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The Great Road Trip:  California and Oregon 

Days 5 and 6



Days 1 and 2:  South Bay to Big Sur, and Big Sur to San Francisco
Days 3 and 4:  San Francisco to Hendy Woods, and Hendy Woods to Crescent City
Days 5 and 6:  Crescent City to Bend, and Bend to John Day
Days 7 and 8:  John Day to Alturas, and Alturas to Sacramento
Days 9 and 10:  Sacramento to Kings Canyon, and Kings Canyon to the South Bay


Day 5, August 28, 2007

Start mileage:  1100, Crescent City, CA
End mileage:  1444, Bend, OR

On Day 5 we broke away from the coastal route, and started making our way inland on I-199.  From this point on, the trip planning was more "make it up as you go" because we didn't know what the roads would be like, or what we'd pass on the way.  

Our first stop was at Mile 1182 Oregon Caves National Monument.  A 90 minute tour takes you on the main set of caves, but you could probably take a couple days to see it all.  The stalagtites (growing from the ceiling) and the stalagmites (growing from the floor) grow at a rate of 1 inch per 1000 years.  

At mile 1332 we got to Crater Lake.  The deep blue color of the lake is amazing, and gives awesome reflections.  It's also one of the deepest lakes in the world.  
On our way out of Crater Lake, at mile 1353, we saw a black bear lumbering along the side of OR Hwy-138.  No pictures, but that's okay.  

At mile 1444 we got to Bend, OR and stayed at the Hampton Inn.   Again, a great deal, especially with the AAA discount.  It was near here that we had probably some of the best food (and service) on our trip.  Tumalo Feed Company is just a few miles down the road and was our favorite food stop on our road trip.  
Day 5 Map
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Who wants to buy a boat?
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Grant's Pass- named after my brother!
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You can't see it, but the sign says "Welcome to Oregon"
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I like this sign
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A column in Oregon Caves
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In the Paradise Lost Room of Oregon caves
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The reflections on Crater Lake were amazing
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Day 6, August 29, 2007

Start mileage:  1444, Bend, OR
End mileage:  1719, John Day, OR

At mile 1512, a little ways north of Madras, OR, we got to Richardson's Rock Ranch.   The family owns a stretch of land that is famous for finding Geodes and Thunder Eggs.  A Thunder Egg is basically just an agate nodule (filled-in geode, if you will).  The Richardson Ranch allows you to drive out and dig your own rocks.  When you get back, you pay $0.75 for each pound that you collected.  If you want, they can slice them open for you too so you can see what's inside ($0.25/square-inch).  

We went to Pony Butte first and collected a fair amount of Thunder Eggs, and then we decided to head off to the Blue Bed.  At mile 1525 (we were 13 miles out into the desert), as we were climbing up the last hill to the Blue Bed, it felt like the car was slipping.  When we crested the hill, I heard the telltale "thumpa thumpa" that let us know our tire was flat.  The tire was so flat that the beading was coming off- impressive!  Luckily, our CRV has a full spare, so I jacked the car up, jumped up and down on the wrech a few times to loosen the bolts and put the spare on.  While I was doing this (and my pregnant wife was giving me moral support), a guy blasted by in his green pickup truck, looked at the jacked up car and kept on driving without offering to help or give a ride.  He didn't even roll his window down or slow his truck (remember, we were 13 miles into the desert!).  Granted, we were fine, but what a jerk!  Later I heard him at the ranch screaming at his 7 year old grandkids to "keep your god****** hands off the rocks!".  It's probably better he didn't stop to help!  
Anyways, tire fixed, we headed around the corner to the blue bed and dug for a few minutes.  Since we had to get a tire fixed, I didn't want to spend much time there, so we wrapped things up and headed back to the ranch.  All-told, we got 47 pounds of rock.  When I get them cut and polished I'll have pictures up.  We headed back on the highway to Redmond and a Les Schwab Tire Center (they're everywhere in Oregon), got the flat fixed, and got back our our trip.  

At mile 1643 we drove through the Painted Hills.  Amazing sights!  We hit it in the evening, which is supposedly the best time to see the color contrast.  

At mile 1719, we got to Clyde Holliday Camp near John Day, OR to retire for the night.  
Day 6 Map
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Jacking the car up... We should have taken a picture of how flat that tire was
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"Leave me alone- I'm digging!"
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There are Thunder Eggs everywhere in the ash
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A lot of fires have been going through Oregon
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Fire plume in the distance
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Painted hills- look at the telephone pole for size perspective
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Us at the Painted Hills
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Plateaus
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Sunset at our campsite
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