A Trip to John Day

The morning dawned with a spectacular sunrise edtion for the girls and me to enjoy on our morning walk, although I think they are more into smells than sights. We decided to drive up to John Day to further check the area out. It's about a 65 mile trip north of Burns on Hwy 395 over a pass of 5154 feet and through a couple of great canyons. You come to Canyon City first, which is aptly named because it is in a ........ Gold was discover there in 1862 and it was a boomtown until about 1880. Not much evidence of mining is left. You have to keep a sharp eye out for tailings, etc. A couple of neat antique shops, though. We bought some cool stuff for the homestead house at the Sod House Ranch. Hit a couple more shops in John Day, had lunch and then stopped at Skiens, which is a yarn, wool, spinning store in JD. Teresa is the owner and very enjoyable. She has provided me with information and hints to help me get going with spinning. It is her ram, The Brick, who provided my first wool to spin on my drop spindle. If you are ever in Canyon City, stop by here store. It's right on Hwy 395 across from the library.

Travels around Burns

On Thursday of last week we did our usual trip to Burns for groceries and while we were there we decided to drive out north and west of town into what are the Blue Mountains. Traveling through miles of gravel roads, past hunting camps set up with more gear than the US Army on manuevers, past stands of Aspens changing from their summer colors, past deer looking at us asking us not to tell the hunters where we saw them, in and out of rain and snow showers, happy to have a warm, dry vehicle to travel in, it made for another pleasant day in the country of eastern Oregon.

Up Steens Mt. Again

It was time to go back to Steen’s Mountain to view the fall colors. We took the wild and steep south route on the way up. From South Steens Campground it is no more than a half mile to the sign warning you about the roughness of the road. From the sign to the end of exciting part of the trip it is about 5 miles but it takes you about an hour to negotiate it and you don’t mind one bit. You are too busy watching where you are going and checking out the scenery. We had lunch in a shady spot overlooking the Big Indian Gorge. Great place to sit, relax, and take in the scenery.
After lunch we reached the summit and spent 30 minutes looking over the edge. It was sunny and the wind was not too bad so we could enjoy ourselves. Saw no bighorn sheep, though. I hope to see some one day.
About a mile or two down from the summit we turned onto a small road that I had heard of and started for an area of old cabins that sit on the rim of Little Indian Canyon. I had heard of it and wanted to check it out. The road was a narrow dirt track that headed east. There were a few rocks that I had to avoid but we had no troubles. Then the road turned south and started to wind downhill toward the canyon. The road became rougher and even narrower as it dropped into the Aspens. Their trunks were all twisted and scared from the snows and winds of winter and were starting to turn color. It was getting interesting both for the flora and the road. I was starting to get nervous about the height of the rocks and their relationship to the oil pan of the Suburban. I put the tires on some of them to avoid doing any dragging. My passengers were more in favor of turning around than discovery so we stopped and scouted a place to reverse direction. I backed up the road about ¼ mile to a place that I could “gee haw” the rig around and head back up the way we came. Another day………….

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday 9/21-22-23/08

Sunday Monday and Tuesday were kind of a blur. Cold mornings, warm and sunny afternoons. Our tomatoes have been damamged by the frost so the ones i picked off the vine are the last. the growing season over here is a lot shorter than in the valley.
We have been having about 12-14 folks every day this week which is a good number considering the time of year and location. All have been adults except for Saturday. Many folks are here for the first time which is fun for us because we get to tell the whole story. Others have been here many times, but still like to hear all or part of the story of the ranch and Pete French.
We are still learning from every group that comes by. For example, Saturday I learned about an area up near Burns called Island Ranch Road. When the government offered land to settlers/ ranchers with programs like the Homestead Act of 1862, they offered them 160 acres. At the same time, the Swamp Act offered twice as much land, 320 acres, because a swampy area would be harder to cultivate or graze. So to prove you have a swamp, you had to take a boat across it. So the enterprizing rancher that wanted that land loaded a boat in the back of a wagon, and went across the land. He then went to the courthouse and signed a paper sayng that he had, indeed, taken a boat across the land so he recieved the 320 acres. These are the stories that make our job fun and interesting.

Saturday 9/20/08

Happy Anniversary Malheur!
Today was the 100th Anniversary Party for the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Last night a dinner was help at the Black Bear Restaurant for present and former employees and volunteers. About 100 folks were there. It was a fun evening meeting people who were part of the history of the refuge. Carla put on a great slide program about the history and development of the area and the refuge. On the way back to the refuge, we were treated with a spetacular lightning show to light our way.
Today dawned mostly cloudy with forecasts of dubious weather ahead. There were a lot of things going on at the HQ early in the morning to get things set-up, tables, sound systems, posters, etc. Eveyone chipped in the things went smoothly. There was the unvieling of the brass statue of a little girl with a pair of binoculars gazing out over the pond. The statue was a gift from the Friends of Malheur. Very sweet.
Then there was the dedication of the time capsule. Some of the things R&I picked up in Burns were for the capsule; a cell phone, a bird stamp, an Oregon quarter were some of the items. People were also encouraged to write down their thoughts and memories on sheets of paper and they were included. After the dedication there were a couple of presentations by the Bird Center of Idaho (birds of prey) which I would have liked to see, but R& I headed out to the ranch to get it set up for visitors. The original plan was to have things outside, but the weather changed that for us. R directed kids in making cattle brands and I gave tours of the ranch. The weather worsened during the day and we had rain and wind most of the late morning and afternoon. A group brought six llamas to show and give kids rides. A lady came and did spinning in the ranch office too, so there was a lot going on and everyone had a great time in spite of the weather. After we locked up the ranch, we went back to the trailer and got dry and warm clothing on and went to the Narrows RV Park for an outdoor BBQ. It was still windy and cold but with warm clothes and lots a friendly people, we had a fun, tiring day.

Friday September 19,2008

Today I asked C if she needed help in the preparation for the anniversary party at the refuge tomorrow. She said, " yes. Would you run some errands for me?" I said of course and so we were off to Burns with a list of places to go and things to pickup. On things about shopping in Burns; you are lucky if you can find more then one store that has something that your need. One thing to understand about this area. Harney County is the 9th largest county in the US. It is larger than the state of Mass. at 10200 sq mi. with a population of 7600 ( in 2000). There are 2 high schools, 2 stop lights, and four paved highways in the county. So we're talking about a sparsely populated area. So now you know why shopping limited.
Getting back to our assignment, we went to ten different businesses and got all of our tasks accomplished. R & I got to know Burns a lot better, ie. where to go to get business supplies, tape, printing, etc.

Thursday 9/17/08

Today we did some exploration north. First stop was the museum, gift shop in Buchanan, Or located 20 miles east of Burns on Hwy 20. If you ever are nearby, it's worth the stop. There are lots of jewelry and rocks and some awesome Navaho rugs. The museum is small but interesting. From there, we drove west a few miles and headed north on a county road that took us past the location of Fort Harney, which was a fort during the days of the ranch (late 1800's). All that is left is a big wooden sign that shows where the fort buildings were. We continued north and finally got onto Hwy 395 and drove into Canyon City/ John Day. Cool towns. Canyon city, was a site of a gold rush years back and had a population of over 6000. Now it's 600. John Day is very quaint with lots of antique shops tucked here and there. Both towns are in the same canyon so there isn't room for urban spread which is a good thing too. While we were looking for a city park to have a picnic in, we saw the sign for Kam Wah Chung Historical Park so we explored. It is the site of a building in John Day that was the gathering point for the Chinese population that worked in the mines around Canyon City. Chinese were not allowed to own a building in CC but it was ok in JD so there was a Chinatown in John Day with homes, shops, stables, and even a brothel. Two Chinese gentlemen, Lung On and Dr. Ing Hay lived and operated a herbal medical practice/ a general store and gathering place in the building that we visited. It is in the same condition it was in during it's operation during the early 1900's. It is a definite "must see" when you are in John Day. The drive from JD to Burns is a very pleasant 75 miles with mountains, canyons and the views of each.

Idaho

If you are looking for money, head to Idaho. More specific, head to Sun Valley, Idaho and the surrounding towns of Hailey and Ketchum. The average home price in that area must be one million dollars. It is really amazing! We visited friends there and their beautiful home fits in that category as well as all of their neighbors. Our friend, Dan told us that half of the neighbors do not live there in the winter, but are somewhere else; preferably, warm I would guess.
The weather was beautiful, warm days and cool nights ( it did hover near the freezing point at night). The aspens are starting to turn on the mountain sides as an harbinger of fall.

We got back to Malheur last evening about five and today was our "Monday" ( our first workday fo our week). Sixteen visitors all before noon. There have been days been the numbers have been only in the afternoon, so you can never figure it out. Had fun today, anyway which is the goal. Met some nice folks. Learned something new about the area; up on the Steens there is an area called Whorehouse Meadow. At least that is what it was called years ago. PC mapmakers have changed the name to Naughty Girls Meadow on some maps. Anyway, that is where the sheep herders used to gather in the summers when their herds were in the high ground for the warm weather. So that is where the naughty girls would gather also. They would set up shop in this meadow and carve their names and advertising on the trunks of the aspen trees that grow up at that altitude. One of our visitors was up there in the 70's and has taken pictures of these trees. Unfortunately, aspens only live for about 60 years so most of these trees are gone, but a great piece ( get it) of history still.

The Fair

Saturday was the day to go into Burns for our weekly grocery trip. The Harney County Fair was on, so there so downtown Burns was treated with a parade. It was a pretty good one for a small town. The Burns High School Band was even which is pretty impressive since school has only been in session for short time.

After having lunch at the Broadway Deli, ( good spot to have a sandwich, in downtown Burns), we went to the fairgrounds. The fair is small and kind of corny, as small county fairs are, but it was OK. Believe it or not, we actually saw people we knew. There were several of our customers, people that we had given tours to, that were there. Linda and Ron, who run the Narrows RV Park were there too. ( That is where we stayed when we were here in May. They also provide the cows for the Sod House Ranch for the time period that the ranch is open.)

A couple of hours and we were ready to head home. Got a few groceries, fuel, and zoom.

That night as we were riding our bikes on Sod House Lane, we spotted a American Pelican sitting on the side of the road. It watched us as we rode by, but didn't fly. It was still there when we rode back the other direction. I was suspicious about it's health then and was worried that the coyotes would get it over night. This morning when we drove out to the ranch, it was lying in the same spot that we had seen it. It didn't make it. It made us sad.

Backroads of Eastern Oregon

Thursday R & I decided to drive to the Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge. However, I did not want to go the traditional route which is a nice, albiet dusty, gravel road. So we turned off Hwy 205 ( which is paved) at the sign that said, "Foster Flat 32 miles". The road immediately became narrow and mostly dirt. After following County Road 411 for twenty miles we came to a sign with an arrow, "Foster Flat 14 miles". Heading west, the road now became even narrower but unmistakeably, still a road. At nearly the 14 miles, we crossed a small dry lake which was more recognizable than Foster Flat. The only way we knew we were there was a small sign that said "Foster Flat NLA" whatever that is. Up to this time we have seen a couple of antelope that went the other way when they saw us.

Coming to an intersection of "roads" ( tracks, actually) we decided that Hart Mountain was south so we turned onto the southern track. Our Garmin (which we have named Emily) shows direction and the name of the road you are on. Here she wrote, "Heading south on road." We followed this "road" for 15-20 miles at a speeds of up to 14 mph. Again several groups of antelope and even two herds of wild horses. One of the latter allowed us to get fairly close before they made their dusty retreat. After descending a steep narrow canyon, we stopped and talked to a rancher who was looking for his cows. He had come to this area in '48 because he liked the solitude. He sure gets it here. Finally, we arrived back at County 411 and proceeded to H M.

Saw lots of antelope, deer, horses, and even a rattlesnake during our journey to and from HM. Hart Mountain is a great place to be if you want to get away, or to see antelope or wild horses. or just want to get your rig dusty. It is a place of few ammenities. The campgrounds are in trees, but pit toilets and pump water.

We got back to the trailer about 6ish. It was a long day but a great one!

J

Freezing

We had our first taste of fall this past week-end. The clouds came in, the wind came up ( about 30 mph) and it got cold. At night it was near freezing and with the wind chill, it really was uncomfortable. Saturday we had the A/C and Sunday the furnace. We were scrambling around the ranch getting the set-up chores done so we could find a quiet, out-of-the-way spot to sit in the sun and out of the wind. Quite a challenge! By Tuesday, the wind had gone away and it was beautiful again. Lots of visitors at the ranch, Sunday, but Monday was as deader than a doornail. I guess everyone was headed for home. Tuesday was quiet too. I had time to practice my roping "skills". They need lots of practice time, believe me. The young ones are still getting bottle fed. Every morning Linda (who owns the cattle) comes to see how they are doing and brings some milk suppliment for feedign to the two young ones. R looks forward to helping with the feeding. Even though they are young, they can suck like crazy! You really have to hang on to that bottle.

R & I are hoping that now that school has started again, people without kids will start to head out for adventures in the great fall weather that Oregon has in September and the first half of October.

I am starting to notice an increasing number of geese flying over me in the morning when I walk the girls. They are gathering up for their trip south for the winter. Sounds good to me. we are starting to think about where we want to go this winter. Hmmm...........

Our drive up to the summit of Steens Mountain

If you ever have the opportunity to drive to the top of Steens Mountain, by all means, do so. It is an awesome drive. If you drive a hardy vehicle and one that has some ground clearance, go up on the south side of the loop and come down on the smoother, less steep north side. If you lookiing for adventure , the Rooster's Comb is the answer. Heading east fro Steen's Campground it is less than a mile until you begin to experience the "fun" of the RC. For next ten or so miles, (I'm not sure because I was too busy trying to avoid the bigger rocks and ruts while pushing up the steep grade [10+ % no doubt]but it took us over an hour including the stops for pictures and looks) . It is worth the blood, sweat, and tears once you get there because it is somethng you don't see on Oregon's other mountains. At 9700+ ft, it is the highest place you can drive to in Oregon. From the summit, you can look over the edge, to the east and look almost straight down onto the Alvord desert, white and dead flat, 5000 feet below. Quite a day!

The Steens

Wednesday was an exploration day for us. We headed south from the Headquarters down 205 through Frenchglen and turned onto a gravel road that marked the south end to the Steens Mountain Loop road. After traveling about twenty miles east on a nice but dusty road, we reached a turn-off for the Riddle Brothers Ranch. The road is goes north for 2 miles to a gate which is open Thursday thru Sunday. However, as we were reading the information signs at the parking area, the BLM archealogist, Scott drove up. I introduced myself and had a chat with him and he volunteered to let us come in a look around. I followed him through and shut and "sort of " locked the gate and drove the 1.2 mile into the ranch site. The road is ROUGH. It is not a road for a family car and would be inpassible in the rain because of the rocks and dirt (that would become mud ) in wet conditions. Anyway, we made it and walked around the place. There were three Riddle brothers ( relatives of the people that Riddle, Or is named for) the moved into this area in the early 1900's. The big cabin was occupied until the 50's or so. We met the caretakers who have been there for two months and are being replaced with a new couple at the end of Aug.
If you are interested in the job, there's no running water,(they go a mile to get fresh water and to take a shower), no electricity (propane only), and it's 2 1/2 hours to drive to Burns for groceries. But the area is beautiful; in a valley with the Little Blitzen River running alongside the cabin and absolutely nobody around for miles! It perfect for the latent hermit in you.

Tuesday 8/26/08

We have reached our "Friday" today even though it is only Tuesday. R & I work Sunday, Monday & Tuesday and have four days off, that's why. Yesterday, Monday was a wierd one. It dawned clear and calm. The radio station said 30% chance of rain and I thought , " Yah right." Well about Noon the wind came up and it blew steadily and hard from the south. About 1:30, it switched to a west wind and it really got going. It had to be a steady forty mph with gusts higher yet. Several of the doors at the ranch were being blown open so we decided to lock up a half-hour early and head back to headquarters where, because of the hill to the west, it was not as bad. However, the wind blew until the middle of the night. (No rain though, so they were wrong.)
This morning it was clear and cool ( in the 40's) when I got up to walk the girls. It had warmed somewhat when we drove to the ranch but we wore jackets until about Noon. Saw a three-point buck near the gravel road into the ranch. He was a beauty! We will see more as the season progresses. There are a lot of does and fawns that hang around the headquarters area. We had 13 vistors at the ranch today. R & I are really enjoying being docents. We have found that we are learning something from everyone that comes to the ranch. For instance, a gentleman today had worked as a buckaroo at a ranch near Riley in the 80's. He explained to us how several of the horse powered machines worked. We had reasd some information, but it really became clear when he explained it. Another visitor was a photographer and while we were looking at some of the old pictures, I commented on how stern everyone looked. He said that the film back then was so slow that people had to sit immobile for quite some time. There were braces that would be put behind the person to help him stay steady for the several minutes needed to the picture to "take". Modern film has an ASA of 200 or 400 and even faster. Early film from the times of the ranch (late 1890 - 1900) had a ASA of 2 , so that explains a lot.

Today dawned clear and cool. (This picture was taken yesterday. ) It was been several days of scattered clouds, wind, and cool temperatures ( 60's and 70's) with even cooler nights. I heard it was in the 30's in Burns last night ( Thursday night). But today it has started to warm up to the mid-80's today and tomorrow and maybe the 90's by Sunday when we go back to work. The cooler weather lessened the misquitoes so we will see if the warmer weather will bring them back. They haven't been too bad except some evenings. We discovered that Peaches has been developing some allergic reaction to the bites. Last week she started fussing and scratching and her face swelled up. She was miserable until R split up an anti-histamene tablet and gave it to her. She settled down and went right to sleep.
Wednesday night we organized a potluck supper with the refuge volunteers that live in our rv area. One person stays in the house that the refuge provides for non-RV people. It has a living area with kitchen and 3 bedrooms for people to use. These rooms can be used for visitors if anyone wished to see the desert. There were a total of 10 at supper and lots of talking and lots of food. I hope we can do it again because everyone is from different parts of the country and have unique experiances.
Thursday we drove to Burns to get groceries. We took our bikes and rode around town checking out some of the residential areas. There is a small bicycle shop in town so we stopped by and they raised R's handlebars a few inches so that she does not have to bend over so far when she rides. We are so happy to be riding together again. Had lunch at a deli on Main street. Don and his wife had moved to Burns in 1947 so just he knows everybody. He shared some history of the area with us.
Today we did some domestic chores and then drove over to the Double O ranch area of the refuge. Totally different area with different birds types to observe. We will go back over when the sub-station manager is on duty. On the way we passed what is left of the town of Narrows. It was a pretty big town at one time but flooding did it in. All that is left is what remains of the dancehall and a stone building in the distance.
It is hunting season around here right now. Antelope is what folks are looking for. R & I have been on our own hunt. So far we have bagged two mice that decided to live in our storage area under the trailer. I have set the trap again to see if any more are hiding there. Last night a great horned owl flew directly over my head as I was wiping off the gas grill. It is a juvenile that is not happy that the parents have started to wean it from the free food service they provided. It was quite a sight.

Happy 100th Birthday Malheur! Today is the 100 th anniversary of the establishment of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by the signing of the act by President Teddy Roosevelt. It was an exciting day for us at the ranch.
In addition to helping several families learn about the place we got to be observers of a spectacular storm. It dawned clear this morning but the radio said 30% chance of rain. ( yah right!) About 2pm we started hearing some distant thunder and saw a couple of flashes of lightning. Then we watched a huge dark cloud to the southeast and could see the dark lines of rain streaking down. As the storm approached you could hear this unusual sound and as the cloud got closer, the sound got louder. A drumming noise. Louder and louder the sound got as it approached us, the hills to the southeast disappeared into the grayness. Soon the storm was upon us and one, then three, then many hailstones hit the grass. Soon the roar was all around us and the stones , the size of gumballs, were raining down. We stood in the sodhouse office and just watched in awe. The wind blew, the rain came forcefully and the hail piled up on the ground. Ten minutes went by and then the deluge lessened, then subsided and turned to just rain lasting for a few minutes more. Then it was gone, moving northeast to deliver more ice to other areas. No damage was done to the buildings on the ranch. Oddly enough, the Visitors Center, which is about 2 miles east of the ranch, just had a few sprinkles. We were again made of aware of the wonder and beauty of Mother Nature.
J

Friday 8/15/08

We are now at Malheur National Wildlfe Refuge which is located about 25 miles south of Burns, Or. It may be wierd to think of a refuge in the middle of Eastern Oregon but there are many lakes and ponds in the area and birds and other creatures have been here or migrated through here for centuries.

We left Eugene about 10:15 on Tuesday and arrived at the refuge about 6:15. (approx. 260 miles) We are provided with a paved site with full hook ups to park our trailer at the park headquarters. Wednesday was spent getting settled in and Thursday our supervisor took five of us volunteers on a tour of the refuge from one end to the other. Lots of country to see with lots of history in its past. R & I will be docents at the Sodhouse Ranch Sun, Mon, & Tues each week. The ranch dates from the 1880's and had 9 of the original buildings along with corrals and fences. There will be about a dozen cows and calves there to help make the display more real. I will elaborate further in the days to come.

Thursday May 22, 08

Today I am writing this from the public library in Madras, Or. Tonight is our last night in the campground at Cove Palisades State Park. Hopefully the wind will lessen tonight so I can have a camp fire. We leave tomorrow for a week-end in Portland.

This morning we woke up to beautiful blue skies and calm winds. Mount Jefferson was "out" and was sporting a new white coat. With a little walking, I could also see Three Fingered Jack and Mt Hood, far, far away. The wind picked up about Noon and so the temperature has remained in the 50's, but it is really very pretty out there.

Is warm weather to come?

J

Wednesday May 21, 08

Here I am in the Redmond Public Library using their Wifi network. We have been out of range for a few days. We are staying at the Cove Palisades Stae Park, near Culver, Or. What a beautiful place! The campgrounds are nice. Lots of grass in E Loop. A,B & C loops have the feel of the mountains with lots of rocks, etc. We are staying until Friday and will be gone before the M Day hordes arrive. Then, after spending the week-end at friends, it's home on Monday.

It was in the 80's when we got here on Monday and by Tuesday, it was in the 50's. They say the low will be in the 30's tonight. No rain though and and lots of sun which is great!

I have some new pics but they are still in the camera. I will sent a couple of the Lake Billy Chinook area on the next entry. Until then here is a picture of our site at the Narrows. Quite nice for the middle of nowhere. ( How do we know it's the middle?)

J

Sunday May 18,08

After several days visiting friends here in Bend, Winnie and the rest of us are ready to hit the road again. Where should be go, that is the question? East is out until August when we head back over to Malhuer for our 60 day volunteer commitment. I'm looking forward to that. It is an amazing place, so isolated, so quiet, so beautiful. It will be totally different there in late summer. The water level will be considerable less and probably different birds to view and record. Already we have seen about 10 birds that very infrequently, if never, venture into the Willamette Valley where we call home. Birds with exotic names like the Black Neck Stilt, or Advocet, or the beautiful Sandhill Cranes.

So where do we go tomorrow? The weather forcast is always a factor. It says nice tomorrow ( 80's) and then clouds and twenty degrees cooler for Tuesday- Thursday. Maybe sprinkles. So that tells me to stay on the east side of the mountains and the chances of drier days are better. So maybe Camp Sherman, maybe Madras area, or Prinville Res. I'll let you know tomorrow if we have internet availablity.

See you then,

J

Friday May 16,08

Today was a traveling day. After a leisurely breakfast, we loaded up, drove north on Hwy 205 and then headed back west on Highway 20. We stopped at the rest area near Brothers for lunch. In the shade to the trailer, we put out a small table and two folding lawn chairs and had sandwiches and fruit.
While traveling west, several small groups of antelopes were spotted. They are easiest to spot if they are facing away from you because their white rumps stand out against the earth tones of the Oregon desert. It's great to see God's creatures in their natural environment.
We arrived in Bend about 3:30 and drove to our friends home on the west side of Bend about three round-abouts from downtown. The round-abouts in Bend are large enough to handle larger vehicles and our rig negotiates them easily.
This week-end we will spend with our friends seeing some of the highlights of the Bend area. We will head out of here Monday morning.

Thursday May 15, 08

It was supposed to warm up today so Winnie and the little girls stayed in the trailer while R & I did some exploring. We drove east past the Refuge Headquarters heading for Princeton. Never did find it ( it must have been the two houses that were along the road, but we did see a lone mule deer and a herd of 9 antelope. The pronghorns were right up alongside the road when we rounded a curve but they maved off rather rapidly enough tough I cut the engine and rolled to a stop. We watched them for 10-15 minutes until they moved off too far watch even with binoculars.

We found Hwy 79 and headed North, coming to the village of Crane. We turned off the highway to check it out. If you are ever in the area and see the sign for Crane, don't bother to turn off. Crane must be another word for ramshackle. There were only 3 buildings in the town of 150 that didn;t need to be torn down, the PO, school, and the LDS Stake.

On to Burns. Had lunch alongside a side road watching wildlife. The ranchers in the Burns area have a unique way of irrigating their pastures. They flood them in the spring. This serves two porposes; soaking the soil and providing a wetland area for migrating birds. Then in the summer they drain the fields and plain grass or grain. Harvesting it in the fall and letting sheep or cattle on it to graze thus fertilizing it for the winter and the cycle begins again. Definately a win-win situation.

After our lunch we decided to drive about 7 miles west of Burns on Hwy 20 to the BLM Wild Horse Corrals. It's open to visitors from 8-3pm M-F. We followed the auto tour road around the facility and must have seen about 100 horses. In talking to one the workers there, he said that they monitor the number of wild ones in the various areas of the western states. (Nevada has the largest population. Oregon is about 4th. ) The object of the BLM is to limit the number of wild horses in the various areas to correspond with the ability to support them. So during Fall and Winter the herds from Oregon's 15-16 areas are thinned and brought to the Burns facility where the horses get medical care, hooves trimmed, tagged, etc and are put in the corrals to wait for adoption. If you have the facilities to take care of one, you can adoption a mustang for $125. Of course, like adopting a greyhound, there are going to be other costs. The operation was pretty interesting to see. There were many mares with very young ones with them.

Then it was back to Burns for fuel, a truck wash, and of course, ice cream. Life is good.

J

Wednesday May 14,08

Today was our first day by ourselves. It was great. After having a leisurely breakfast, we decided to drive to the wildlife refuge to check it out. We negotiated around a road full of cattle being driven somewhere else. When we got to the refuge, we went in and introduced ourselves to Carla who is the volunteer coordinator for the refuge. We sat in her office and talked for a few minutes. She told us about what to expect during our stay. We then got in her pickup and drove over to the area where our trailer will be parked. There are 5 paved spots and one gravel all with full hook-ups. In addition, there's a building with two full bathrooms with showers. Then there's another building with a large room that could be a livingroom, a laundry room, a kitchen, and a large screened porch. The Refuge realizes that it is a good idea to treat your volunteers well.



She then took us over to the sod house ranch where we will be working. It is not open to the public right now due to the fact that the cormorants and the blue herons are nesting in the cottonwoods on the site. If you look closely at the picture, the "clumps" in the trees are the nests which are used year after year. Anyway, she opened the gate and we drove the 1/2 mile into the ranch site. We walked around the site, staying away from the rookery area and listened to Carla tell us the story of the ranch and the surrounding area. It will be fun "boning up" on the history of the area. Future reading to do.

When we left Carla, we drove what's called the Center Patrol Road which sort of bisects the refuge north to south through the Blitzen Valley. 15 mph with frequent stops to watch the birds and other wildlife.

Tuesday May 13, 08

Woke up to partly cloudy skies and warmer temps. Had a noise on the truck checked out ( OK) and then went to find a WIFI signal in Burns somewhere. I parked outside of the library but no signal there. So I dorve through town with the computer on and watched the screen until a signal showed up. Voila! So I checked email and sent WOD. Sorry about Monday.

Last day with guests traveling with us. I was glad. We hooked up and headed the 25 mi. south to the Narrows. Very nice RV park with full hookups plus Wifi, a store, restaurant, fuel, and ?)cable. (This is "camping"?) Our friends drove which was ok. Drove down to Bueana Vista Overlook which looks down on acres of water and wildfowl. Then on to the Peter French visitor center and met a gentleman named Dick Jenkins. I think he owns a large part of the area down there and donated 10 acres for this place. It turns out that he was born in Le Center,MN. We talked and found out that he is related to R roomate in college. It is really a small world. Sprinkles on the way home. Drier tommorrow and warmer too.

J