Day 10: La Grande to Union

September 15, 2023

The remainder of the tour is on the Grande Tour Scenic Bikeway which is a 134 mile signed road route sponsored by Oregon State Parks.

I parked my car again at Riverside Park just north of La Grande. The Scenic Bikeway trailhead, with free overnight parking. I parked there for 6 nights while doing the north loop, then removed the car for 2 nights. Now I will park another 3 nights to do the Scenic Bikeway.

Start/finish of the Scenic Bikeway in Riverside Park.

Today is a short easy day, so I didn't pedal away from Riverside Park until almost 10 AM. Today I go northeast, east, then south to the towns of Cove and Union.

Morning sun gave me a good sun angle on the Blue mountains to the west. Not so good sun angle on the Wallowa mountains to the east.

Grande Ronde valley. Northern Wallowa mountains.

Fake historic wedding chapel and historic reception barn.

Today's route is relatively flat and mostly on low traffic roads with 360 degree mountain views. I really enjoyed today's bike ride and scenery.

Blue mountains to the northwest. Brand new chipseal.

Much of the morning ride is on Lower Cove road which has spectacular scenery. It stays 50-100 feet above the valley with unobstructed views of the Wallowa mountains up close to the north and east. And the Blue mountains across the wide valley sprawling from the southwest to the northwest.

Farms at the base of the Wallowa mountains to the north.

After 12 miles I found the perfect place to take my first rest stop. The roadside parking area has an interesting rotary gate leading to an enormous shade tree watered by a underground spring.

Rotary Gate built as a school project in 1930. Wallowa mountains on the right.

The gate provides access to a giant tree watered by an underground spring.

I was surprised to see a water pump under the tree. I tested the pump and got water on the first stroke. The spring water is very close to ground level but a concrete pad covers the area that might get muddy. I enjoyed the deep shade and views of the surrounding mountains.

I got water from the pump on the first stroke. Blue mountains in the distance to the northwest.

I stopped to look at the wind vanes at a ranch gate. The racing bike wind vane got my attention first, but the trike and bathtub wind vanes are also interesting. They are all expertly balanced so that the heavy sculptures rotate easily in the wind. The rotating parts must sit on thrust bearings to rotate with low friction.

Expertly balanced wind vanes. Blue mountains in the distance to the southwest.

This morning's route is mostly on Lower Cove road which is truly enchanting. It stays close to the base of the Wallowa mountains, with outstanding views of the valley below and the mountains all around.

I have been watching for views of farm houses, but usually the house is surrounded by so many trees that it's impossible to get a good picture. Near the town of Cove I finally spotted a farm house with a gap in the trees.

Today's second rest stop is in the town of Cove, population 612. It's a cute little farm town, mostly old buildings, at the foot of the Wallowa mountains. I stopped to have a burger. The shady picnic table was plenty warm. Temperature in the 80's.

Cove has a huge Episcopal conference center with many buildings on about 100 acres. It was deserted when I looked around.

Just outside of Cove I stopped to look at the old Riverside Schoolhouse. The building must have been moved, because there is no river nearby.

Former Riverside schoolhouse. Not near a river now.

Looking back at the town of Cove and the Wallowa mountains.

The scenery was spectacular all day, in pretty much every direction. The Grande Ronde valley is a great place for cycling.

Some directions look more like desert than other directions.

Today's destination is the town of Union, population 2129. Barely big enough to have all services. It's very attractive, again mostly historic buildings.

This former church is now the Union Community Center and Food Bank.

Union's fanciest house is getting new upper siding.

Catherine Creek comes out of the Wallowa mountains and flows through the middle of Union. I will see more of Catherine creek on day 12. Many people were wading in the creek when I arrived at 3:30 PM.

I had dinner across the street from the hotel at the only restaurant in town that was open on Friday night. The restaurant didn't serve beer, so after dinner I went to the tavern to have two Pallet Jack IPA. The bar had the Pendleton Round-Up on television, on The Cowboy Channel which I had never heard of. I don't watch TV and I'm not a rodeo fan.

Tonight's event is bareback riding, where a horse with strapped genitals jumps violently while a cowboy attempts to stay on for 8 seconds while grasping a strapped-on handle with only one hand. The cowboy advances in the competition if he stays on for more than 8 seconds, but he still has to find a way to get off the jumping horse without getting killed. Helpers do their best to remove the rear strap after 8 seconds to make the horse stop jumping, but it's still extremely dangerous. Bull riding is even more dangerous. Few athletes break more bones than rodeo cowboys.

The bar television has the Pendleton Round-Up on the Cowboy Channel.

After leaving the bar I wandered around downtown Union to take pictures in full shade. It's a charming little town.

Union is the smallest town I've seen with a Carnegie library.

Tonight's home is the 1921 Union Hotel, the only lodging in Union. The hotel is very charming but the proprietor is a bit peculiar.

Union Hotel lobby. Dog on left is real. Dog on right is not real.

I'm staying in the Clark Gable room. I mentioned to the proprietor (Charlie) that tomorrow I will stay at the 1889 Geiser Grand hotel in Baker City. He said that hotel is not authentic because the guest room floors were gutted to convert small rooms into large rooms with private baths. I have stayed there before and it is still very historic. I don't think it's fair to compare the authenticity of an 1889 hotel to a 1921 hotel. Indoor plumbing and private baths were common in 1921, but not in 1889.

Union Hotel has many interesting features. The guest rooms don't have televisions but there is a communal television lounge. Directly across the hall from my room door is an old phone booth that still works! The 1920's vintage phone has a rotary dial and can make local calls. The former restaurant is now an antique shop that is open only to hotel guests. Charlie said he couldn't hire people to run the hotel restaurant or a closed restaurant 2 blocks away that he also owns. It is difficult to hire workers now, but I suspect that part of the problem is that people just don't want to work for Charlie.

Bikes aren't allowed in the rooms because the rooms are so small. I actually agree that the room is too small for my bike. My bike stayed in the antique shop downstairs.

Phone booth across from my room. Rotary dial, local calls only.

The sky was cloudless all day. High temperature of 87F which is above normal. Gentle south wind. No complaints!

Today's route was short but the scenery was truly spectacular. I feel like my photos didn't fully capture the enchantment of the Grande Ronde valley.

Distance: 33.1 miles
Average Speed: 8.8 mph
Ascent/Descent: +689/-594 feet

Today's ride: 33 miles (53 km)
Total: 296 miles (476 km)

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Gregory GarceauPhotos almost never capture the actual beauty, but yours did a pretty darn good job of showing just how fine your day was. The Union Hotel looks like a great place to say, despite the proprietor.
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