Burns, Oregon

    Drove the 30 miles into Burns yesterday.  Didn't need anything but it had been 4 years since we had been there and we wanted to see what had changed.  Well the answer is, "Not Much".  Actually there are two towns; Burns and the logging company town that abutts it called Hines.  For practical porposes they are one community, an isolated community, an land island.   Bend is 120 to the west, John Day is 75 miles north, Ontario is 100 east and nothing is south until Winnemucca 200+ miles SE or Reno nearly 400 miles.  So those who live in Burns/Hines are an independent and hardy folk.  Summers are hot and dry ( 92 right now but 57 tonight) winters are cold and dry ( 10 below is not uncommon).  Notice I said dry for both seasons.  This is a desert, a high desert (Burns is at 4200 ft elevation) but still part of the Great Basin Desert.
      Getting back to yesterday, the town did not look much different.  One less car dealer.  The Dodge dealer closed after 30+ years.  Only Burns Ford is left.  Still only two stop lights in town.  Two grocery stores.  No industry remains.  Ranching and tourists traveling through on Hwy 20 or 395 keep it alive.
     Unlike Tahoe, there is no conspicious display of wealth.  No display of prosperity, just common folks getting by, living in plain, inexpensive houses, in a quiet, small town.  The climate allows the growing of hay and alfalfa ( with irrigation) and the raising of cattle.  So ranches dot the countryside.  The Harney County Fair and Rodeo, in September is the highlight of this ranching area.  I will definitely attend this year, though I doubt that it will be much changed from the one we attended four years ago, but still, something to look forward to.  Stay tuned for that.

This was taken this morning on my walk with Quammy.  We are on the hill above the refuge headquarters, looking northeast toward Malheaur Lake in the distance.  The lake (actually a swamp) is suffering from the four year drought that the west is going through right now.