John Day, Or to Prineville, Or
113 miles
15.3 average mph
Hwy 26
OK! New favorite ride! The stretch or road from Dayville, Or to Mitchell, Or is breathtaking. Same deal as the Salmon River Valley in Idaho; road winds along the John Day River cutting the narrow canyons and gorges, gradual incling, hardly any traffic, and surprises around every corner. I hiked into the Blue Basin area in the morning. Incredible! I had no idea this was here. The Basin is part of the John Day National Monument. Here and in other nearby areas, tons of fossils from now extinct animals have been unearthed. Some of them were on display in the Basin and at the visitors center. Quite a bit warmer today. 102 degrees. But it is a dry heat. Ha! Honestly though, it didn’t seem to bad and, of course, for a lot of the day I was at higher elevations where it was a little cooler. I’m just glad it’s not sleeting and hailing any longer.
Who was John Day?
Normal One,
John Day was a hunter from Virginia who was in this area of Oregon in the early 1800′s. He was attacked by Indians near somewhere near the current day John Day River and this may be why the river was named after him. He did not settle the town or ever see the town. It was not settled until the gold strike around 1862.
Have you been through Boring, OR? We here in Normal are having a competition of some sort with Boring, to see which town is more interesting, I guess.
Ramona,
I will be making a visit to Boring, Oregon early next week. It is near Portland. I feel like I will be in a unique position to judge the excitement element of both towns, having been to both Normal and Boring on my trip. I will take a picture to document exactly what Boring looks like