June 26, 2023
To Lewis & Clark Trail State Park
Breakfast Is fabulous in Maggie's, actually Leeann's garden - great bacon, eggs and all the fixins. It's a welcome change from our granola habit.
Today's ride to Dayton is all on U.S. 12 with no decisions to worry about. We start on a gradual descent, dropping 900 feet over 23 miles. A headwind keeps us pedaling most of the way but it's not much work.
We make all that back and then some on the climb over the next 8 miles. It's not as long as yesterday but still goes on and on with not much variety in the scene. Sometimes there's a shoulder, sometimes not. At least the hill is blocking the wind now. I need a boost halfway up and pull over for a snack.
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We've caught a break with the weather again. The skies are overcast and a nice breeze is cooling us off. Could be worse.
As we reach the top the landscape greens up again and Dayton is in sight. We pull into town where it's happy hour at the Fire & Irons Brew Pub. When my medium cheese garlic bread "snack" arrives I'm surprised to see that it's the size of a medium pizza. Should have asked about that first but its really good. We scrounge up groceries for dinner at the Dayton Mercantile and continue on towards the campground.
Dayton was a major vegetable canning hub for decades, starting in 1934 during the Great Depression. The Green Giant company recruited workers from all over the country, offering steady wages, housing and benefits. By 2000 the plant here was the largest asparagus cannery in the world. Asparagus production ended in 2005, a casualty of rising costs and falling demand, and the plant is now used for seed production. The town still celebrates its history with a 300 foot tall Green Giant on the hillside, made of painted paving blocks.
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Our campsite at Lewis & Clark Trail State Park is on the Touchet River, one of the places where the Corps of Discovery camped on their way home in the spring of 1806. They saw deer and lots of birds but didn't have much luck hunting, bagging just one duck and foraging hogweed to feed the party of 31 during their stay here.
We did better back at the Dayton Mercantile, finding smoked sausages, Spanish rice and salad. After all the cheese garlic bread we can only handle two of the half-dozen sausages in the package. I'm happy to find a family in the campground willing to take the rest off our hands so I don't have to throw them away.
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Today's ride: 43 miles (69 km)
Total: 967 miles (1,556 km)
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