August 6, 2001. Dayville to Mitchell,
Oregon. (38 mi.) Mile 3985
Taking
it easy to Mitchell
If we did our usual 50-60+ miles
today, it would mean 5,000 feet of climbing, a mandatory early start to
avoid temperatures close to 100 degrees, and a destination that did not have
food nor water. We were both sleep deprived from recent camping experiences,
my knee was still sore, and Mike had a touch of Achilles tendonitis yesterday,
so... we decided to cut back on the mileage and relax a bit. We have been
running a day ahead of schedule for finishing August 11, at which time we
think our family has the Goodyear blimp scheduled to cover the event (or at
least they should).
About the gash on my knee that I
suffered two days ago: I tried all kinds of different tapes, tinctures,
dressings, and solutions to try to keep the wound protected while bicycling,
and finally settled on a tried and true, time honored solution
that seemed to work the best, a scab. Sutures might have
lessened the scar and made for a good story, but the other scars on my poor knee
will just have to make room for another.
Deciding on a more leisurely pace
today immediately reduced our stress. We yakked with Steve at the Dayville
Merc some more, ate a late breakfast, and took our time admiring the
spectacular scenery of the John
Day Fossil Beds National Monument.
The road enters
Painted Gorge
When we finished climbing and
prepared to zoom down into Mitchell, we were surprised to get our first
glimpse of snow covered Mt. Hood in the distance, one of the dormant volcanoes
in the Cascade Range. This is the last significant mountain range before the Pacific
coast.
From here we
could see Mt. Hood (not shown)
Downtown Mitchell
(population 200+) consists of two cafes, a market, a feed store, and a cage
with a captive American black bear named Henry. The bear is the town's claim
to fame. Everyday the bear's owner gets in the cage with Henry to feed and
wrestle with him for interested tourists. I was glad to see that Henry
appeared healthy and happy considering his life of captivity.
1) 
2) 
1) Mitchell's
Little Pine Cafe makes milkshakes the old fashioned way
2) We set up our
tent in the city park and caught up on our rest
3)
4) 
5) 
3) West of Dayville: the road squeezes through a crack in the basalt formation
4) Numerous cinder cones are visible from Keyes Creek Summit
5) Henry the Bear's small world in Mitchell
