Day 13 - Prairie City to Baker City

Location

The day consisted of three decent climbs. Part of the way through, we happened upon a small convenience store/cafe and stopped for a bite to eat. Continuing his exploration of regional foods, Cam ordered an elk burger. Apparently it tasted "like a hamburger." The nice lady running the store reminded us of the spring a couple of miles down the road and we assured her we would fill up.

On our way out of the place, a large man wearing loose-fitting and homemade looking clothes came in. He ordered an elk burger as well, then proceeded to ramble on about blue-green algae. The guy was either on drugs, or had been for the previous ten years. Cam listened to all the benefits of algae, then made for the door.

Shortly we came upon the "spring" everyone had been speaking of. It was actually just a pipe jutting out of the ditch with cold water pouring out. Hoping there was no conspiracy against touring cyclists amongst the locals, we pulled off and filled up. The water was clear and cold, but beyond that had no features worth remembering. At least we didn't die. Thinking the spring would be the highlight of the day, we continued down the road.

A number of miles later we were stopped by an unexpected site. Coming down the road towards us were a few dozen cattle. We had come upon a cattle drive, with a half dozen men and women on horseback directing the flow. Traffic was stopped in either direction and due to the high shoulders of the road, we had no place to ride through. We quickly climbed the shoulder and watched as the cows meandered by, leaving a trail of patties in their wake. Quite the experience.

Two flats later in the day, one each for Cam and Sean. We made it to Baker City. Luckily a church allowed us to camp in their yard and we had a rather uneventful night.