Kʻden, here we go again! We are now going downhill and closer to the Snake River. The first shot in this part is coming up on the exit for Weiser, Idaho. I always knew the Snake was a long river, but it’s way different seeing it in person hour after hour than seeing it on a map.

Here we are, headed downhill. Looks like a giant paint spill along the road.

And here we are, down at the Snake.

There’s one of the first patches of green we’ve seen in a very long time. The hills look so barren compared to the water and the green. I wonder if, in the springtime, there’s any green up there. I bet there is. Small kine.

What an amazing vista! Again, I imagined what this view must have been like to the pioneers. Of course, the river was undammed then, so I bet it was a lot wilder. This is Brownlee Reservoir, and Highway 201 to Weiser is coming in from the right down dea.

See that Weiser exit placemark on the map? That’s just about where we are now. And try look the contrast between the dry, dry, hills and the green farm and ranch land!

Now we’re going to follow right next to the Snake River for awhile. We were so glad it wasn’t raining so that we could glory in the width and breadth of the vista before us.

This is near Farewell Bend State Park, Brownlee Reservoir. It’s right on the Oregon/Idaho border. For those of you who are familiar with Bend, Oregon, it’s original name was Farewell Bend.

And here is another history lesson:

 

The name Bend was derived from “Farewell Bend”, the designation used by early pioneers to refer to the location along the Deschutes River where the town was eventually platted, one of the few fordable points along the river.

For at least 12,000 years, until the winter of 1824, the Bend area was known only to Native Americans who hunted and fished there. That year, members of a fur trapping party led by Peter Skene Ogden visited the area. John C. Frémont, John Strong Newberry, and other Army survey parties came next. Then pioneers heading farther west passed through the area and forded the Deschutes River at Farewell Bend.

 

Can you believe it? 12,000 years! But that’s a story for another time, and I digress.

Another Portland sign. We still have a long way to go, but were looking forward to our stop in Baker City.

The river. Always the river. I wondered if birds ever nested on that island in the middle.

Probably not. Not enough shelter or safety cover.

A beach! This might be a fun boat trip to take when it’s warmer.

We were totally surprised to see sand dunes across the river. I thought of ti-leaf sliding down them. Oh. Nomo da ti leaves ova dis place! And nomo da mud, eedah, like had small kid time. Dune buggy den?

Before the river was dammed up, did these small islands even show?

You know, I love road trips! Did you guess that already? Nolemana and I took along a book on CD, but we hardly ever listened to it because there was so much new stuff to see and talk about. Oh yeah, and don’t forget how Nolemana was trying to write down weadaheck we were. But it didn’t matter… we were both thoroughly enjoying this journey.

Now here’s an awesome landmark. I must admit though… and you’ll think I’m even more lolo than I already am, but I was reluctant to change my watch back to Pacific time. It’s kinda like it meant that our trip was really coming to an end. And I wasn’t sure that I was ready yet.

We are now just south and east of Lime, Oregon. And wow, what a surprise awaited us just down the road!

We had no idea, looking at these barren hills, that there was even a tiny town nearby.

“Wat kine surprise?” you may ask. “I no see notting!”

Try wait. I going show u.

See?

Try look!

“Watdaheck is dat?” you may ask. Adunno. First time we eva wen seeyum.

So when we wen get home, I wen do some research about dis kewl place. And guess wat? It’s not a ghost town. It’s a ghost cement factory!

Ho, would we have loved to explore it! Zooming along at about sixty miles an hour just didn’t do it justice.

But guess what? Somebody else did! I found her blog, and she has some absolutely awesome photos of the inside of this place! Hele on over there to check it out. She did an excellent job of giving us some history of the place, and it’s well worth the time to go check out the blog.

Wonderful blog entry about da abandoned cement factory.

Time and tide wait for no man. Or wahine. So on we went, leaving the cement factory behind.

Just past Lime.

Now how awesome would it have been if just now a train had come through the tunnel!! Nolemana was ready with the camera. Nice shot of the tunnel, though.

Somewhere around here is Burnt River. And now we’re climbing again.

Up we go!

More red stuff. And is that a tree we see? A real tree? Couldn’t be, could it?

Kukui was sound asleep in the back seat, using the ice chest for a head rest. She is an amazing traveller, calm and quiet, and easy to have along.

A tree!!! A real live tree!! The old homestead came up so fast that we couldn’t get a good photo of it, though.

This is near the town of Durkee. People really live out here. There’s a barn and a house, and even pīpī for AFK!!

Wat? U no can see pīpī? Iʻll prove it!

See? Just for you, tita!

In the next installment, we arrive in Baker City. Talk about history! We took so many photos that it’ll take two posts to get through them all, but I think you’ll enjoy the ride.

As always, thanks for tagging along on our advencha! I appreciate all the comments; they really mean a lot to me.