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August 7, 1999

Mount Vernon, Oregon to Mitchell, Oregon Brian's Ride Miles Biked: 67.1 Average Speed: 13.3 mph Max Speed: 31.6 mph Time Pedaling: 5 hours 3 minutes Total Feet Climbed: 3380 Start/Stop Time: 7:15 am to 3:30 pm Wind: Calm in the morning changing to light head after lunch Weather: Mostly Cloudy, lower 50's to lower 70soF Comments. Leaving camp on this Saturday there were few cars to contend with and the shoulder for the most part was paved the entire way. I was a little anxious because of losing the rhythm from the day off and the climb up Keyes Creek Summit that would begin during the second 32 miles for the day. Nonetheless, I got off to a great start as US 26 followed the John Day River downstream through a gorgeous valley of more irrigated crops bordered by hills and mountains hosting a scrub desert environment. As I approached the halfway point, I traveled through Picture Gorge. This gorge got it's name from Indian petroglyphs. These petrogyphs were not seen from the road. Geologically, the gorge is an eroded section of basalt. The basalt having it's origin in volcanic activity that occurred 15 million years ago. For a detour, I traveled 2 miles off route to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument visitor's center which tells the story of Oregon's geology and ecology for the last 60 million years and the tremendous fossil records preserved in the area. This area is known among experts as the source of some of the best mammalian fossils. Leaving, the visitor's center, I proceeded back to the main route and up the climb through a narrow gorgeous valley of scrub desert. The mountains peaked out at 4900 to 5600 feet along the walls of the 1 to 2 mile wide valley as I climbed from 2600 feet to 4357 feet. The road leveled out at about 4000 feet to more irrigated farmland and grazing cattle. The last 300 feet were very gradual and the peak came quickly at this point. The 7 mile descent was also quick at about 25 mph and I met Joan in Mitchell. Joan's Version While we slept peacefully our new cat slept at the animal hospital, recovering from being bobbed, shall I say. I called at 8 a.m. to check on Clyde, who was ready for pick up -- .what a dramatic 14 hours it had been for him. He fared well and acclimated to the RV as I drove to meet Brian for a sag stop. I stopped first at the Dayville Mercantile Center where I met the forty something husband and wife who ditched life in Seattle 8 weeks earlier and purchased this sweet, hard wood floored grocery. The husband found this store while bicycling past it late last year! They encouraged Brian and I to buy the vacant restaurant across the street -- and I warned them I needed little prompting to leave Atlanta. While we cherish our home and friends in Atlanta, the city has grown far too large for our comfort and the focus on conspicuous consumption is not our style. We both feel confined in town and crave the wide-open spaces like we 've seen since Wyoming. I have to admit looking for a business opportunity as I drive through these small towns. Just what type business, I do not know -- let's just say I'm keeping an open mind and a watchful eye. As I peered out the window at the beautiful gorge and the fossil area I was entering, I wondered what kind of animals once thrived here millions of years ago. My questions were answered at the visitor center Brian explored. Our visit to the John Day Fossil Area showed us life in a distant era, as did our visit to Mitchell, our home for the evening. Walking into the restaurant with it's bright orange vinyl floor and chairs, I felt I had again entered The Age of Aquarius. Dinner even tasted like the TV dinners of my youth. I'd wished we'd eaten beanie weenies in the RV. Back in the RV, Clyde sprawled out and recuperated and I hit the hay early as Brian played on the computer.

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