Oregon – Less Beaten Paths of America Travel Blog

June 12, 2018

April 2018 Cross-Country Road Trip: The Landscape in Photos

This is the final post from my April 2018 cross-country road trip from Lexington to Port Orchard, Washington and back. As a reminder, I covered 6000 miles and ventured through 16 states. Along the way I not only stopped to visit attractions and see the sites in towns small and large, but I also tried to capture the grandeur of the landscapes and scenery I passed by along the way. Following are a number of scenic photos from that trip. Enjoy the ride! I have randomized these, so they are not in any particular order. Captions tell the story.

Sunset in Colorado, taken on US 24 near Hartsel, Colorado

Lovely sunset after a windy day. Taken on a side road of Interstate 70 just east of Abilene, Kansas

Morning sky taken between Bend, OR and Brothers, OR (near Millican, OR) on US Hwy 20 heading east.

This is a sunset scene taken from the Edmonds to Kingston Ferry in Washington. The mountains in the distance are Olympic National Park. Water is Puget Sound.

This is US Route 2 heading west towards Waterville, WA

A huge dust storm as seen from Nevada Hwy 140 west of Winnemucca, NV

Lovely mountain scene from US Route 2 near Skykomish, WA

Mt. Rainier as seen from the Edmonds to Kingston Ferry crossing the Puget Sound.

US 101 near South Bend, WA. I was heading south and it was raining. Still beautiful

Another shot of Garden of the Gods in Manitou Springs, CO

This is Hole in the Mountain Peak, taken from I-80 near Deeth, NV. I was heading east and this was south of me.

Blue Mesa Reservoir in Curecanti National Recreation Area east of Gunnison, CO. This was taken from US Hwy 50.

Mt. Aetna as seen from US 50 near Monarch Pass, Colorado. heading east.

Sunbeams over Garden of the Gods in Manitou Springs, CO

One of the peaks of the Cascades near Goldbar, WA

A snowy Interstate 90 heading west towards Livingston, Montana

Seattle, Washington as seen from a ferry in Puget Sound

A scene of the high Utah desert near Crescent Junction, UT

Heading towards Pine Canyon near Waterville, WA

Sunset over Sinclair Inlet near Port Orchard, WA

Missouri River Valley near Chamberlain, South Dakota

US Route 2 just past Steven’s Pass, WA – notice how high the show walls are on the side

Skykomish River near Skykomish, WA as seen from US Hwy 2

The high deserts of central Oregon are lovely.

The view of the Cascades as seen from the Skykomish / Gold Bar area of Washington, east of Everett.

ENJOY THE RIDE! CHOOSE HAPPY!

If you like what you see, you may want to check out my book: Less Beaten Paths of America: Unique Town Names, available on Amazon. My second book, Less Beaten Paths of America: Quirky and Offbeat Roadside Attractions, is currently being worked on and I hope to make it available in late June 2018. Click on the photo below for more details or to get a copy of the book.

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May 30, 2018May 31, 2018

April 2018 Cross-Country Road Trip: Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign

One thing that we all see when traveling America’s highways is signs. All kinds of them: road signs, exit signs, mile markers, billboards, “Welcome to Our Town” signs and the massive assortment of business signs from fast food places to local eateries. Indeed, our eyes and minds are deluges with them!

Over the course of my 6000 mile road trip to Washington State and back, I probably saw way more than a sign a mile (on average). Yes, there are many places with no signs, but then, there are others, such as going through small towns, where they are in abundance.

One of hundreds of Wall Drug signs to be seen on I-90 from as far away as Minnesota.

Lostant The Mint Bar and a Coca-Cola Wall Art sign in Livingston, Montana

This post presents a variety of signs from the road. This “eye-candy” is just one more fun piece of the travel puzzle. Discovering new signs, whether they be unique neon signs advertising local burger joints to the unique town signs and water towers, these signs are the little “color fillers” on the grand expanse of two lane highways zig-zagging this nation.

I always watch for fun town name signs. This one is in Illinois….not sure if they found the ant.

Follow me along on this colorful journey (in no particular order) to see some of the signs I saw along the way. And watch for the occasional Wall Drug sign to pop up on the ride (just like they do on I-90).

Saigon Rendezvous Restaurant – Olympia, Washington

Old Piggly Wiggly Ad on the side of a building in Helper, Utah

A Sign at a convenience store door in Ferdinand, Indiana. So bummed! Wanted to go into store Donald Duck style….

Sunset Motel Ad on building in Belle Fourche, SD

Classic neon Stardust Motel in Wallace, Idaho

Sasquatch Sign Company, Manitou Springs, Colorado

Livingston Bar & Grille – Livingston, Montana

Al’s Oasis in Chamberlain, South Dakota – Largest stop for 200 miles (next one down the road is Wall Drug

Custer Battlefield Trading Post – Crow Agency, Montana

Silver Saddle Motel in Manitou Springs, CO. I stayed there. Nice place. That is Pkes Peak in the background.

Dr. Pierces Golden Medical Discovery Barn Ad in Waterville, Washington

Kit Carson Trading post, Kit Carson, Colorado

Oyster Capital of the World – South Bend, Washington

Old Hotel Newhouse neon sign in Helper, Utah

Punkin Center, Colorado. Smack dab in the middle of nowhere

Cenex Sign on I-90 warning of last gas station for miles. Chamberlain, South Dakota

Warrior Trail – US Hwy 212 in Montana…taken near Ashland, Montana

Papa Joe’s in Crescent Junction, UT – The middle of nowhere touristy stop for gas, snacks and odds and ends quirky souvenirs.

Jerry Strong Landing on the Illinois River in Lacon, Illinois

Sign at door of Belle Restaurant in Belle Fourche, SD

Cutter’s Barber Shop in Olympia, Washington

Black Bear Clothes wall ad in Sultan, Washington

Yet another Wall Drug Sign – in Western Minnesota

The Empire Theater in Livingston, Montana

Big Foot Road, near the Badlands National Park in South Dakota

Kountry Korners Krazy Kreatures in Kingston, Washington

Welcome to Helper sign with old Coke Wall Ad in background

ENJOY THE RIDE! CHOOSE HAPPY!

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May 25, 2018

April 2018 Cross-Country Road Trip: Oregon’s High Desert Discovery Scenic Byway

If the words “Scenic Byway” appear on a map or a highway, I try to take that road! And this is what I did on my return trip from Washington in mid April 2018.

After driving south from Port Orchard, WA on US 101, I skirted past Portland, OR and headed towards Bend, where I spent a night in a cozy, nice motel. My next day of travel was going to be rather long as I intended to make it all the way to Salt Lake City, which I ultimately did.

The High Desert Route through east-central Oregon

But I did not want to take the roads thru southern Idaho and come south on the interstate from Idaho into Salt Lake. Rather, I wanted to drive through the high desert and see the wildlife, the high desert scenery and enjoy a long straight road or two!

A stretch of the Highway from Bend to Nevada

Thus, I discovered both the High Desert Discovery Scenic Byway And, as part of that by the way, the Frenchglen Highway.

US 20 East of Bend, Oregon in the morning

Sunrise on US 20 as I neared Brothers, OR

I drove first from Bend southeast towards Brothers, OR on US 20 and then onto a cutoff south of Burns to get on to Oregon Highway 205, which would ultimately get me to the Nevada border at Denio. By the way, Oregon is interesting in that it has towns named Brothers and Sisters. I have actually been to both towns now. Brothers is the home of the Brothers Stage Stop, which was built in 1912 and was originally a stagecoach stop between Burns and Prineville. Today it’s a restaurant, gas station and post office. I just got a photo of the place.

Continuing southeast on US 20 towards Burns I saw some of that wildlife I was looking for.

A stretch of Oregon Highway 205 south of Burns, OR

As I neared Burns, I made my way to Oregon Highway 205 which is a straight shot south almost all the way to Frenchglen. This is where the High Desert Discovery Scenic Byway begins.

Highway 205 then makes its way into the Malheur Basin Which offers some wonderful views of the lakes down in the valley. Ultimately, Highway 205 runs through the Narrows and over a bridge between the two lakes (Malheur Lake and Harney Lake) and, just past the bridge, fortunately, was a nice little rest area.

The one thing I discovered on this long road and other long roads on the trip is that there are very few rest areas or places to stop for restrooms. So, if you take this road, you might want to keep that in mind.

The highway eventually leads back up the hill into the high desert where I deviated off for both a restroom break and a short little drive on the Buena Vista Overlook route. This gravel road took me up to a view point to overlook the valley in the high desert. I saw hawks and other wildlife along the way.

Back on Hwy 205 where the road continued south at the base of Steens Mountain and ultimately into the small little community of Frenchglen, Which is about 60 miles south of Burns.

Frenchglen is the home of the historic Frenchglen Hotel which is in the US National Register of Historic places. What I learned in later research was that this is a place for birdwatchers to stay. The nearby Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is supposedly a very well-known birding area. The hotel has eight rooms and also has an outdoor out house for visitors to stop and take a break.

There is a “Public Restroom” outside of the Frenchglen Hotel. Gotta love the planter too!

Found a shoe tree just outside of Frenchglen. Funny

Unfortunately, I was not able to take the time to go into the hotel as I had hoped I could do because I had such a long extensive trip to make. But I did take some time to get a photograph of the hotel.

From Frenchglen, the highway continued south into Fields, OR where I stopped at Fields Station to get some cold drinks, use the restroom and stretch. They apparently make a good breakfast, but had a quite a crowd. I didn’t want to wait 30 minutes, so back on the road. and then on to Denio, Nevada.