QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.” ~ Ronald Reagan
On Monday, August 17, we left about 8:30 AM taking I-405 south to I-90 east. At Cle Elum we stopped for lunch at The Sunset Cafe and bought a couple of bakery items for later, too. (All were delicious.) Continuing east to Vantage, we crossed the Columbia river and turned south on WA-243. Traffic was bad as we approached the bridge, but we were supremely happy not to be going the other direction. Both I-90 west and north WA-243 were backed up for MILES approaching the bridge. We passed through Mattawa and Desert Aire, then took WA-240 south, crossing the Columbia River again and passing through the Hanford Reach National Monument. Although there was occasional smoke haze, this drive was amazing. We started in the big city traffic of the Seattle metro area, then crossed Snoqualmie Pass in lush, green mountains. Within 15 or 20 minutes, all of the green was gone, and we found ourselves in high desert country. The next change was to agricultural land filled with apples, corn, and hay, then back to desert and grasslands. The other big difference as we crossed the mountains was the heat. The high in Bothell was around 80. When we arrived at Horn Rapids RV Resort in Richland at about 3:30 PM, it was 96!
Tuesday I was feeling a little puny, so I stayed in my pajamas and wrote for most of the day. MW headed over to the Visitor Center for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park to take in their 2 PM talk, which was From Creation to Detonation: The Story of Plutonium and the Manhattan Project. (The site, which is in Hanford about 20 miles away, is where they created and enriched plutonium for the project.) After that he popped in at a bookstore (of course) called Xenophile Bibliopole & Armorer, Chronopolis. How’s that for a name. (They specialize in sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, and if you are a fan of any of those genres, he says it is definitely worth the visit. They had books and all kinds of collector memorabilia e.g. movie props, posters, lots of first editions, signed works.) About 5 PM, MW reminded me that we had somewhere to be, so I was forced, with a little grousing, to get dressed. At Gesa Stadium in Pasco, Washington, we watched the Tri-City Dust Devils beat up on the Everett AquaSox. The home team took the lead early, with the score of 10-1 after two innings. Then they started slipping, but pulled it out with the final at 12-7. Honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to it at all since the temp was in the mid-90s when we left Priscilla. However, it was very dry and breezy, and with our seats in the shade we were never uncomfortable. In fact, it even felt fairly cool when the sun went down, although I bet it was still in the 80s. All in all, it was totally worth it. MW would add that his giant hot dog was awesome! Oh, almost forgot, the home team had a pitcher that was 6’11!! When they were warming up on the field, he was almost a head taller than the other players. Wish we could have seen him pitch.
Wednesday I headed over to Macy’s in nearby Kennewick trying to find a dress for a wedding that doesn’t make me look like an old hooker wanna be. It’s tougher than you might think! Formalwear is totally geared toward proms, and I honestly have no idea why any mom would let her high schooler wear the things they are pushing. With no luck, I stopped in at Chick-fil-A for lunch and to write a bit. Didn’t stay long, though, because 1) it was freezing in there, and 2) people are rude. (What is it that makes large, rowdy groups of young people or grown men who want to play videos turned up full blast on their phones choose the table next to the one person in the entire place with a computer open who is obviously concentrating. There needs to be a study, because it happens all the time, even in places that are nearly empty. Hmmm…I sound grouchy today, huh?!) Before heading back to Priscilla, I picked up an order for MW at Kohl’s and groceries at Target. While I was out, MW walked back over to the park Visitor Center for another talk, Hanford Site Development: Achieving the Impossible. Yes, he would go every day if he could. Still not feeling totally well, the rest of the day was spent relaxing.
Horn Rapids RV Resort is a year-round park located right in Richland, Washington, and just down the road from Kennewick, which they say is the “heart” of Washington wine country. An outside convenience store, Firehouse Subs, and a few other places within walking distance, too. Facilities include an office with convenience store, clubhouse, fenced pool area with hot tub and grills, playground, multiple laundromats, pavilions, pickleball court, sand volleyball court, horseshoe pits, group propane fire pit, dog run, propane sales, and multiple bathhouses and dump stations. The campground offers paved roads, free wifi, and 225 paved or gravel, full-hookup, 50/30-amp sites that are parallel and nicely spaced. The back-in sites were shorter, but further apart to allow room for a vehicle. For a private park in a typical parking lot layout, this place was pretty nice. Facilities are kept immaculate, and most sites are at least partially shaded by trees. To be right in town, it wasn’t very loud, although we were running the air during our stay. It was on the higher side of the price spectrum, but we would definitely stay again. For this visit in August 2026, we paid almost $87 per night for a full-hookup, gravel, pull-thru site.
Thursday was a little hazy as we got Priscilla all buttoned up in the morning. We hit the road about 9:30 AM, starting west on I-182 to I-82 south. Before long we crossed the Columbia River for the third time this week, passing into Oregon at Umatilla. Next we turned east on I-84 over to Pendleton where we stopped for an early lunch at Roosters Country Kitchen. (Terrific sandwiches. Even roasted their own turkey!) Next we turned south on US-395, which took us all the way to John Day, Oregon. We were in the smoke and haze for a little bit until we crossed the first mountain. Although not marked as a scenic route in our atlas, this drive rivaled the most beautiful we’ve ever done. There were rolling hills of nothing but grass followed by the Blue Mountains covered in pine, spruce, and juniper. We crossed three ridges with valleys of massive grasslands between, passed through parts of the Umatilla and Malheur National Forests, and enjoyed terrific long-distance views everywhere. In many places, you couldn’t see any sign of man except maybe an antenna for as far as the eye could see. The route has length limits and crosses summits at Battle Mountain (4,270), Meadow Brook (4,127), and Long Creek (5,075), but there was nothing that would keep even the largest RVs out. The road was very good except in a couple of small spots, and bonus…almost no traffic, but on the down side, we didn’t see any animals except for cows. We made it to the Grant County Fairgrounds and RV Park and were all set up by about 2:15 PM.
Afterwards we drove back up to check out the laundromat, which got horrible reviews online. Sadly, they weren’t wrong…filthy, more than half of the machines broken, no change machine, and hotter than blue blazes inside. We popped into John Day Video & Electronics, who according to their sign was having a HUGE DVD sale. It was pretty good, and we left with a few, plus the owner directed us to another laundromat about 13 miles up the road in Prairie City. We decided to drive up and check that out before heading back to the campground. Bonus…the drive was gorgeous AND the laundromat was waaaayyyy better than the first one in John Day. It even had stools at the folding table so that I had an easy place to work. Saw a mama deer with a couple of little ones on the way back, too.
Friday I made it to the laundromat around 10 AM and was greeted as I got out of the truck by a sweet golden retriever who was hanging out while his owner nearby loaded a pickup truck. After giving a little love, I got the chore started and did a bit of writing. I was alone for most of the time, although the owners did pop in later for a chat along with their greeter for some more rubs. They apparently get people coming from all over the county because their place is clean and nice. After lunch I popped over to the Oxbow Dinner House and Pizza Company for a slice for lunch and hung out writing for a bit. The food was excellent, and I even sampled and took home an apple tart for MW. He had been craving prime rib for weeks, and he hoped that the Snaffle Bit Dinner House, which is only open Thursday and Friday nights, would hook him up. Unfortunately, the closest they had was a ribeye, but it was a good one. Having eaten lunch and a snack, I settled for a side salad and a few bites of steak. Full as a tick on a hound dog, I took the rest of the meal home for another day.
SIDE NOTE: The Oxbow had a really cool interior. First, the back bar is original. The ladies were hand carved in Italy in 1879, then crossed the Atlantic and made their way up the Mississippi to St. Louis. There the rest of the cabinetry was made by W. L. Lewis company. Then it was another ship ride, this time a 9-month cruise around Cape Horn and back north to the mouth of the Columbia River. A quick change to a sternwheeler got up inland as far as The Dalles. From there it took a train to Baker City followed by a wagon to Prairie City. It was installed in the Heinenkraft Saloon (a bank is on that site today), where it stayed until 1959, when it was moved to its present location. That is a LOT of traveling for an inanimate object!! It is beautiful. The other thing that is cool are the various animals on the walls. Reminded me of other old saloons we’ve been to out west.
RESTAURANT ANTICS: There was a woman sitting in the booth behind me at Snaffle Bit who was apparently treating a younger woman to supper at “one of her favorite places”. She spent the entire meal listing off all of the foods she doesn’t like, including some that she said “I haven’t tried, but just know.” Her steak was delivered medium instead of the well done she ordered. The kitchen misread the ticket and apologized, but instead of just sending it back, she instructed the waitress to tell the chef how to butterfly the steak so that it gets done on the inside. Then spent the wait time explaining to her friend that chefs just don’t know how to cook a good steak, and there is just no excuse for delivering one “raw” like that. We were there for about 45 minutes, and that woman honestly wore us out. She was talking loud enough that we couldn’t tune it out, and the whining was just constant.
Saturday morning we headed out about 7:30 AM to John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Sheep Rock Unit to do a little hiking. We chose the Island in Time Trail, which leads into a box canyon and is just spectacular. The rocks are reds, pinks, browns, whites, and sage greens! There is a sign at the entrance that warns to watch for mountain lions, so that put us on alert. About half way back, I bent down to take a pic of a flower, and suddenly, there was a bunch of rustling behind me on the grassy hillside. I leapt up and flung around in time to see a flock of chukars flying up the hill. MW thought the exact same thing I did…CAT!! It took a minute for our heart rates to return to normal, for sure. Afterwards we backtracked to the Dayville Mercantile in search of Oregon stuff, then went to the Visitor Center to check out the museum and film and add a magnet to our collection. The scenery in this part of Oregon is just spectacular, and we took the long way back around to John Day stopping in Long Creek for deli sandwiches at the Long Creek Mercantile. On the way back we saw dozens of turkey, too. By the time we made it to Priscilla, I was ready for feet up and relaxation.
Sunday we started the day with services at First Baptist Church in town. Pastor Jesse Gosnell led a special musical service with several families singing. It was lovely, and we really enjoyed meeting his son Taylor, who was heading down to Florida to attend Pensacola Christian College. (We put him in touch with our Florida Jones Crew so he’d know people in the area.) Afterwards we walked over to Outpost Pizza, Pub, & Grill for lunch, then took a drive up the airport road (the airport is actually on top of the mountain) to get a look at the valley from the top.
SIDE NOTE: During our stay in John Day, our campsite was visited by quail multiple times every day. Not one or two, but dozens. We had a bit of wind and rain one of the days, and they came out in droves, apparently after something that was blown out of the trees. I got a couple of shots to share.
Grant County Fairgrounds & RV Park is right in John Day, Oregon, and within driving distance of Prairie City, Strawberry Lake, and John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Although the town is small, there are a few restaurants and stores within walking distance. The John Day River is right next door, and although you can’t see the water from the campsites, there is a walking/biking path along the river. The campground is pretty basic with just sites and a bathhouse, but it is maintained very well. RV sites are full-hookup with 20-/30-/50-amp in both pull-thru and back-in, and there are also tent sites available. Most of the campers were overnighters, but there were a few longer-term people. Our previous stays at fairgrounds were mostly parking lots, so we were pleasantly surprised by the tree cover and how quiet it was. We would definitely stay again. For this visit in July 2026, we paid $45 per night for 4 nights in a full-hookup, back-in site.
On Monday, August 24, we didn’t have very far to go and check-in time wasn’t until 1 PM. We opted to take a walk downtown and visit Outpost again for breakfast before heading out. (Everything was good, but I really wish people would resist the urge to put powdered sugar on pancakes!) We finally hit the road around 11 AM continuing the drive south on US-395 through Canyon City and Seneca to Burns. There we stopped at Safeway for a few groceries, then turned southeast on OR-68 and ended the drive about 1:30 PM at Crane Hot Springs. It was another beautiful day for a drive, and the scenery was gorgeous. Then we spent a relaxing afternoon, watched The Bishop’s Wife with Cary Grant, Loretta Young, and David Niven, and enjoyed a spectacular sunset.
SIDE NOTE: Our route took us through Silvies Valley, where the ranch land seemed to go on forever under the same logo, which made us curious. The valley was named for a French trapper who worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company in the 1830s. Later, homesteaders came, and the land was divided up into ranches. Many who tried their hand found the work to be too rugged and moved on, but Jack Craddock was not one of them. As the years passed, he added to his own place, buying many of the smaller places as they were sold. When the railroad came through the valley, life got a little easier. Jack’s son, Chet, picked up where his father left off, expanding their holdings to its current size. The Craddock family finally sold out in the 1950s, and a variety of subsequent owners took it through many iterations, including exotic wildlife hunting farm, dude ranch, and wild horse sanctuary. Today it is owned by Silvies Valley Ranch L.L.C. and encompasses 150,000 acres. The cattle ranching operation is a part of that, and the rest is a crazy big resort, The Retreat at Silvies Valley Ranch.
Tuesday was my first full pajama day in a while, and it was heavenly. I worked on writing, took at least one nap, and relaxed. Then on Wednesday, we walked around the campground in the morning, and drove a long loop to take in some more scenery. This part of Oregon is full of surprises. Large swaths of flat land covered in desert scrub with mountains and hills in the distance. After a while we started winding through some plateau areas, then the landscape began to change to lots of hills and black rock. That led us into an outstanding natural area. No seriously…the Diamond Craters Outstanding Natural Area, and it was VOLCANIC rock! The lava flows cover a circle approximately 6 miles in diameter, which is amazing. We drove up a tiny dirt road to get a look into one of the craters, too. It really was, not to be corny, outstanding.
The route back to the campground took us through lots of open ranch land. We passed a bunch of cowboys on horseback rounding up cows and pushing them into pens to load into trucks. A few minutes later, I saw a little guy on the outside of the fence curled up against the bushes. “Stop!! Backup!!” MW turned around so we could check it out. Definitely no mom or any other cow in sight, and that baby was clearly scared. Well, we couldn’t just leave him there. Okay, I’ll just say that my first thoughts were…”how can I catch him” and “where will he stay for the trip back to Sneedville in the RV.” Don’t say it…I know it was crazy, but he was so CUTE!! Instead we headed back towards the cowboys, but came upon a ranch house before that. The owner saw us drive in and met me on the porch. The little fellow belonged to his neighbor, and he said he would let him know right away. He sounded surprised that we stopped and thanked me repeatedly. Who would drive past that baby out in the middle of nowhere and not let someone know??!! As we headed back to Burns, we passed through a little wetland area that was filled with pelicans and ducks, and we also caught sight of a large herd of pronghorn in the distance.
When we finally made it back to Burns, it was time for lunch. We stopped in at the Broadway Deli downtown for sandwiches. The owner was super nice and the sandwiches, terrific, but the bill for two basic sandwiches (mine was tuna salad on white toast) with chips, tap water to drink, and a slice of pie for MW to take back was $46!! Ooooo…they likes they food!! Between town and the campground we saw something else cool…a coyote in the middle of a field. Back at Priscilla we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and yet another fantastic sunset.
SIDE NOTE: On Monday when we stopped in at the grocery store, I ran into a guy on the sidewalk going in wearing a Green Bay Packers cheesehead hat and a Green Bay jersey. I said something like “I guess you’re a fan, huh?!” He started talking and followed me into the store. When I caught up with MW, I tried to say goodbye, but he really wasn’t having any of it. He talked without really taking a breath, and I learned that he always loved football, his daddy wouldn’t let him play because he’s short, he still resents it (he’s probably mid-60s), and he jumped out of his dad’s car while it was moving in San Francisco to go to a Green Bay game. Whew! When we finally got loose, MW said “What did you say to him?!” LOL Guess he just needed to get all that off his chest! I was reminded about this when, while we were walking to the restaurant downtown, I saw him again. Same hat. Same jersey.
Crane Hot Springs is a few miles from Burns, Oregon, and has a lot to offer. Amenities include an office, common room with coffee, camp kitchen, bath and shower house, three wildlife ponds with lots of birds, and of course, the hot springs. You can choose to soak in a hot tub, swim or just relax in a pretty nice pool area, or book private soaking tubs. They make a point of saying the outdoor spring areas are NOT clothing optional, so there’s that. Lodging choices include several teepees, a sheep herder’s wagon, a variety of cabins, a couple of houses for larger groups, an inn with regular rooms and suites, three permanent rental RVs, and a variety of camping options. The latter has dry camping in several locations and the RV campground, which offers 25 pull-thru, full-hookup, 50-amp sites with fire rings and picnic tables. We enjoyed this place. Most of the traffic appeared to be overnighters, but almost everyone utilized the hot springs and the nice common area with free coffee was cool. The only real noise at night was coyotes or a bit of truck traffic on the adjacent road (mostly transporting hay while we were there). We would definitely stay again. They did have wifi, although I didn’t try it for speed. There were no over-the-air tv stations, and cell signals were good on Verizon, be the didn’t try AT&T. For this visit in August 2021, we paid just under $61 per night for 3 nights in a pull-thru, 50-amp site.
Thursday we pulled out at 10 AM, heading south on OR-78 down to Burns Junction. There we hit US-95 south all the way down to McDermitt, where we found lunch at the restaurant in the Say When Casino. (It was a dingy little place that wasn’t terribly pleasant, but there weren’t many options. Before the food arrived, one of the ladies playing the slots lit up her cigarette. Ugh! Thankfully, she drifted to the other side of the building, which helped. The waitress was very nice, though, and the food, edible.)
Before stopping to eat we noticed smoke from a wildfire in the mountains on the far side of the valley. As we crossed into Nevada and continued our drive south on US-95, we got closer. It was the McConnell fire in the Santa Rosa Range near Orovada. Most of the flames were on the other side of the ridge, but one section was coming down on our side where there were a few ranch houses spread out along the base of the mountain. From the road, which was approximately 1-1/2 miles away, we could see the flames. That is big stuff to see from that far away! There was one house in particular that was in fairly close proximity. Thankfully the wind was pretty strong and blowing in the other direction. We couldn’t even smell smoke. Later we found out that it was sparked by lightning on Tuesday and caused evacuations in Paradise Valley and Orovada. After a week it had burned 32,851 acres and was 46% contained. Most additional activity was expected to stay within the perimeter, and residents were allowed to go back to their homes. It took almost 400 people and cost $5 million to contain! We also passed the fire camp…it was about 96 degrees out, and they were spending whatever time they had away from the heat of the fire in TENTS on the desert valley floor and using a port-a-john. Wow!! I’m thinking that, if you know a Hotshot firefighter, you need to give him/her a hug or at least cookies!! Seriously, let’s keep saying prayers for these guys. US-95 took us all the way into Winnemucca, and we ended the day at New Frontier RV Park.
First thing on Friday I took care of laundry at the campground, which had FREE washers and dryers! While there I met a young man from California who was in town working on one of the big construction jobs. He had made some bad decisions and been through some very tough times, but he is on firm footing now, has been clean and sober for almost 3 years, and has turned his life over to Jesus. He said he was embarrassed to tell someone like me about the things he did and who he was. We talked about the fact that we have ALL made mistakes and fallen short of God’s will. Thanks to the man in the middle, we are not now what we used to be! Our slates are clean. Amen!! Praise the Lord! What a blessing to have met this young man! He sent me a copy of a poem that he received while in prison.
After finishing the chore, I headed over to The Silver Peak Bar and Grill (delicious) and spent quite a bit of time writing, then picked up a sandwich for MW. I also caught sight of smoke from the Juniper Ridge fire a few miles away. (This one started by lightning and burned 1,200 acres over 4 days before they got it contained.) The next couple of days were pretty quiet. We ran some errands on Saturday and had sandwiches at Sid’s Restaurant (not good), then Sunday headed over to First Baptist Church for Sunday school and services. The message from Pastor Jeff Johnson was an outline of an upcoming Bible study series they will be starting on Disciplines of the Disciple. It was very interesting, and the congregants were super nice, too. After partaking of a very good salad bar at the Grand Cafe, we did a little relaxing back at Priscilla.
We’ve been to New Frontier RV Park before. It is a private campground right in Winnemucca. They have lots of cabins and permanent campers, but at least one section is transient RVs. The original review and pics are here. This time the property seems like it has changed hands, or focus, or something. The store shelves are nearly vacant, and several washers and dryers are broken. (Those that weren’t were free, as mentioned above, unlike last time.) They are also adding some tiny houses and expanding, which appears to be for the temporary construction traffic coming in for the nearby power plant and lithium mine. Although there is always traffic noise, it was a bit irritating that a place that says quiet hours are from 10 PM to 8 AM has construction workers onsite at a little after 6 AM. In our case, they were right at the front of our RV, so the backup alarms, hammering, yelling back and forth, etc., were very loud. One of my pet peeves…if you aren’t going to enforce rules, don’t bother to make and post them. Also, I believe that, if you plan to have construction going on, you should notify people with reservations. That just seems like common sense, but in 8 years of travel, I’m not sure it has ever happened. All that said, if you need to be in Winnemucca, it isn’t a bad place. For this stay in August 2026, we paid a little over $53 per night for a paved, full-hookup, pull-through site with 50-amp.
Well, that finishes another LONG post. Next up…Ely, a New Wife (not for MW), and Back into Colorado. See you on the path!!
Talisa
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