Maryhill to Crow Butte Campgrpound
Day 5. June 7, 2023
Today: 58.89 miles. 2,037 climbed
4/49 am-. It’s beginning to get light and the birds are singing their hearts out! Such a lovely way to wake up!
So cool how early the sun rises and how late it sets!
Today’s lesson is brought to you by mosquitoes: it doesn’t matter how big you are, if you’re persistent and obnoxious, you can motivate others. And that they did. Once outside the tent, Drew and I broke camp in record time!
We saw this cute little bunny just as we were leaving. 
Determined not to repeat yesterday’s mistake, we both rolled with 3 liters of water each and headed to Stonehenge.
On the way, we past a cherry orchard with beautiful fruit hanging. Just beyond was the Maryhill Community Church which was built in 1888.
In route, I saw grades at 13% so I walked the bike at places. Cannot risk an injury!!
There we met Kevin from Reno, NV. He was there with his wife who just ran a half marathon in Bend, OR. He shared how much fun they had riding the pedal rail cars near Wallowa Lake. A new bucket list item!
Next, we met a lovely young family heading to the beach in Oregon. Too funny. He went to school at LLU. It’s a small world!
We also saw the burn scar from yesterday’s fire along the side of the road, and Mt. Hood was still visible in the distance.
The monument was incredible! I can’t wait to see the footage from the drone Drew flew!
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”6″ display=”basic_imagebrowser”]Dianna added another post about today with some more of the wonderful things happening on our adventure!
Day 5-Part 2
Yesterday, Drew said he had a craving for a cheese quesadilla but we couldn’t find one. Today, we stopped at a cool little cafe in Roosevelt, WA and guess what they had as a special today? Yep. You guessed it! And he loved it! I had the street tacos. So delicious!! And our entrees came with drinks so I was really naughty and had Mountain Dew! It probably has been 40 years since my last last. Boy, was it good!!
While there, our server brought two journals where cyclists traveling through would share notes about their adventure. So fun to read and now, part of our story is now recorded there.
During our travels along Highway 14, we came along a memorial for Enrique set in 2010. Drew saw the flag was twisted so he waded through the foxtails and straightened it. It is set just west of mile marker 146. We wished we had two new flags to replace/retire those flying.
As we traveled further down the highway, the hillsides were planted with vines. A strange noise came from the vineyards and Drew explained it is a device that is supposed to scare the birds away from the fruit. It almost sounded like a shotgun.
We rode past Alexandria Nicole cellars to our campsite. Our camp host Wayne is so friendly. He told us about 4 cyclists who left at 5 am yesterday morning who are also riding TransAmerica. Maybe we’ll meet them along the way.
With a partly cloudy sky, cooler temps and the wind at our backs, today was indeed the next best day ever!!