Day 11

JUNE 19 Cabinet Gorge Camp Ground to Riverbend Campground

The ride out of Cabinet Gorge has to be one of the most beautiful of the trip (and we've ridden through Glacier National Park, so the standards are pretty high!) We passed through the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness area; there were beautiful mountains, pine trees, wild flowers (I'm a bit of a flower nut... a lot of my pictures so far have been of the flowers we've seen), and ponds with glassy surfaces to reflect everything. Fifteen miles in, we decided to go on a little detour that Bill (the physics teacher) had suggested. Bill said that just a couple miles off the road there was a hundred acre stand of old growth cedars, the Ross Creek Cedar Grove; one of his friends had told them that the trees are breath taking... almost a religious experience.

What Bill didn't tell us was the of the 4 miles to get to the cedars, nearly two were uphill... up a very steep hill with about a 10% grade! By the time dad and I had discovered this for ourselves, we were too committed to the climb to turn back. Of course, going back to the road... well, that made the climb all worth while!

The cedar grove was impressive as well. When we got there, Steve was just propping up his bike (he was the only other person in the group to make it up the climb... even Bill didn't go!) The three of us spent the next half an hour wandering the nature trail, marvelling at the size of the trees (boy did it feel good to be walking instead of riding!) Listening to Steve ooh and ahh at the girth of the cedars, I realized how lucky we are in Oregon; sure, this grove was impressive, but I've certainly seen similar things within an hours drive of my front door. I suppose St. Louis (Steve's home) doesn't have as many massive trees. After taking a few pictures of Artoo "visiting Endor", we remounted our bikes and headed out.

The scenery began to decline after we left the Cedar Grove: the snow capped mountains shrunk to tree -covered domes, the meadows gave way to forests of short trees, and the tumbling streams and glassy ponds disappeared (it was still quite beautiful, especially thinking back to it now, from the heart of the plains!) A short ways down the road we turned onto highway 2, which has been our constant riding companion ever since. Four miles down the road we stopped at Kootenai Falls, basically a mass of pale green water pouring rapidly over a tall lip... not as majestic as the tall, thin waterfalls I'm used to, but it definitely wins in a competition of brute force. Next we went to a swinging bridge a short way down the river, running into Pat and Bill along the way. "There's some excellent physics on that bridge!" Bill told me, "Resonance, standing waves, I mean, if you stand at the right place and jump..." he trailed off, shaking his head excitedly. After a few lively tromps across the bridge (during which I prayed the wooden slats wouldn't give out beneath me and send me to my death) we headed back to the bikes. The two of us were talking animatedly when my eyes fell to the ground in front of me: a garter snake was slithering innocently across the path. My hands clapped to my face, and I made an involuntary yelping-cluck for the next 30 seconds (I HATE snakes!!) After the snake disappeared into the bushes, I calmed down, and dad quit laughing at me, we got back to our bikes to go the rest of the way to camp.

That morning I began to see a new sight alongside the road: stubby white crosses on red pipes, like the ones used in plumbing. Some were decked out with garlands and banners, like for Easter; others were simple left as they are, bare. I began to count them as I rode, and in the first day, in just 64 miles, I reached 24 crosses. By now, I'm up to 121. As a matter of fact, the only thing more common in western Montana were "Vote for Ron Paul" signs (even though he has already dropped out!!)Either way, they represent the same thing: Someone killed in a car accident at that spot. Someone taken from their family ; someone whose story ended at that spot. Dad and I have joked about this ride being the "No Cross Crossing" because we don't want to be made into those little crosses. I'm beginning to think that is taking the story behind those crosses a little to lightly.