May 5, 2013 - day 11 john day or

day 11 today we had no phone or internet - driving from altures to john day, or... again mountains many passes on very winding roads with steep drop offs if not careful... and many dry lakes - rt 395 is one of a few roads that are as they were in the early hiway days but soon to be upgraded... our todays photos/videos: https://picasaweb.google.com/110438477258823146205/Day11ToJohnDayCamp?authkey=Gv1sRgCJeH7J_S8NjZJg# our...

Mar 19, 2013 - Boise, ID to John Day, OR

Day 65 (am temp 27) Boise, ID to John Day, OR Had never taken highway 26 through Oregon before, so opted for that route this time. After stopping in Ontario to obtain my invasive species permit for the kayak – just in case – I headed onto the secondary roads once more. All in all, was a pleasant drive through both the desert and the mountains of eastern Oregon. There was still a substantial amount of snow on the ground in the higher elevations, and all mountain camping areas were still closed, but the roads were clear and the scenery was...

Nov 4, 2012 - From New Mexico to Oregon

10/29 Monday: "Hasta la vista, Silver City!" Hugs and tears were shared with our neighbors and our landlords/friends/family for the past 3 1/2 years - Virginia & Lico Manzano. I reflected on my last day of work, last Tuesday, at the out-patient clinic of Gila Regional Medical Center.....the potluck luncheon and gifts I received from my co-workers and dear friends. I did not say "good bye", but preferred, "Until we see each other, again." I leave the best job I have ever had with the best people to share my days with. I take all of them with...

Sep 26, 2011 - Wyoming to Oregon

We drove out of Grand Teton National Park south and then west across US-26 in a northwesterly direction past Palisades Reservoir. As we traveled, the Caribou-Targhee National Forest presented a colorful show of fall colors along either side of the two lane road. We traveled in sunshine between tall hills and began following the Snake River at the east end of the reservoir. From about Hoback, Wyoming to the junction of US 26/89 at the Palisades Reservoir was all hills and curving roadway. At Alpine Wyoming, we crossed into Idaho. Once we got...

Jul 17, 2011 - A nice little town

We left Burns on Wednesday morning. The roads were great for about 90 of the 98 miles we drove. We had one BIG pass where we came down over 1000 feet. Of course, I was on the outside. Ron does a great job driving - it is just my silly fear of heights. The scenery was great. Lots of little cabins and farms tucked away in the trees. John Day is a town on the John Day river south of Pendelton about 180 miles. It is in the Blue Mountain range. John Day was and explorer in 1811 who was separated from his group. He followed the river (now named...

Sep 9, 2010 - Rocks and Ruins

Picking right up where we left off (well, sort of), we left Pendleton about 2:00 in the afternoon, very late for us, but we were just happy to have a functioning truck. The rain that had been flirting around the edges of the skies as we left Pendleton became a full reality before we were an hour out of town. We were driving through the Blue Mountains – not particularly high, but fairly continuously curvy and hilly, so the rain caused us to slow down a bit. We were also somewhat concerned about the repaired tire, since we hadn’t been at the...

Jun 5, 2010 - John Day Oregon

Long trip through Washington and into Southeastern Oregon to see my cuz's Donna Kay and Staci girl. Driving through the Columbia river gorge is quite pretty. Its dotted with great views, nice waterfalls, and scenic overlooks of the river. And then you get off that freeway and onto a little two laner that is an Oregon Scenic Byway called the journey thru time. No kidding, thats what the signs say! Rolling hills and redbarns look a little more like Kansas than the rest of Oregon. Stopping for gas in Oregon is a little odd, cause they pump it...

Sep 22, 2008 - Culver to John Day

We left Culver for John Day at 9:45 am on Friday, September 19th and arrived in John Day about 1:30 pm. We set up at the Grant County RV Park located at the county fairgrounds. It is a very nice full service RV park with paved sites near the John Day River. It does not have Wi-fi service but we found it at the main pavilion on the fairground. There was a quilt show at the pavilion and I noticed several attendants using Wi-fi internet connections on their laptops when we went over to see the quilts. We were able to take our laptops over and...

Aug 23, 2008 - Been on the road again!

When we don't have internet access It's hard to catch up. We left the beach when word of lots of rain motivated us. Drove south to Woodland WA and spent the night at a very clean but pet unfriendly RV park. Did laundry and vaccumed the sand out of the trailer. (Always a beach hazard) Left Woodland and drove through lots of pouring rain and turned south on HWY 97 at Biggs. Wind and rain kept up until Madras where we found a nice Park to stay the night.(Wed.) On Thursday drove across Hwy 26 to Clyde Holliday State Park, about 4 miles west of...

Mar 30, 2008 - John Day, Oregon

Well, I got my wish, I was just looking back at my blog for the 1st of March and I was complaining about the heat and humidity, hoping for some cool Northwest weather, we have arrived. Tonight we are in John Day, Oregon and we have been battling freezing temperatures and snow since we got up this morning in Winnemucca. There were light flurries when we got up and as we headed out of town the sky cleared, but there were threatening clouds off in the distance. Further up the road, near Burns Junction, we watched the temperature plummet to 27...

Nov 20, 2007 - John Day Fossil Beds

Today we visited the John Day Fossil Beds Interperative Center. It was really fascinating. It is one of the largest fossil beds in North America. They are continually unearthing different species of animals, plants, etc. to this day. They found evidence that the area once was a lush rain forest with a large number of wild life about 55 million years ago. They showed how the climate and terrain had changed as well as the wild life and plants through time. It was all very interesting and a little mind bending to picture the now desert like...

Oct 22, 2007 - Florence, OR

We're staying in Florence for a week. Beautiful scenery, beaches. We drove through the McKenzie Pass to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, which is about 90 miles east of Redmond, Oregon. It was a very long day. We left at 0530 and got to the Fossil Beds area around noon. But the scenery was definitely worth it. The colours are unbelievable and some of the formations were out of this world. The mountain views, going through the Cascades, were also excellent. Many of the mountains in the Cascade range are shaped like pyramids, as...