Heading into eastern Oregon


Goodbye to misty morning Frog Lake!

Well, I should know better than to trust Google regarding my timeline. After missing one of the exits, I decided on plan B, because I needed to get gas. Within about an hour, I went from the pine forest in the high 40°'s, to open air desert plains, in the high 70°'s! The sun is out!

There were some distant views of these snow capped volcanoes, including Mt. Hood.

I found gasoline and some good internet connection. A rare find these days. I headed further east, and traveled for a few hours until finally settling into the forest, in the middle of the afternoon. For the most part, I have been stuck driving in the RV for 5 hours today, which is more than I like. I am in the Ochoco National Forest, on a fire road a few miles from the highway. The dirt road was very well maintained, so I continued on it for a couple of miles. It's about an hour from John Day Fossil National Monument, in Painted Hills. 

I debated whether to go on to Painted Hills today, then backtrack to this campsite, however it would have made for an extra long day, and I don't really know how much time I would like to take at the monument. So my pit stop came a little early today, but gave me time to unwind and really enjoy the peace and solitude in the middle of this sunny, arid, dry forest.

I could have gone further up this fire road, however it started getting a little deeper, steeper, and narrower.
I stopped for a young cow in the middle of the road, and it was time to turn around. I managed a k turn, ever so carefully, and headed back to a clearing that I noticed on the way up. Apparently this is cattle country, so there are some dried up cow pies, here and there, but not too bad.

The only slice of humanity I hear is the several jets going overhead. I have not heard a car, a voice, or any other man made sounds. I'm listening to some birds, not many, but I did hear and see a hummingbird, crows, hawk, dragonflies, bees, clicking grasshoppers, trilling squirrels, and an occational moo, and just glad that as I sit out here, in the shade, nothing is biting, or bugging me, including big foot.

At first I thought it was a distant vehicle coming closer, but then I soon realized it was the wind blowing through from a distance, coming closer until it hit my area. The abundance of pine trees allows the wind to sound so unique. 







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