Amazing!

I've been thinking about driving this stretch of US 395 (Hermiston, OR to Susanville, CA) for a long time......a very long time, and Thursday was the day we would take a bite out of the first 156 miles.  We were on the road by 1030 headed first south and east on I-84 to Pendelton, OR where we and US 395 parted ways with the Interstate system.  

Immediately upon exiting the Interstate we began to gain elevation all the way up to 4200' at the first of multiple summits this day, then, ultimately over 5,000' as we crested the second to last summit of the day.  The Newell's big Detroit Diesel 6V92 TA performed flawlessly, and the operating temps stayed under 200 degrees.

Once we had to come to a complete stop at one point for a bunch of cattle that were being herded along the shoulder as a few strays wandered back on to the highway......

Courtesy TLE

.....twice we just missed colliding with deer scampering across the highway, an once actually hit some sort of large bird running across the highway......there was nothing I could do to avoid the bird as it happened so unexpectedly.

The views were spectacular, big and long........

Courtesy TLE

Courtesy TLE

......we took a rest stop along the North Fork of the John Day River......

Courtesy TLE

......and the 45th parallel placing us exactly half way between the north pole and the equator....

......the highway was often wet from earlier rains, but we never had rainfall directly upon us all day.  In fact, the skies were often full of puffy white clouds with cobalt blue skies peeking through.......

Courtesy TLE

.....we had a little bit of a side wind as we began our trek southward from Pendleton, but it quickly disappeared, and we were able once again to avoid driving in rain, or wind.  As we followed US 395 along the banks of first Camas Creek, then the North Fork of the John Day River the going was slow, but there was little traffic making the drive most enjoyable.  For about 30 miles we averaged under 40 mph, but it didn't matter......it was the perfect driving day, and the low speeds enabled me to enjoy more than usual the amazing scenery all around us.

We arrived at the Grant County Fairgrounds RV Park in John Day, OR around 1415, self registered and chose a pull through site (#11) with a good view of the southern sky, as well as a great view of the local mountains......

.......there can be no doubt that Fall has arrived in northern Oregon, and specifically John Day....

Thanks for stopping by!