic was pretty light, which we always appreciate, especially in the mountain passes with small roads.

 When we rolled into the town of Council, we were really looking forward to a night at an amazing bed and breakfast that Jaune S. had sponsored for us...a million thanks will never be enough to you, Jaune! We had such a great night and enjoyed our stay at the Elkhorn Bed and Breakfast so much! 

But, in order to get to the bed and breakfast, we had a gnarly 2 mile, curvy hill that really tested us. It was one of those gradual hills that seems to never end. I kept watching the cars go by just to make sure that there was an end to the hill! 

When we reached the B&B, we were greeted by the goats, who were half scared and half curious about what were doing. Soon, the owner Deborah and Roma pulled in and helped us get settled in. Deborah was kind enough to let us borrow her Mercedes Benz to drive to find food at the local cafe, where we ate salad, a BLT, and some strawberry shortcake, all under the watch of a very interesting portrait of Johnny Cash. 

When we got back to the B&B, we watched the goats "mow the lawn" and played with the dogs...a pretty awesome evening for us. We even got treated to an amazing massage! What a great way to end the day! 

Day 67 - August 9, 2013 - Riggins, ID to New Meadows, ID

Miles - 31

Total miles - 1,795

We woke up late today - the light in a canyon looks like 6:30am when it's really 8:30...oops!  We also stopped for breakfast, which turned out to be the best breakfast of the trip...

Since we started so late, it got hot quickly.  And we had a slight but definitely noticeable uphill all day long.  I was dragging by about mile 10, and we had planned about 60 miles today...umm, that wasn't going to happen!  I kept taking breaks for water and to rest, and it was taking us forever to get anywhere.

We passed a crazy landmark today...this odd Yahweh place that is probably some sort of weird cult.  I'm not even going to google it...I'll probably get out on some government watch list just for reading about it.  It is for sale, if anyone's interested...

At one point, highway 95, which we have been following for a while, got windy, and the shoulder was pretty much non-existent.  The bail out option for the speeding logging trucks, RV's and semis that fly by turned into a gravelly ditch.  And of course, we were run off the road several times.  It was a frustrating afternoon.

We got to what was mostly the top of the climb, and were in another beautiful valley full of meadows.  And even a little downhill.  We knew we weren't going to make it our scheduled 60 miles to Council, so we decided to stop short at Zim's Hot Springs, just outside of New Meadows, ID.  I've been wanting to go to a hot spring forever, so I was excited!

We set up camp near one of the covered picnic tables, then headed in to enjoy the hot springs.  This hot springs has been around since at least the turn of the century - they have one large soaking pool that they keep pretty hot...it was warmer than a typical hot tub, and a swimming pool that was 92 degrees when we were there.  They felt great on our aching knees!  The swimming pool was the perfect temperature - not chilly, and you were comfortable in it even just floating around.

We cooked some backpacking lasagna (surprisingly good!), and the couple in the RV parked closest to us that we had talked to earlier brought us over a bag of popcorn, some 7-ups and a couple of beers - they are awesome!  Thanks to The Webbers!!

We headed back to the rec hall at the hot springs to have some snacks and try to download some Friends episodes onto the iPad for entertainment as we fall asleep, but the wifi was very slow.  About 10, we went back to the tent to turn in.  It had been smoky all day because of some fires in the area, but the sky was clearing, and the stars were pretty...but clear skies also mean cooler nighttime temperatures...

We climbed into our sleeping bags, but it wasnt probably more than a few hours before we woke up shivering.  Time for sweats, sweatshirts, and socks!  It wasn't supposed to get below 50, but our bags apparently said it was cooler than that!  To add insult to injury, I went to use the porta-potty, and could see that glorious steam coming off the springs...if I could have slept in there, I would have!

Day 66 - August 8, 2013 - Grangeville, ID to Riggins, ID

Miles - 45

Total Miles - 1,764

We were back on our own this morning. We headed out of the cabin and quickly found ourselves climbing up a 4 mile stretch of hill. So much for easing back into our routine! Thankfully, the scenery was great, with mountains in the distance and the smell of pine trees all around us.

We even caught a glance at a couple of young bucks about 500 feet from the road. When we reached the top of the hill, the scenery changed again to a sort of desert-mesa, and we could see for miles and miles.

 Due to some wildfires in other parts of Idaho and Oregon, the sky appeared hazy and smoky in the valley below us. We started our descent down the 7% grade, stopping quite often to keep our rims cool. We decided to ride down what is known as "new 95" instead of following Adventure Cycling's directions to ride down old 95. This decision probably saved us quite a few extra miles and uphills, and kept us on a more direct route to our destination for the day. At one point, we crossed the road to check out a small National Historic Site center for the Nez Perce battlefield. Continuing downhill, we arrived in the town of WhiteBird, stopping at a little cafe for some snacks and a cold drink. We briefly entertained the idea of staying in WhiteBird, but decided to press on to Riggins. The rest of the day was a beautiful ride, as we continually rode along the Salmon River, and next to beautiful walls of stone. 

We came across what appeared to be a small roadside fire that had started on some patches of dried grass close to the road. Local police and forest service personnel were out in full force and had it all under control. 

Near the end of our day, we stopped at a local produce stand to pick up some cold drinks. We always love going to these places to check out what fresh fruits and goodies they have. Unfortunately, we had to make the difficult decision to not purchase a jar of homemade pickles, due to their lack of portability with our gear and our lack of being able to keep them refrigerated properly. 

A little further down the road was the teeny tiny town of Riggins. We stopped in at the River Valley RV Park, secured a sweet camping spot right next to the river, and set up camp. We then decided to walk up the hill a bit to find some food, stopping in at Shelley's Back Eddy for a great dinner. We saw a couple of other cyclists in the restaurant, and when we returned to our camp later, we found they had set up camp not too far from us. 

We spent the evening chatting with two ladies that were vacationing in the area and were picking blackberries for pie making. They had a sweet little pup named Gracie that we got to hang out with.  We also swapped stories from the road with the other two cyclists. Before we knew it, 10 p.m. had rolled around and we knew we needed to get to bed. 

Day 65 - August 7, 2013 - Lochsa Lodge, ID to Grangeville, ID

Took advantage of one more day of jumping ahead a bit by car.  Not much of note today, stopped and had a pretty good lunch in Kooskia, ID.  Stocked up on groceries that we would need in the coming week.  Dropped by the bank for some cash.  Stopped at an RV park in Grangeville, ID and checked into a modest but cute little cabin.

Then we had to say goodbye to my mom...she needed to get back to real life and we needed to give up the crutch of having a car around to take the easy way out!

It was tough to se her go, we certainly had a great time getting to share part of our trip experience with her, and appreciate everything she did for us!!!

This part of Idaho reminds me so much of where I grew up in California - nothing but brown hills all around.  We did meet a sweet dog wandering around the RV park!  He followed us around, and even  came into our cabin once or twice...such a cutie.

The bathrooms and showers at this place were pretty cool - they give you a pass code for the doors, and the bathrooms are super clean.  The park is only a couple of years old, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone traveling through!  Cabins were under $40, and a tent site was only $15 - not bad!  It's called the Bear Den RV Resort.

We spent some time replacing everything to your fully loaded again for the first time in a week and a half, enjoyed some downtime, and had some sandwiches for dinner before turning in.

Day 64 - August 6, 2013 - Lolo Hot Springs, MT to Lochsa Lodge, ID

Miles - 20

Total mileage - 1,719

We started riding today about 7 miles from Lolo Pass, at the Montana/Idaho border.  The ride was beautiful, but all up an incline.

We crossed into Idaho at the top!  And the Pacific time zone!  Though we will cross back into Mountain Time somewhere in Idaho.  Then back into the Pacific Time Zone.  Only Idaho knows why...

We checked out the Lolo Pass visitors center at the top, notable for its odd squirrels that look like a cross between a squirrel and a prairie dog.

Then it was back on the bikes for an amazing 13 miles or so of downhill.  And for most of it, we had the beautiful Lochsa River running alongside the road. Easily one of the best sections of riding of the whole trip!

We would love to build a house right there, and have that gorgeous mountain river run through our front yard!

We got to an Idaho dept of transportation site, and spooked a big herd of deer hanging out there...

Not far down the road, my mom had gone ahead to check out the cabins at the Lochsa Lodge - site of the last services for 65 miles on the road.  She had booked us an amazing cabin already - thanks mom!  By the way, she told us we have already spent our birthday and Christmas money for the next 5 years or so, but it was worth it to get to spend all of this time with her!

We checked out the river a bit, had a delicious dinner on the deck at the lodge, enjoyed an ice cream while playing a ton of rummy, watched a short film that our new friend Jamie, who we met in Florence, CO had directed (he was kind enough to drop a copy in our awesome gift bags from all of the lovely people in Florence - thanks again guys!), played more rummy while enjoying a few Angry Orchard brews, and turned in for the evening.  Had such a great day!