Today's drive begins in Pendleton, Oregon. Our end destination is Reno, Nevada.
US-395 from Pendleton to Reno is 589 miles of alpine meadows and open-range cattle ranches. If bovine bonanza is what you are into, this is the road for you. If you are into bathrooms, food, cell service, or car radio, then you may want to choose something else.
After leaving Pendleton, the next sign of civilization came 2 1/2 hours later in Mount Vernon Oregon. When I say civilization, what I mean, in this instance, is a few houses with a single gas station with 2 pumps. I think this town was established for the sole purpose of running the gas station and maybe fixing a few automobile malfunctions for the weary traveler.
The next travel section on US-395, the road markers informed us we were on the Battle Mountain State Scenic Corridor. It was very scenic. My favorite scene was the "rest area"...I believe the picture explains it all.
In the southern end of Oregon, we spotted on our handy-dandy road map, Lake Avert. We were quite excited. After a fairly long day in the car, a dip in some cool crisp water seemed quite the treat. When we arrived at our wonderfully watery destination, it appears to have sprang a leak and completely emptied itself. There went the swim but the view was spectacular.
In Northern California, an eerie fog appeared in the valley. The fog seemed to be reaching for the clouds above it. Eventually the clouds reached down and soon the ground and the sky were joined in a solid wall of white.
Overall, this is a pleasant drive with plenty of animal viewing (tame/wild). Of course we saw plenty of cattle, but we also saw horse, alpaca, sheep, coyote, goats and a plethora of birds. Just north of Independence, Oregon, we drove through an antelope reserve. At one point, a long-necked, long-legged, wide-winged, bird-like thing came swooping across the road in front of us. Hildie said it was an egret but I am more than positive it was a pterodactyl.
We did not make it to Reno. Our day ends making camp in the Plumas National Forest.
If you find yourself on US-395 through Oregon, a few tips I leave you.
Plan to drive the entire distance in one day. There are no camping areas or hotels along the way.
Pack food and drink and fuel up when you can. Towns with gas stations are about 100 miles apart. There are no restaurants.
No comments:
Post a Comment