All the rain, rain, rain this spring made me crazy to go on long drive. For some reason it HAD to be a new adventure - places I hadn't been to, roads I hadn't driven on. (Some "bucket list" thing?) I scratched my itch with a nearly 900-mile road trip! I drove over to Eastern Oregon, then south nearly to the California/Nevada border. I can now say I have been to/through Fossil, Service Creek, Spray, John Day, Burns, Wagontire, Lakeview, and Paisley. Some of these places are no more than a road sign and a store!

Parts of my drive were along national/state scenic byways - but I couldn't tell the difference between the designated routes and those that were just beautiful. Helluva thing. Some of the best scenery flew by my shoulder or was in the rearview mirror. In some places there was nowhere to pull over even to take a picture. (How about steep drop-offs with no guard rails? Yikes!)

My car really enjoyed the drive. I think I heard it purring to itself out in the garage last night.

The Cascades from Highway 197


Mt. Adams


Mt. Hood


Mt. Jefferson

Along the John Day River























Highway 395 south of Burns


(Please note: I didn't take these roads any faster than Aaron would have.)





Lake Albert

 

Looks like a fantastic trip!! Thanks for sharing

 

Nice! Looks like you had a great drive.

Beautiful pictures, too!

 

Southeast Oregon. It's Vast.



Thanks for sharing your pictures.

 

Looks like a nice time great 's Jim!

 

Looks like a great road trip. Thanks for sharing.

 

great stuff jim.... thanks for sharing

 

looked like loads of fun Jim, glad you got to enjoy the sun

 

Yes - we need the exact location of this road - might be worth a trip for.


Glad you had a good trip and returned safely.

 

Looks like a fun trip Jim.
I havent been out to eastern oregon (other than 197 to Maupin and once up 97 to Biggs) in a long time.

Larry and I once talked about a group drive to the John Day area and go to the Painted Hills and Fossil Beds.
It just makes for a REALLY long day.