Day 49: McKenzie Bridge to Eugene, OR

59 miles, 872 ft scent / 1674 ft descent, elevations: start 1253, finish 438 ft.  

Flowers on West side of McKenzie pass

Once we crossed over the McKenzie Pass the flora changed significantly.  The plants, shrubs and tree looked a lot like home, except for the logged-pole pines and cedars.  I did not take many photos because the scenery was so familiar to me.  As I rode along I saw numerous plants and flowers that are also in Maryland.  In fact, western Oregon (west of the Cascades) is the same climate zone as much of Maryland.  

We spent much of the morning riding along the McKenzie River valley out of McKenzie Bridge.  At first there were a LOT of dead pine trees. It was not clear how many were killed by the Pine Beatle, and how many by fire.  I can only imagine what the valley looked like when it was filled with healthy trees.  Fire and the Beatles really change the whole character of the valley.

I saw some signs about removing the Leaburg dam on the McKenzie River.  There is a lot of resistance to altering the natural character of the river.  I also noticed a creative way to generate hydroelectric power without creating dams.  A canal was created that drew water from the river and was almost level.  It ran parallel to the river until the natural drop of the river created enough hydraulic head to generate power.  

Spillway for small hydroelectric power dam on canal

The terrain is this part of Oregon is rolling hills surrounding fields, which is not at all unlike what I would see in Maryland.  



We took a detour to Eugene to visit a former employee of Brian’s, Emma, and her family.  We stopped to have lunch along the river before entering into Eugene.  

View from porch at McMannis Pub

We were invited to Emma’s parents (Ike and Laura) house for dinner and her grandparents, Jenny, Bill and Linda joined us.  We had a wonderful dinner of salmon with an orzo salad, local wines, and great conversation.  We stayed at Linda’s house that night and were invited back the next morning for breakfast, which was accompanied by more great conversation.  It was a really enjoyable time and it was hard to say goodbye.







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