Day 55 – Friday 7/22/22

Dayton, Washington to Umatilla, Oregon – 86.5 Miles

Today was a day of traffic and wind. Because of the way the towns were positioned, it was going to be an 80+ mile day, and I was hoping for a bit of a break in the effort needed to cover that distance. The route followed highway 12 in the morning and highway 720 in the afternoon, but unfortunately so did everyone else. Add in the sound of a continuous strong wind from the west, and there was very little quiet time along the way.

I left Dayton before 7:30 and found the Green Giant just down the road. There is a vegetable canning plant nearby that has been in business for many years, and the Green Giant character was associated with it. Originally, the figure was outlined with vegetation in a field, but that was too much work, so they made an outline on the hillside and accented it with green paving bricks. The overall height is 300 feet, but it looks a lot smaller from the road.

The town of Waitsburg was 9 miles away. Between Dayton and there was farmland growing wheat. The dark areas of the hill have been harvested.

Waitsburg was a well-kept town of 1,200. The downtown area was attractive, but I got there too early to take advantage of it.

Traffic was whizzing past, and the wind noise was annoying, so I was glad the map showed me taking a back road towards Walla Walla. When I got to the turnoff it didn’t take long to see I was out of luck. The road was closed. I could have gone the 9.1 miles and possibly made it past the construction, but if I couldn’t I’d have wasted a couple of hours. I stayed on highway 12.

Highway 12 wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t quiet. This was a rare bit of peace along the way.

For a moment it looked like I’d been going southeast instead of northwest.

I made it through Walla Walla without difficulty or having it make much of an impression on me. As I rode through town, a large man riding a bicycle called out as I went by. When I asked him how it was going, he said “Three-hundred pounds and still moving!” He was smiling and enjoying the ride, which gave me some positive energy to take along.

The small town of Lowden had some old buildings that had seen better days. They’re time capsules of their era.

I was working my way towards Wallula Junction, where I’d pick up highway 720 to Umatilla, Oregon. Even though I’d be riding next to the Columbia River, there was still plenty of climbing to do.

The Columbia River appeared shortly after 60 miles.

Traffic was still coming but had thinned out a little. The basalt rock formations were something new.

State number 15 came out of nowhere.

Umatilla was reached around 6:30. I found the Umatilla RV Park and Marina but arrived too late to check in at the office. So, I called the after-hours number and got a spot.

I wasn’t hungry enough to go into town for dinner, so I drank a lot of water and snacked. Later, I walked around the marina area and by the bridge to Washington.

The conditions today were not what I’d call up for a good day out on a bike. The west wind was a pain, but I may have to get used to it as it seems to be typical for the region. Knocking off 86 miles was a good thing, as that may save me some time on the way to Seaside early next week.