I am using this blog as most of this trip will be in Canada,
a Commonwealth of the UK, thus somewhat European, lol. The northern route in
the US will go through CA, OR, WA, and ID northward and will be mostly on Hwy
395. Not much really to see going this way but it is a good route if you are
planning to camp, see frontier towns, and see the scenic byways.
I am amused when we take off in the morning and through out
the day that the motorhomes, fifth wheels, and other camping vehicles are a
bunch of dinosaurs lumbering down the highways as if they are in some sort of
migration. Considering the price of gas that the amount of gas it takes to move
these vehicles they are very much like migrating dinosaurs
Northeastern California and Eastern Oregon are not as lush
as the western parts of each state but there are lots of rolling hills some
with rim rock enclosing small valleys which now are either used for hay or
cattle grazing. Some of the native grasslands are being saved but much has been
under the plow. We spent one night in a small town called Echo where the Oregon
Trail (wagon train) crossed the Umatilla River. Not much left of Fort Henrietta as the soldiers were told to burn the fort after the Native American uprising was
"squashed”. At the river crossing site there is a small park with a very
small museum and an RV park. The museum includes the original water pumper
wagon used for firefighting and two wooden buildings. One is a reconstructed
blockhouse from the original fort and the other is the original provincial
jailhouse that was turned later into a smokehouse. Not certain where this town
obtained its funds but next to the park was a skate park and much of the old
original town was undergoing a facelift!!. I was a little concerned what the
noise level from the skating park was going to be but the skaters were obedient
and left by 8 pm. The train rolling through town was noisier than the skaters.
Well more tales from the road shortly.
