Day 22 - August 21: Rainbow OR - Springfield OR

54 miles.  1079 feet up, 1878 feet down.

It was one of our easiest days yet.  Eighty-six km with only about 1000 feet of climbing.  Almost right away we were into a huge burn area.  From 2020, I think.  The Holiday Farm Fire ranks among the largest wildfires in Oregon history, burning a total of 173,393 acres centered on the McKenzie River valley.  It began near the Holiday Farm RV Resort in Rainbow on the evening of September 7 due to fallen power lines.  The fire spread rapidly down the McKenzie valley and up into the densely wooded foothills on both sides of the river and Oregon Route 126.  Most structures in the community of Blue River were destroyed, as were numerous properties in nearby communities.   

I was amazed, though, at the number of homes along the highway that had been saved from the fire.  I'm assuming these all pre-date 2020.

Quite early on we passed evidence of fire-fighting currently underway in the area.  There were also a number of fire vehicles on the road........

 More shots of incredible fire damage.  

We went through a short section where these small homes were being built right on the river.  Sure hope it's not prone to flooding............

There is someone fishing depicted in the McKenzie River Scenic Byway sign, and sure enough we did see a lot of folks out fishing today.

No trespassing, or I'll eat you............

Finally - we start to see some trees by the side of the road.

Burning question of the day - what does one call a citizen of Nimrod?

I was in no danger of going hungry today.  Many, many, many blackberry bushes.  I've never been a big fan of blackberries on the shelves of the grocery store, but oh my...... these were so delicious!

Filbert (hazelnut) trees perhaps?

The Goodpasture Historic Covered Bridge comes into view at mile 21.5

We are getting close to Eugene, home to the University of Oregon................

Views from our SAG stop at about 30 miles.

And whatever trees haven't been lost to fire seem destined to be removed by humans.  We did see a few logging trucks on the road today..........

This sounds like one I might be able to do.........

We had been on State Route 126 up until about this point in the day.  I guess I had been in my own head a bit today due to some news from a friend early this morning.  At the SAG a bunch of folks mentioned that the traffic was a bit unpleasant.  I really hadn't noticed until after they mentioned it, but then once back on the road I was more aware of it.  Thankfully we exited the main road at about 34 miles and then were on a series of quieter roads through to Springfield, which is a suburb of Eugene.  

We were ever so briefly on a bike path just outside of Springfield.

And then into the Springfield Holiday Inn Express in good time.  Waiting at the trailer was a woman I had previously done 3 epics with.  She knew 10 women on this trip, so she had a good visit with all and joined us for dinner before driving home.  Have I mentioned that I'm going to miss Emily when I have to go home and cook for myself??

The Ride:

Garmin:  86.10 km.  1029 feet up.  1841 feet down.

RWGPS:  87.4 km.  439 m up, 683 m down.

Temperature range:  12C - 27C

The Route:

Springfield OR.  Population 61,851

Springfield is within the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the second-most populous city in the metropolitan area.  For the majority of the 20th century the economy was largely dependent on the Oregon timber industry.  Since the 1990s, however, the economy has diversified, with PeaceHealth now the largest employer in the city.