Yes my family is following me and not just from my blog. June 1st found us heading out of Burns on US 395 North.
If you haven’t taken this drive traffic wise it equates to Hwy 50 in Nevada, scenery wise just breathtaking. Plus we actually saw a few animals that were not cows. My signature bird (the Magpie) has made an appearance. We saw a squirrel, some wild horse and a couple of antelopes hanging outside of Seneca Oregon. Also you come across the 45th parallel which is one more reason to take this road.
Now on to the scenery which was a journey through hills, valleys, canyons, next to high and fast flowing rivers. Just trying to see what was around the next curve was fun, I even stayed awake for most of the drive. This drive will take you through the Blue Mountains and both the Malheur and Umatilla National Forests, included is the Oregon scenic district of Ukiah – Dale. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/malheur_national_forest ) (if I have more info on things I blog they will be posted on my links page under menu). After leaving the anyons and climbing the last climb before heading into Pendleton there was just miles of rolling green expanse I was in awe. On a side note it is amazing to see how the earth heals, we drove through a freshly burned area (within the last year or two,) and seeing the new green ground cover first steps to rebuilding the forest. Like any back road you have small towns where you have to do the speed limit but I think that adds to the easy laid back drive.
Speaking of small towns I think we saw every car in a fifty mile radius in one place on Saturday, the area high school in Canyon City Oregon. The cool thing was seeing the area businesses closed for the graduation. Made me think about home. Speaking of home another town that stood out was Dale. It seemed to be a small open spot in the forest. Funny what you find on the highway.
I did text this picture to him also, I think I’ve run in to every name in my family including me somewhere on these road trips.
After a long day drive through the mountains we pulled into our stop for the night and encountered a field of white. More on that later.
On the Road with Buki-6 