It was a bittersweet departure. We did not want to leave our campsite with a stunning view of Cascade Lake but the road beckoned.
Just up the road we passed the adorable town of McCall perched on Payette Lake. The marina was filled with sailboats. The town reminded us of some of the lovely towns we visited in Michigan (Harbor Springs, Petosky, Charlevoix, etc) but with northwestern architecture -- lots of log and stone.
In keeping with the "devil" theme as described in our earlier lunchtime post, our route took us through Hells Canyon along the Snake River which is the natural border between Idaho and Oregon.
As we crossed the river it was as if the Idaho landscape spilled over to Oregon. The mountains were arid, rugged and filled with sagebrush, not at all what we were expecting.
It wasn't until we reached the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center near Baker City that the landscape began to change. At the interpretive center we read about the 300,000 plus people who traveled the Oregon Trail between 1860 and 1880. The 2,000 mile route was so treacherous that 1 in 10 who attempted the passage perished -- in other words one person died every 80 yards.
Slowly the Oregon landscape began to change. As the elevation increased pine forests became more prolific and as we dipped lower the valley floors were verdant from extensive irrigation.
We gained an extra hour of driving time as we reached Pacific time. By 6pm we rolled into the Clyde Holliday state park outside the town of John Day, OR.
The campsground is a little oasis in the arid landscape and we lucked out once again by securing the last available site in the park.
Next day...onward to Bend, OR!
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