Day 11: Tumalo State Park, OR

I hit the road while the temps were still in the 40s, which isn't my favorite riding weather for doing any kind of distance.  I rode about 16 miles before Alea took over near Smith Rock.  She did the next 21 miles and I finished up with the final 20 miles (57 miles total).

Alea with Smith Rock in the distance.

We took a longer, more scenic route to Sisters than the more direct route via Hwy 126.  We have traveled that route more than once, and while there is a good shoulder, there is also a lot of traffic.  The longer route was more relaxing, and it allowed us to get closer to Smith Rock.

We had hoped to cross the Cascades and visit Eugene, OR, but our preferred route, McKenzie Pass, is under so much snow that it may not open until July.  With that hope dashed, there was still the longer alternate route via Santiam Pass.  But after looking at weather reports and seeing that it was wetter and at least 5 degrees cooler on the west side of the mountains, we decided to head south along the eastern edge of the Cascades.

An alpaca ranch west of Terrebonne.

We set out in the morning with the intent of spending the night in Sisters, but amended our plan en route, turning south a few miles east of Sisters.  Our intent is that in September we will end our route where it intersects today's route. 

We needed to do some shopping in Bend (at the REI store), and Tumalo State Park ($21, dry camping, water available, adjustable showers) was convenient for that purpose, and the detour there only added another 10 miles or so to our day.  We have wanted to camp at Tumalo on other occasions when we have passed through this area, but this was our first visit.  And we were lucky to find a campsite, as the park was full a few hours after we arrived (on a Monday, no less!).

Views at Tumalo State Park.

By not crossing the Cascades at this time we are likely about a week ahead of schedule.  Possibly more, if high snowpack in the Sierras keeps us on the east side of the mountains.  We will figure that out as we get farther south.