July 14, 2007
Time of departure: 6:45 A.M.
Temperature: 50 degrees
Elevation: 4512 feet
Total Mileage: 220
“Wow, there’s a tree.”
We gawked. We gawked for alot longer than any two people should. It had been over 400 miles since we’d seen a tree growing in the wild.
We’d left Battle Mountain, Nevada early in the morning and headed northwest. Denio Junction, NV was to be our destination.
We traveled through the town of Winnemuca, a nice town, and turned towards Denio Junction. We arrived there rather early, 9:30 A.M. We decided to get gas and keep moving.
I filled our bikes and headed in to pay. There was no pay-at-the-pump. As I approached the door, a small dog (maybe a miniature doberman) ran up to the door. I thought he was the “store dog” and was allowed into the store. It shot in the door. I immediately realized I was wrong.
The people in the store looked horrified that I’d let a dog in their store. I immediately apologized and found myself chasing the dog around the store, while people stared.
I finally got my hands around it and carried it to the door. I set him down outside and he immediately darted back in and we went through the whole chase scene one more time.
I payed for our gas and ran out the door, lest another canine wanted to be chased around the Doritos again.
The landscape around Denio Junction was still the Great Basin, sandy ground with scrubby bushes. And, since it was so early, we decided to stick with pavement and move on to Oregon.
As soon as we crossed into Oregon, the landscaped changed to broken plateaus, with green draws between them. The further west we went, the more hilly it became.
We gained elevation and cedar scrub and pine trees started to appear. In no time, we were in a full blown forest. We even passed a ski area.
We made the town of Lakeview, OR and decided to stop for the day. We will pick up the trail here, but we’re taking a day off for tomorrow. It’s been Green River since we’ve had some time off.
Once we get get rolling again, we’ll have three days of riding before we reach the Pacific.
See y’all down the trail.
Ron and Meredith
