Day 6 – June 9 – Mary Hill State Park, WA to Umatilla, OR – 87 Miles

Last night the air was crisp, clear, and cool much like that of a fall evening. As I was going to bed I put on my headphones and selected Aaron Copland’s 3^rd Symphony on my i-pod. Copeland’s music, for me, paints panoramic vistas and evokes an emotional link to the grandeur of God’s creation.  Being outdoors in one of these special locales listening to this music seemed to fit. I was out within minutes.

Our intention today was to catch up with the rest of the group.  We had agreed via texts that Umatilla, OR where we crossed the Columbia back into Oregon, was a reasonable ride, and a good location for both parties.

Joe and I headed out relatively early, hitting the road at 8:30.  We had a tough climb back to WA State Route 14 from Maryhill State Park.  From there east on Route 14 we had a strong wind pushing us.  The skies were mixed, sometimes sunny, other times overcast. The temps were cool as we passed into the desert region of eastern Washington. The road follows the north shore of the Columbia River.  I-84 follows along the south shore in Oregon.  For the 83 miles we traveled along Route 14, there were only 3 towns.  In those 3 towns there were no gas stations and the one and only “Mini-Mart” in Roosevelt.  No other services for 83 miles.

The Mini-Mart was our refueling stop.  The proprietor had just finished renovating the store and had added a café area.  The Grand Opening was set for tomorrow, 6/10/12 at 6:30 AM.  While he wasn’t serving yet, we purchased some micro-wave sandwiches, chips, and Gatorade and had them in the café area.  We made our entry in the Mini-Mart Cyclist Log book that is kept for those traveling through and noted the Ride for Water website.  After a couple ice cream treats we refilled our water and continued east.

The winds continued strong out of the west. They were a welcome aid for the distance we wanted to cover.  It made the last 50 miles go quickly.  We arrived in Umatilla right at 5:00 PM.

I keep my phone off to preserve battery power while riding.  Where I keep it in my bags I can’t hear it anyway.  Upon checking the text messages in Umatilla, we discovered that the group had decided to continue 25 miles east and settled on camping for the night.  87 miles were enough for us for one day. Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day.