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.