Can you say .... R E M O T E ?

We've been on the road since Sept. 28, over 2.5 weeks ago, and I am overdue on a blog update.  Since this blog is ruled by moods, particularly my mood, sometimes nothing happens.  Not that I've been in a bad mood ..... far from it ..... but I haven't been in a writing mood.  But I'll push the issue this time and see what comes out.

So how many of you have heard of Frenchglen, Oregon?  No one?  It's a community of sorts in SE Oregon, so small that it refers to Burns, Oregon, as "town" ..... as in .... if you need to mail a letter and have it arrive at its destination before New Years, it's best to run it into "town", some 60 miles away.  We spent three nights in an RV park a few miles away while Husband checked out the local fishing holes.

The Frenchglen store.  How can you not love a store with creaky wooden floors?  (Complete with self-serve gas pumps and an old-style phone booth across the street.)

Frenchglen sits next to the Steens Mountains, of which we HAVE heard, before this trip.

A few pictures:

On the other side of the Steens sits the Alvord Desert, known only by photographers and land-sailors.  It is a large, flat mass of dried, cracked mud, approximately 12 by 6 miles in size.  At the edge of this huge expanse of nothing is a natural hot spring, complete with pools lined with cement walls with old washing machine barrel-tub-things in the water to sit upon.  One pool was out in the open, allowing its occupants to gaze upon the desert while soaking, and the pool next to it was enclosed in four walls made of corrugated metal, complete with bullet holes.  Need I say, it had character?  And fortunately the two pools, separated by the metal wall, allowed us to avoid the naked guy.   A nice proprietor-lady charged us $8 each for this unique, earthy experience.  (And we most certainly DID wear swimsuits.)

We asked about the possibility of rain and our motorhome getting stuck out on the expanse and she said, "If it rains, wait an hour or so, and then drive out."  Okay!

Now to showcase a bit of Husband's photo skills and why photographers like it here .....

On the far end of the expanse-of-nothing, was a group of land sailors requiring us to use binoculars to determine they weren't just dots.  I'm not sure what their official title is ..... they have contraptions with wheels and sails, and they blow across the expanse.  Some reach speeds over 80 mph.

We drove over to see them and from their vantage point, our motorhome then became the dot in the distance.  We spent two nights there during which we had excellent data coverage due to a cell tower someone built on the top of the Steens.

(I'm pointing to my phone.)

We literally sat in the middle of nowhere, listening to the VP debate.  (Actually, I paced more than I sat.)

Husband listening and me out pacing.

From there we drove into Nevada and then on to spend the night in a Cabelas parking lot in Lehi, Utah.  (They are RV-overnight-friendly, like many Walmarts.)

We had a delightful lunch with longtime friends whom I have almost forgiven for moving away from us several years ago.  (Hi, Bill and Betty!)

Next we stopped at my brother's home in Salem, Utah, loaded some of their belongings into our motorhome and car, to help (in a small way) their upcoming move to Glenwood, two hours south.

(Note:  If your RV is loaded with boxes blocking the narrow walkway to your bathroom, do NOT buy a large soft drink when you fuel up at the start of the drive.  Should you ignore this advice, the resulting procedure is to careen into the Scipio truckstop, park anywhere, and run like mad in the general direction of a bathroom.  You will find one in back of the store, on the right.  Thankfully, there was no line.)

Next:  Glenwood, my roots, and the best relatives ever.