June 1: Mother Nature's Games

Mother Nature's alarm clock started going off at 5:30 this morning.  First it was the sand hill cranes making their calls.  Later it was followed by geese, squirrels, and various other birds.  They must have been set on a snooze schedule because just as I was about to fall back to sleep, the next critter was making their noise to make sure I didn't sleep in to much!  I finally got up at 6:15 to 37 degree sunshine!  I thought - what a beautiful day this is going to be.

I began my route and had great roads and beautiful snow covered mountain views. In same places the roads were a little wet due to light rain over night but nothing serious.  What happened next turned out to be an indicator of what the rest of the day was going to be like.  As I continued on, I was approaching another pass and then all of a sudden, the road was covered with snow.  There were truck tracks in the snow that I thought I could follow but quickly realized that was not an option.  I had to back the bike up about 50 feet to get back out of the truck tracks to get turned around.  So I started to back-track and stopped at a gas station to get fuel.  I made a comment to the clerk about the road being closed and she said she wasn't sure why they had removed the signs that the road was closed.  She said they are having a cold, late, wet spring just we are having in Minnesota and much of the entire Midwest.  Typically, to raods would be open by this time of year.  Two hours after I left the campground this morning, I was right back where I started!

I found another way to get back on track but determined I needed to shorten the route some because I need to keep moving on.

Later in the afternoon I was approaching a road that is very highly recommended as a "must ride" road (the road between Enterprise Oregon and Lewiston ID - see photos).  Unfortunately as I was approaching, it started to rain again.  I put on my rain gear and hoped it was just an isolated shower - no such luck.  The rain continued the rest of the afternoon.  The road was amazing.  It is about 20 miles long and you work your way down the mountain to the bottom where you cross the Snake River and then climb your way back up the other side of the mountain.  This road is challenging enough when it is dry, doing it when raining really tests your skills.  This road is no place for those with weak stomachs or those without high confidence in their riding ability.

As it was still raining when I reached Lewiston and there was no relief in sight, I decided to get a motel room again tonight.  The forecast for tomorrow doesn't look a much better either.  I am changing my route plans and rather than taking a route across northern Washington, I am taking a more southerly route to save time and hopefully miss some of the rain.  You will have to check back to see how successful I was!