Day 23-Adiós Oregon, Hola Idaho!

Well, we were never asked for money at the RV Park in Halfway, so another night of free camping. The weather was a cool 57 degrees when we started out. Of course, it didn’t stay that for long. By 8:15 it was 70. 

A good morning for a bike ride!

Much of the ride to Oxbow was downhill, and we made good time. It was also a beautiful ride. 

See the road across the way?

It’s July 2nd, and everything is still really green!

Here comes Doug!

When we turned onto Oxbow-Brownlee Rd, we had a surprise little heart thumper of a hill. Turns out climbing was common today after passing a dam (this was the Oxbow Dam on the Snake River). But, we went around the corner (and down), and saw this spread out before us. 

The Snake River. 

We took a snack break at Carters Landing. It’s a camping spot on the Snake (not on our map). There we met Rich, who gave us bottles of water, and a Coke. He’s been coming to Carters Landing for years. 

We had just a few more miles before we reached the Brownlee Dam bridge, where we crossed into Idaho!

Woo Hoo! Goodbye Oregon and hello Idaho!

Brownlee Dam and spillway. 

It was a good climb to get up to the level of the dam and Brownlee Reservoir (really the Snake River). 

Nearly level with the top of the dam. 

I think this keeps rocks from falling down on the power plant. 

Brownlee Reservoir

The road was undulating and curvy. We came to a rest stop that was next to the campground we had originally planned to stay at until the tire debacle. It looked really nice. At the rest stop, I soaked my buffs, my hair, and my sun sleeves. It was very refreshing!

On the map was a cafe/convenience store. We decided we would eat lunch there. We could buy something to drink to go with our lunches. That was the beginning of the long climb of the day. It was 7 miles. It was a pretty climb, but I was definitely counting down the miles. 

The top was at mile post 13. Just one more mile to go!

The top!

The rest of the way to Cambridge was mostly downhill. We are staying at Water Tower City Park, and yes, there is a water tower!

The park has everything we need except no shower. While we were vegging out before setting up our tents, a couple came by. He had ridden the Trans Am East to West 14 years ago. He had stayed in this park too. 

It was a good day. We also crossed into the Mountain Time Zone, so we lost an hour. Still, we managed 57 miles. 

Here’s something…funny. This is at the park we are staying at. 

No really, we are in Idaho…even if the bike rack has a decidedly Oregon look!