Exploring: CA, NV, OR and a bit of ID

FastKitty and I went on a trip of exploration last week.  We talk about possibly settling in a new place that has beauty and more space for our toys, so it was off to the big sky country of the states listed. 

We first went to Sonora, but FastKitty was quickly sure that would not be the place to live.  But she loved the trip over Ebbett's Pass on CA 4 for the mountain scenery and fresh air.  A stop in Markleeville was fun.  Then on to Minden and Gardnerville in Nevada.  We found some just-right-for-us houses in a subdivision off Johnson Lane.  We wanted the ones with separate 3-car garages and a studio and bounded by BLM land where I could ride for miles.  They had great views of the green valley floor and the mountains toward Tahoe.  We'll dream on them a bit.

Next up, we found ourselves back to Soldier Meadows Ranch for a night.  As usual, a magic place, and new to FastKitty who found it wonderful.

Tuesday morning, the rough road north to Denio was the usual adventure. Then it was a short drive to Fields where the french fry cooker was down for cleaning - drat!  So we high-tailed it to the Frenchglen Hotel for the evening, driving past the Roaring Springs Ranch on Hwy 205 under the Catlow Rim.  We even tried the south entrance to the Steens Mountain Loop, but the construction is still proceeding and we had to stop at the South Campground.  Fastkitty wants to return to this lovely spot in a camper.

In the morning, a quick trip up to the Steens Mountain top became a slow trip because the scenery is so breathtaking.  We hiked right to the top, where 6 guys were working on antennas.

Then we were off to the north via Burns and John Day, on our way to Joseph.  But we got sidetracked in Seneca, a little town just south of John Day where the Bearcat Lodge resides.  This is a motorcycle oriented place, and since I had talked to two guests on KTMs the day before, we got invited to join the front porch group for a little special rum punch.  Soon, after a tour of this unique building, which is a private residence cum lodge, we were invited to stay the night.  It was truly a unique experience and we were glad we stopped.  J.W. and his wife Carol are good hosts and the renovated rooms are each creations of their passions for cats, music and motorcycles.  Here is FastKitty at the wheel of J.W.'s Arctic Cat side-by-side in which she proved her mane.

Continuing north on the big roads we stopped briefly at the Hot Lake Springs Resort and bronze gallery in Hot Lake.  The artist seems to have created a thriving business, but we didn't much like the art.  Our goal was to see Enterprise and Joseph where several bronze foundries exist, although we were told at Hot Lake all the foundries had closed.  So we made our way through wonderful twisty roads over to Joseph and assumed our booked room at the Wallowa Hotel at the south end of Wallowa Lake.  A magical place with no phones or TV, just a nice room and very good food.

We visited Valley Bronze Gallery next day and had a lovely chat with Malcolm the manager who confirmed the four foundries are thriving still.  Instead of beating feet in the direction of home via Winnemucca, we decided that a side trip to Imnaha was in order.  It is the gateway to the Hell's Canyon lookoff at Hat Point, but we saved the winding dirt road for another time.  We did drive the gravel Lower Imnaha Road down to Hell's Gate which we found enchanting - don't let the rough road sign discourage you.  A lot of pretty, winding road eventually got us to Ontario for the night.  The next day concluded the trip with a 615 mile blast down US 95 and I 80 back to home.

Imnaha Post Office is on the list for possible closure - Sad!