Day 66 Week 10, Tuesday 24 June 2025

Our last day off! A beautiful sunny day in Baker City- got up VERY late after a great nights sleep, 7 AM! We all went to the Inland Cafe in town for a real breakfast at 8, then drove to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Museum 5 miles outside of town. A really good museum all about the Oregon Trail- the various routes used, the people who ventured out West and the wagons they used. The main trail goes right through Baker City and from the Museum you can see the wagon wheel ruts heading towards Baker City from the East. We actually walked the trail for a bit at the entry to the museum. It is very desolate out here- mountainous desert as far as the eye can see with the snow covered Blue Mountains to the west that they eventually had to cross to get to the Coast. Something to think about making this 6 month journey from the Mississippi all the way out here, by wagon. And they didn’t ride in the wagon, they WALKED alongside. It seems luxurious to be traveling along much the same path on a bicycle cruising at 14 mph on smooth paved roads!! We actually have crossed the Oregon Trail several times on our way out West, so you really get the feel for what they experienced as far as change in topography and landscape as they went. And where we have been biking there is still a lot of wide open space so you get even more of a feel for what they saw as they were traveling West. Minus the millions of buffalo that are no more………

It was warm today, getting into the 80s, and forecast is even warmer in the coming days. We have been very fortunate with the weather to date but it looks like I will be stowing my cold weather gear for the rest of the trip! We walked around town today, got some lunch then walked back to the campsite. Baker City was once an important hub for commerce and a major stop on the Oregon trail, but now it is a relatively non-descript town of 10,000 in the middle of nowhere.

After our walk in town I went to the pool, did some minor work on the bike (seating the rear tire on the rim and lubing the chain). We’ll go out tonight for pizza most likely and get to bed early. Tomorrow is a long day, 80 miles, with three big climbs so we want to get an early start. Mel got booted from the ride today and is headed back home. So we are down to 8 riders! He apparently had some altercations with the leaders and they determined he had to go. Very unfortunate and unfair in my opinion. Mel is a guy who is not afraid to speak his mind, but that is no reason to kick him off, particularly with NO warning and just 8 days from the finish.