I was watching a made for TV mini-series the other night....was being shown as a movie on AMC. The name was "Broken Trail" and it was set in 1897 in the states of Oregon and Wyoming. I'm not here to tout the movie, although I thought it was excellent and plan to get the DVD when it's released. It was the mention of "coming through John Day" that caught my attention and brought a smile to my face. Before my motorcycle trips across the country in 2005, I would have no idea what they were referring to. But I had the good fortune to ride an especially historic route from east to west across Oregon, stopping in John Day and learning a little history about the area.
According to Wikipedia, "The city is named for the nearby John Day River, which had been named for a Virginian member of the 1811 Astor-Hunt party". My day started out in Ontario, OR and I took off to the north on I-84 to Baker City where I would pick up highway 26 and head west across the state. I was having some tire pressure issues and ended up stopping in Baker City to get the pressure checked. After a short but pleasant visit with the local Suzuki/Yamaha dealer, I was back on my way.
The route was beautiful....through scenic National Forests filled with aromatic cedar and other evergreen trees, past the remnants of historic log cabins all accompanied by ever-changing views. I had never thought much about Oregon other than maybe the coast and even that didn't have the draw of California and Washington. No one ever seems to talk much about the state, especially the residents.
Well, I found out why...they don't want to spoil the perfection with tourists or worse, new residents. I fell in love with the state...the beauty, the people, the history. If I could afford a little log cabin in those woods....
So enjoy the photos and smile the next time you're watching a show and realize you have some special insight that others might not.
[Click any photo to see a larger view]
Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna
Stu and Donna
Oregon is beautiful and, like Washington, so different east of the Cascade Mountains than it is west of those mountains. If you want a cabin you had better try to buy it before long as the prices of those things sure are going up everywhere out here.
ReplyDeleteHow is the new job going? You might let we faithful readers know about that before too long.
I love Oregon too. I'll be there again in Sept. I've never been to the John Day area though. I'm hoping to finally make it to Crater Lake this year.
ReplyDeleteSssshhhhhh! Don't tell so many people about the wondrousness of Oregon!!!
ReplyDeleteWe stopped in Eugene for the night. That was on December 1st, 2005. Having pretty much fallen in love with the area, we stayed until August 8th, 2006!
We're in Washington for the moment, but intend to go back to Oregon in October, and will likely make Eugene our homebase for the foreseeable future.
C'mon over and join us! ;->
Virtual hugs,
Judie
There is so much to see in this great country of ours and so many great people to have it shared by, thank you!
ReplyDeleteSome day, inspired by people like you, I too will want to share images of people and places as I set out across our country. I only hope I can do as good a job as you are doing.
I wish your home would sell so I could learn more about "Full Timing" from you. If you go first, I can learn from your mistake so I could do it cheaper. LOL
HD - Joplin, MO