Wutheringbikes Home -- TransAm Bike Ride
<< >>

Wednesday 18th August 2004

John Day Fossil BedsFrom Dayville, Presbyterian Church to Ochoco Lake campground (National Forestry Service) - about 80 miles on route. We actually got on the road by 9am! Well, it does help if you haven't got a tent to pack up. Then we headed off up the first big climb of the day - which got almost immediately postponed because of the John Day Fossil Beds - a wonderful near desert area full of fossils. The fossils date from after the dinosaurs, when the whole area went through a series of dramatic climatic changes - with lava flowing in regularly to freeze the animals and plants in a thick layer of preservative. Fascinating collection of skulls - from the horse's early relatives, strange rhino like creatures. The landscape is also very impressive - gorges in a near desert, with bands of different rock very clear on the 3000 foot mountains. The view from the visitor centre was pretty good - see photo. Eventually we got going again, headed over the Keyes Pass, then down into Mitchell (for a second lunch) - where we met Carmando heading East. Well, he might make Virginia by November - though he could do part of the route and leave some more for another year. Carmando seemed like a traditional Californian to us - likeable, super relaxed and extremely well preserved for his years (which weren't very many anyway). Then on to the Ochoco Pass, which was a steep and brisk climb. We really had to push down the hill from the pass in order to arrive at the Ochoco Lake just as the last cafe was closing - they were kind enough to stay open long enough to serve us food outdoors while they closed up the cafe. Then we camped at the lakeside - the camp host was someone who had given up entirely on bricks and mortar and now had only an RV for a home (well, that and a caravan) - the ultimate in mobility (so long as gasoline is cheap!). is this the future - just as real estate prices peak, the age of stable real estate might come to an end? Nice though - there is a theory, of course, that humans are essentially nomadic (Bruce Chatwin's theory, I think, for one) and so having a permanent settlement is not too good for you. Doesn't stop house prices going up ludicrously though.

Wutheringbikes Home -- TransAm Bike Ride