Day 5: Diamond to Crane (85 miles)

I was in a much better mood on Thursday, after my tantrum on Wednesday morning, so I got off to my usual start (bathroom/breakfast/on the road by 6:30am).  Our route for the day took us north from Diamond, and then along the east side of Malheur Lake.  Our first rest stop was at the historic Pete French Round Barn, one of three round barns constructed by cattle baron Pete French on his 200,000 acre ranch.  The barn was constructed in 1880, and is the only one remaining of the three that were built.  Cycle Oregon contributed to the preservation of the structure after the last tour through the area in 2001 - so for the preservation-minded, it's nice to see that our registration fees help to preserve elements of Oregon's history.  Lunch was at Crystal Crane Hot Springs, a small resort (I'm using that term rather loosely) clustered around a natural hot-water mineral pool.  We had the option of doing an additional 45-mile loop through the Harney Valley - which oddly, I chose to do.  The loop was through flat pastureland, so it wasn't a bad ride - until the winds kicked in!  I had ended up riding that portion of the route with a guy from San Diego, so we took turns pulling through the headwinds.

Our campsite that evening was in the town of Crane (population: 20), and more specifically - the high school football field.  The high school in Crane is kind of unusual - it's the only public boarding school in the U.S.  As was explained in great detail by the student body president after dinner, students come from as far as 150 miles away to attend the school, so any student who lives over 25 miles away has the option of boarding during the week (which about half of the 63 students do).

Route Map - Day 5

View of Diamond Crater

Pete French Round Barn - exterior view

Cycle Oregon contributed to the preservation of the Round Barn - good for us!

Round Barn - interpretive sign

Round Barn - interior shot

Round Barn - exterior "patio"

Our lunch stop was at Crystal Crane Hot Springs (which provided a soothing rest for sore legs!)

The residents of Crane welcomed us to town at the finish of our ride

Tent City in Crane - I was tempted to go set up camp on the lawn of the LDS chapel (in the background) as we were all kind of squished in the middle of the high school football field, but it was too far away from the porta-potties!