Day 5 - Saturday, April 2, 2005 - The High Desert Of Eastern Oregon

 

Morning breaks at Mt. Vernon. I parked the night before beside City Hall, next door to The Wheel, where I had my late dinner the evening before....

 

         

 

Having entered Mt. Vernon in the solid dark, I backtracked about 15 miles to survey the country I could not see the evening before...

 

     

 

Back in Mt. Vernon. Feeling thankful to have been able to put in for the night at City Hall, I decided to give something back to the community by breakfasting at Dixie's... where I was served the single biggest pancake I had ever flapped a lip over...

   

I proceed on, southward, through eastern Oregon... Canyon City...

 

       

 

     

 

Proceeding on...

 

         

 

This fowl group traveled beside me for about 3 miles, in the vicinity of Devine Ridge...

 

Proceeding on... I'm including numerous road shots in an effort to convey the open expanse of eastern Oregon's high desert country...

 

       

 

       

 

       

 

 

About 40 miles south of Burns I spotted dear at the road's edge. I was cruising at about 50 Mph and at the very moment that I was becoming aware of them, they bolted across the road in front of me, causing me to slam on my breaks. I came within the proverbial hair of hitting 3 of them... it was so close that I instinctively jerked my right arm up for protection! I turned around at the sign below to go back to where the accident had been narrowly averted. I had originally seen what I thought were about 4 dear, but upon my return I could see that they were part of a herd of at least a dozen...

 

 

 

Proceeding on...

 

       

 

       

 

 

Horses along the way...

       

 

Proceeding on... through the vast expanse...

 

       

 

       

 

   

 

I reached the Nevada border at Denio, running short on gas. I was informed by the folks at the Diamond Inn Bar that the next available gas was 84 miles down the road, so, I backtracked 22 miles up Highway 205 to Fields for a fill-up. Whilst the tank was being filled, I sensed the beautiful aroma of bacon being cooked... the folks at Fields Station were cooking up a batch of BLT's. So, I did what any wayfarer would do, traveling in the late afternoon... I went on in! The shop keeper informed me that I would also need one of their "famous" milkshakes, so I obliged and ordered up a coffee-vanilla shake with my BLT. A little girl seemed to be fascinated by the way I got busy with that fine sandwich!

 

       

 

     

 

Crossing into Nevada...  again... This is the Diamand Inn Bar, mentioned above, where I was earlier informed that the next available gas was 84 miles down the road. When I headed back from this place to Fields for gas, a biker from the bar followed me the entire 27 miles to make sure I made it... without having been asked, out of the goodness in his heart. When I reached the station at Fields, he waved and headed back toward the Nevada border. I looked for him as I passed the Diamond Inn Bar, but he had gone on...

 

Proceeding on, through Nevada...

 

     

 

I oft imagine being in places far from the beaten path, and I found such a spot somewhere along Highway 140 in the Desert Valley. I turned onto a side road and drove a mile or so. There was no other traffic on the highway I had turned off of, and from where I stopped on the side road I could easily imagine that I was the only human within 20 miles. A very pleasant late afternoon and evening were spent here. After dark I climbed on top of Bigfoot and put a sleeping bag down, and laid there beholding a million stars...

 

   

 

Around midnight I started again and drove on to Winnemucca, Nevada, and put in for the night...