Oregon: Central North Central

June 8, 2026: I stayed near Spray on the John Day River. So beautiful. Although I was right on the highway on a huge pullout, it was very quiet all night.

June 9, 2026: Drove to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument: Painted Hills Unit. I had no idea if there are really fossils here. At first I didn't even think anything looked painted until I drove around a corner. I hiked up a mountain, but the best views were from down below.

Drove toward Redmond and Madras. The highway there was beautiful and peaceful. I did not pass any vehicles the whole drive. My kind of highway. 

Redmond has a little health food store where I had hoped to replenish my vegtables, but they didn't have produce! Or meat! It's really hard to find good food in these little towns even in Oregon which normally has excellent healthy options.

Madras reminded me of New Mexico with a lot of poverty. Of course my perception was based on the laundromat. It was a convenience store with top loaders, BUT the dirtiest laundromat I've been in so far!! Half the machines were not working. Homeless milling about. One woman couldn't stop following me around and talking to me about her dead mother and all her mother's belongings. I could not wait to get out of there, but I needed to wash my duvet so I could put my new wool blanket into it and hopefully seal its toxic dyes. Laundry in Madras was not a good experience! 

On my way to a campsite that sounded lovely, I initially I started down a 7.5 mile dirty, dusty gravel road and thought, Nope. Not doing this. So I turned around and drove fifty miles northwest to camp again on the edge of the John Day River on BLM land near Clarno. The road in was large gravel/rock with some dust, but not nearly as bad. Very windy! But the sun is out and no chance of rain! Hooray!

It's so gorgeous and quiet here. One camper is farther down the river (they left the next morning). If I wasn't running out of food, I'd stay forever. I'll stay for as long as I can... I hung the wool blanket out in the wind. I don't think that will help, but I don't have enough water or vinegar to handwash it. The gorgeous butterflies are as big as birds.

June 12, 2026: I drove three hours to a Whole Foods today! I was out of food! I couldn't help myself! Sometimes one just needs a glimpse of civilization.

I got up at 5am and headed out hoping to avoid anyone coming in on that one lane gravel road. It worked! Headed to Shaniko. Beautiful, quiet drive. I noticed a mountain. Mt. Hood, I think? Then I glance to my left. Another mountain??!! Then up and over in front of me. Another mountain!! Good lord! I was surrounded. I had to take highway 97 south and found a whole range of mountains! So gorgeous!

As I drove west, Mt. Hood got bigger and bigger. It was shocking to turn a corner in
the Mt. Hood National Forest and come face to face with a gigantic view! I couldn't take photos since I was on a highway! (Someone later told me this is Mt. Jefferson. I have no idea.)

I wandered the streets of Shaniko at 6am. I was here about ten years ago so it wasn't new, but still fun.

After shopping at both Whole Foods and Walmart where I also dropped off my empty Spindrift cans for money (80 cents for 8! We don't have that in Arizona! Republicans don't care about the environment.), I headed south to the Aurora Mills Architectural Salvage Warehouse. Fun! It was filled with millions of antique architectural artifacts! I have to admit, I am now quite repulsed by the stink of musty old wood and mildew/mold now that I've spent so much time in the dryness of Arizona. I can't imagine filling a house with these old items. But it was fun to look:

Love these Black Eyed Susans outside the warehouse.

On the way (I cannot remember which town), I stopped at a car wash. With all the country camping I've been doing driving up and down dirt roads, Big Blue was incredibly filthy and dusty. The car wash looked like any other...all too soon I discovered their soaps are flourescent pink and SCENTED! It wasn't just a mild scent either. I think they must have thrown the whole bottle in when it should have been a tablespoon. I stopped with the soap and rinsed everything off. That was nasty! I don't want the outside of my van to stink!

I've seen four covered bridges so far! They are all over! I always knew this about Oregon and the first bridge I saw was years ago up in the northwest corner. The first one I saw on this trip I accidently and delightfully drove under before I even realized what was happening. The rest so far were just off the highway usually with a line of cars. I always worry Big Blue wouldn't fit as there was one covered bridge in New England that was too short for my van and many of them are very narrow although most are now considered "one lane" so you have to wait your turn. I don't feel the compulsive need to drive over (under?) one, but I like looking at them for some reason. At one bridge today the car in front of me slammed on their brakes to turn, and I almost back-ended them. Idiot tourists.

Next I drove to the McDowell Creek Falls Park and hiked to the four waterfalls. Naturally, I had no idea where I was going so I ended up overhiking. This is Majestic Falls:

I can't even describe how badly I wanted to jump in that pool with sweat pouring off my face! I headed east on highway 20 and stayed overnight at Lava Lake Sno-Park. Very quiet and peaceful night.

June 13, 2026: Headed to the Belknap Springs Resort for some hot springing in the Willamette National Forest. For $12 you can soak for an hour. It was so nice since I haven't had a proper shower for two months or a bath for almost a year! When I got out my old, dead skin was flaking off. There went my tan! It was gross, but now my skin feels so good! Unfortunately, the pool was chlorinated. Eeeewww....they have showers for use, although they weren't very good, mostly cold with a mildewy smell. I asked to see a room (to check if it smelled of mold), but they were full. I was told they don't use air fresheners. I would think being next to a river and having a hot springs just outside might create a mold issue.

After the soak I hiked to the Secret Garden behind the resort and over the river. It was so secret I got lost, of course. Getting lost and overhiking while hiking is expected. It was so cool how it was way out in the woods, hidden and secret! I would love a secret garden just like this one with waterfalls, ponds, and cement pillars tucked into a forest!

Next I headed to Eugene to the Sundance Health Food Store just to check it out. Very nice people in Eugene.  I then drove out on Highway 58. I'm zig-zagging back and forth through the Willamette National Forest just because it's so beautiful. This highway followed the most beautiful teal-colored lake filled with people in boats and paddleboards. It's a busy Saturday.

I stopped at McCredie Park. There is normally a day use fee of $5.00, but today was one of the free days so although I spend my morning sweating, I couldn't help but stop and check out the hot springs-in-the-wild down by the river. OMG! It was HOT! I did not get in. No one else was there. I was honestly afraid I'd get so hot I'd burn myself or I'd pass out and drown and with no one there...well...and what would I do if a bunch of men showed up while I was hot springing? Hmmm...can't be too careful.

The other day I was considering the disadvantages of traveling alone. This was while I was staying at the John Day River. I wanted to go swimming in the river, but there was a cliff. At my campsite someone carved steps out of the dirt so I could have gotten down there and jumped in. But then I wondered is the current too swift? Is there an undercurrent? If I try to get out would the dirt get wet and I'd slip unable to get out? If I drown would anyone find me? How long before someone would wonder why that van has been sitting there for too long? Maybe someone would steal my van and no one would ever even think I had disappeared unless someone found my dead and bloated body downstream...but then how would they identify me? These are questions that run through my paranoid brain when considering safety. The same questions I had when I was staying at the river campground in Montana and wanted to jump off the dock. Then there is hiking alone. Suppose a bear attacks me and carries me off into the woods?  Or I slip off a cliff or even something less life threatening like breaking an ankle alone on a trail and unable to walk miles from the trailhead. It's going to take a long time for anyone to wonder why my van has been sitting there for too long. Someone just might give me a ticket and not even wonder. How long would it take for anyone to wonder where I went? Traveling as a woman alone has it's own special worries. Traveling with someone I would have no hesitation to jump in a river or a hot springs. These limitations often irritate me.

Stayed at the Lake Mary Sno-Park east on Highway 58. I love these Sno-Parks. I'm usually the only person. During the winter between Nov. 1st and April 30th you must buy a "winter pass" but any other time is free to park. Pavement parking which is always better than dusty dirt. The only disadvantage is they are off the highway so until sundown there is some traffic noise. Well, and since they are up on a mountain, internet and cell phone reception is non-existant which is inconvenient. Most of the time I can hook up Starlink, but I don't want to leave it on too long or I run out of gigabytes. 

Mornings can be cold on a mountain before the sun reaches over the pines, so I drove about twenty miles to heat up the van and parked on a highway pullout with a view of Clear Lake while I checked emails and did computer stuff.

Headed to Bend. The Whole Foods in Bend offers free Primo water refills! This is the only time I've ever seen free Primo water refills!! They also sell single cans of Spindrift for about $1.50. Most stores sell singles for $2.50 which is outrageous since you can buy a box of eight for around $6.00.

Then drove straight down to Klamath Falls and then east on Highway 140. I considered staying at a reservoir off Campbell Road, but when Google Maps said "4.5 miles of unpaved" and others warned WASHBOARD! I changed my mind. I headed to the Quartz Mountain Sno-Park where I have spent a night before. I arrived and on a whim I was curious where the road behind the parking lot went as I've seen vehicles come up it. This is how my plans change every fifteen minutes! The very narrow, but paved road twisted for about fifteen miles to Lofton Reservoir in the Fremont-Winema National Forest. On route a bear ran across the road in front of me!! He was brown, small, and quite sprite.

I really had no idea where I was going, how long the road was, nor what to expect at the end of it. That is the true definition of an adventure! The bear sighting was the bonus! I was thrilled to find something so beautiful out in the middle of the wild and I was so tired after a day of driving, I didn't even care it costs $6.00 a night which is pretty cheap for a campground. I was really happy to find out with my National Park America the Beautiful Pass I get a discount so it's only $3.00 per night. Please note, this is only the third campground I've paid for in two years! I bought two very quiet and peaceful nights. Well, other than the hyperactive, twitchy-tailed rodents harassing me constantly. I'm really getting to hate chipmunks. Or "squishies" as I now call them since I ran over that one last year.

The next day was a scorcher at 87 degrees, but I took advantage of this, handwashed my new wool blanket rinsing it in vinegar to hopefully set the dyes, and hung it to dry between two pine trees. It didn't shrink...yet.

After two days, I headed back to Klamath Falls.

Oregon: Center to Northeast

I thought my tires were dirty!

June 2, 2026: I headed up the highway from Klamath Falls to Bend, but the traffic was so congested with construction stops making it worse I veered to the east toward Christmas Valley. That sounds like a festive area! It was not. Dusty, desert landscape with ugly scrub brushes and tumbleweeds. Not one tree as far as the eye could see. There was nothing Christmasy about Christmas Valley. Very disappointing. 

I continued driving through a very boring desert turning north into the Malheur National Forest. I was very thankful to finally drive into a beautiful green landscape with huge pines, twisty highway through the canyons. I camped north of Burns on one of the forest roads. With the exception of rodents chewing at Big Blue all night, it was peaceful. I was worried they were rats or mice so I got up early and banged at the floors and walls, starting the engine hoping to scare them away. Later as I was making breakfast and toasting some bread, which smelled heavenly, a whole herd of chipmunks came running out of the woods and circled my van. OMG! There must have been about ten and one of them was big and fat. I opened the side door and screamed at them to go away. They did!

I continued driving north through some cute towns like John Day and Prairie City. I was really tired from waking up so early so I pulled off on forest road 300 to Social Security Point. The road goes down to a lake, but on the way are a handful of campsites tucked in among the pines. Lots of chipmunks here, too. I hiked down to the lake and along it for a while before returning to the van. This campsite was in the Wallowa Whitman National Forest. It sprinkled off and on all day.

June 4, 2026: Headed to Hell's Canyon through Baker City (cute town with cathedral and food co-op), Le Grande (outstanding food co-op in an artsy neighborhood), Enterprise (beautiful court house), and Joseph (really cool town!)

Enterprise Court House

Gorgeous landscape all the way with canyon highways, pine forests, agriculture, and a mountain range that looked like Switzerland!

The road to the Hell's Canyon Lookout was paved all the way, but Google Maps kept sending me offroading on roads that were "NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PASSENGER CARS!" WTH?? 

They were dirt with deep potholes and water ruts. The first one I went down for about a mile and then Google Maps said, "Turn right" and the dirt road was overgrown with weeds and bushes! Can't trust Google ...either that or they have it out for me. I realized quickly I needed to stick to the pavement and hope for the best. If pavement runs out, hopefully there is enough room to turn around and go back. Gorgeous views with every color of wildflower covering the landscape. June is wildflower month!

The road all the way to Hell's Canyon Lookout was paved including the lookout itself with paved walkways and pit toilets. I love parking on pavement! Last year when I was in Idaho I wanted to see this canyon, but the only way to the rim was on a rocky, dirt road with no guarantee of a view. And it was July so very hot. I'm glad I finally got to see it...from the Oregon side.

I stayed the night. Quiet and peaceful. A few vehicles would pull in, their passengers would look at the views, and then leave. I was alone all night. Just the way I like it!

June 5, 2026: Made my way back to Minam Friday night. Not much on iOverlander for overnight parking locations so I pulled into the Minam State Recreation Area next to the river where all the fishermen were hanging out. The office was closed. I walked around and looked for "No Overnight Parking" signs. None. Then I noticed on the side of the office "Park Host" with an RV. I asked if I could park overnight and she said, "Yes!" This is so convenient as the RAILRIDING is across the river. I did want to stay another night at Hell's Canyon, but worried leaving early in the morning in the dark to get here to my RAILRIDING appointment I might drive off a cliff. And on that note...

As I twisted my way down the mountain earlier, I rounded a corner and a huge truck pulling a very long livestock trailer was coming at me fast in MY LANE!! OMG! I did what I could to pull over as far as possible without going into the ditch and I could tell he was doing the same. His backend coming straight at me and I'm pretty sure I closed my eyes and braced for the hit. He barely cleared me by inches or maybe one inch. That was close. Really close. And frightening. Why the fuck did this idiot think he could drive in the other lane on a twisty turning mountain highway is beyond me!

I walked to the Minam Store to find some carbohydrates to load up for tomorrows ride. Asked how much the eggs were...FREE! They look like fresh eggs from real chickens. FREE! Can't beat free! I am so easily entertained!

June 6, 2026: RAILRIDING! Eva was my guide for the 9am tour. It was just the two of us which I liked and she was not scented. I feared proximity to stinkers. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and cold. It wasn't supposed to rain until Monday, but...of course as soon as railriding was over, the sun came out! It was fun, not as relaxing as I thought it would be. Eva is an Amazon woman! Tiny, little eighteen year old who has a lot of strength and energy. I think we went too fast. Maybe she had other plans for Saturday? Still, I pedalled all the way and back for two hours. The river was gorgeous and the air smelled so fresh. My legs were wobbly, my butt aches, and my knee twinged as we arrived back, but I kept pedalling. I'm exhausted. It was good exercise and I wasn't even sore the next day.

Camped at Spring Creek between Le Grande and Pendleton. I was exhausted and thought I'd rest around 2pm...I didn't wake up until 7pm and then slept all night! Very quiet night once the ATVs stopped racing up and down the dirt road throwing dust all over.

June 7, 2026: The Pendleton Wool Mill is closed on the weekends so I drove to Kennewick for some supplies then to Walla Walla to see the Whitman Mission. (See post for Washington) This whole area called the Walla Walla Valley in southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon is all agriculture, patchwork of crops. It's very beautiful, but I worry about all the pesticides. 

June 8, 2026: Left Washington and back tracked to the Pendleton Wool Mill hoping for a tour, but they had a fire last week so no tours for two weeks. Instead, I bought a wool blanket!!

It was flawed so I got a discount. I cannot tell where the flaw is, but I know their inspectors are very picky. I am worried the dyes are giving me problems. I get a sore throat when around it. I put it in a duvet and hope that works, but it just made the duvet stink. I might have to wash it and then rinse it in vinegar. It might shrink! The longer I'm around it the sicker I feel. I remember this feeling the first time dyes poisoned me in college. I guess I should have bought a white or natural color instead of brightly dyed, but I live in a van and I kept thinking it might get dirty. Live and learn. Problem is I always forget my lessons and repeat my mistakes.

Washington Over the Border

June 7, 2026: Most of the small, country towns don't have health food stores or if they do they are closed on the weekends. I found a co-op AND a Natural Grocers in Kennewick so that's where I headed. Although it's further away from where I want to go, it's very close to Pendleton, my next stop. I turned on Google Maps, switched off highways, and meandered through the gorgeous countryside to the Tri-Cities. A beautiful, peaceful, good-feeling, early morning drive. Hardly anyone on the road on a Sunday. Sometimes I just love driving! I ended up on "The Old Oregon Trail" that switchbacked back and forth, up and down hills, and criss-crossed over, under, and around Interstate 84!! It was fun imagining how wagon trains might have negotiated these hills.

Kennewick was lovely. A lot of train tracks that were too bumpy, but the city felt very clean and well-maintained. I found nothing at the food co-op I wanted to buy and too much at Natural Grocers!

Bridge to Pasco or Richmond? Not sure which.

When it came time to leave it was too early to camp for the night so I looked on the map and thought how I've always wanted to see the Whitman Mission near Walla Walla since as a grade school teacher I used to teach children about it. It was a great history lesson, great memorial, great balance of native and white culture, and great film.

I stayed overnight in the Walmart parking lot in Walla Walla. This is the first Walmart I've encountered that logs overnighter RVs, campers, and vans and gives you a sheet of paper that says you've checked in. Awesome! So organized. More Walmarts should do this. I think it would make the bad people who take advantage of this generosity to reconsider being bad and then the store can continue to be generous without reprocussions and with recourse if someone is stupid.

Back to Oregon....

Nevada: The Northern Part

May 30, 2026: Highway 140 from the Nevada border to Winnemucca was not so pretty. Boring, bland, desert dust as far as one can see. I lost a hubcap on the way. I am not happy about that! Most of Big Blue's hubcaps are cracked (cheap plastic) anyway so I see another van expense in my future. It's neverending!!!!

I'm nearly out of plastic bags! They are an intregal component of my elimination process (my toilet!) so this is seriously inconvenient. Both Oregon and California have banned plastic grocery bags. What do I do? I head to Nevada! I skipped northern Nevada the first time so I have things to see, but the deciding factor in which way to drive...there is a Walmart in Winnemucca and Nevada doesn't have a ban on plastic grocery bags. The checker told me to take as many as I wanted! I took her generosity seriously and left with two piles. Not sure how many bags in a "pile"? Maybe 100? For FREE! I used to boycott Walmart, now I love them! Does that make me a bad person?

After hoarding plastic "bathroom" bags and feeling pretty proud of myself (I have sunken to a new low...), I decided to go into the town of Winnemucca and see if I can find the First National Bank, the bank Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid robbed. I assumed it would be large, imposing, and a celebrated slice of history. Instead it was a tiny building on a corner. I almost missed it as it's not much to look at, but it does have a sign with not much explanation of its historical significance.

I thought I'd walk around Winnemucca just to see anything of interest. I think there are more casinos here than in Reno! Many of them are named after the outlaws. I noticed there are murals being painted all over! What the heck is going on? I just walked into Winnemucca's Mural Festival and artists are invited from all over to paint a wall! When I started asking questions, I was invited to join a tour. Most of the murals have historical or cultural themes. They sure add a lot of color and interest to alley walls of old buildings.

That night I stayed at Water Canyon Recreation Area. Camping is free and allowed for three days. People driving up and down the dusty dirt road. All night I felt like I was suffocating! I needed to know this about Nevada. Do I want to move here? NO!

May 31, 2026: Thunder Mountain Indian Monument is a man-made vernacular sculptural garden near Imlay, Nevada, off Exit 145 on Highway 80. I've had this on my list of "must-sees" for a long time. Entrance to park is free, but they request a $2.00 donation per group for site preservation. Ah, it doesn't look they they have attempted to preserve anything in the almost forty years it's been abandoned! I find that sad. I'd love to volunteer to help preserve it! It's a creative and fascinating artistic endeavor that was clearly a project of passion. The structures were built with found objects, cement, wire, and bottles. The themes are the accumulation of trash from white society that enroached on the already existing Native American culture. It was built by the self-proclaimed Chief Rolling Mountain Thunder (a "Thunder Mountain" doesn't exist) and covers about 5 acres. Most of it is now in ruins after he committed suicide in 1989.

This is the main structure fenced and protected as an historic landmark.

Entrance to the hostel where hippies stayed in the 1970s. It was burnt down in 1983 (arson).

Love the sculpture all over. Too bad it's not being preserved....

I always wanted to build something like this...

Next I drove to Unionville, supposedly a ghost town. It was a disappointment. Some old buildings are privately owned. Not much to see. I continued to Reno and Whole Foods. I love shopping at Whole Foods! It makes me feel like normal person with a real life. 

Today was a stupid driver day for sure. First, I'm on the freeway going 65 miles per hour (the speed limit) and I'm behind a Sprinter van. They are huge so I can't really see what is in front of them. I think I followed him uneventfully for about twenty miles. Then a car comes up passing us on the left and before the car gets to the Sprinter, Sprinter pulls out unexpectedly in front of the car. I think, "That was reckless." Little did I know, in front of the Sprinter was a camper trailer traveling about 50 mph! I barely had time to slow and slam on my brakes. Asshole Sprinter! Please learn how to drive! He should have attempted to pass the camper when he had enough room giving me enough time to see he had someone in front of him and before another car was attempting to pass!

Next I'm going through Reno on the freeway at 65 mph like everyone else and this idiot girl who just pulled off at an exit decided it wasn't the right exit and slowly pulls back onto the freeway going about 45 miles an hour! I slammed on my brakes and nearly skidded right into her. She sped up fast or it might have been really ugly. I laid on my horn. What is with these stupid people? 

Next outside of Reno (Reno has very bad drivers!), I'm casually driving along again at 65 mph, and a car in the oncoming lane decides to pass the semi in front of him. There isn't enough room to pass, you dingbat! Again, I slam on my brakes because he doesn't look like he's going to make it. Now I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and be KIND, but instead I threw my hand out the window and flipped him off. I couldn't help myself. You'd think these experiences would make me afraid to drive. I was slamming my brakes on all day long. Nevada drivers are idiots.

I forgot to get gas in Nevada...it was $5.23 per gallon three miles from the border. In California, it was $6.29 a gallon! I know better! Jeez!

View of Valley near Alturas

I stayed at the Crowder Flat Road in the national forest just east of Alturas. The dirt roads were very rutted and still damp from the rains. I almost got stuck at one point, but survived.

Big Blue made that mess in the bottom part of photo
inching way out while trying to turn and run!

The night was incredibly peaceful, perfect temperatures (72 during the day and around 45 at night). 

I finally arrived in Oregon early in the morning and got stopped behind a school bus picking up students. As I waited for the bus to load students, I glanced to my left to a very decorated house. I love creative people. I noticed the flag -like looking sign and thought, "Eeeww...Trump supporters?" but then I looked closer. HA! "TRUMP IS AN IDIOT" and "FUCK TRUMP" AND IF YOU LIKE TRUMP FUCK YOU TOO" LOL! I have found MY PEOPLE! I love Oregon. I had to take the photo fast since the bus started moving so it's a bit blurry. The second photo is zoomed in on the smaller sign. 

I can't believe it's already June!! One month down, and four more months of adventure to go!