Road Trip: Ghost Towns, Desert and Fossils

Sun, 04 Sep 2005 23:59:59 -800

US-97 is the highway that heads south from the Columbia River through the cities
of central Oregon: Bend, Redmond and Madras. We didn't go quite that far,
electing instead to go south to
Shaniko, which was promoted as a "fully functional ghost town". But,
more about that later. The northernmost portion of US-97 is a fairly relaxed
ascent into the plateau that comprises the Oregon high desert. The entire set
of pictures (a9040097 - 105) was taken along this stretch of about sixty miles;
note the smaller, tumbleweed-like plants and the rock formations that, while
similar to those on the west side of Mt. Hood, are not covered with moss. Once
on the plain, the land becomes flatter and even more desolate; except for the
occasional barn or silo, there's really nothing but rolling hills that don't
seem to be in use.