Dayton, NV to Pendleton, OR

Dayton, NV to Pendleton, OR

April 15 - 18, 2019

We left John's brother Bill's house on Monday, April 15.  We spent that night at a BLM campground near Winnemucca NV called Water Canyon.  It was nice with covered picnic tables and our site looked like it had sewer.  The sites were well spread out.  However, we were the only ones there, it was cold and rainy, and we probably wouldn't go back unless there were going to be more people there.  I didn't get any pictures.

On Tuesday, April 16 we spent the night at the Ruggles Creek Road OHV area near Baker City, OR.  We were the only ones there but didn't get any bad vibes.  The area was beautiful and the valley below us I believe was part of the Oregon Trail.

On Wednesday morning we went to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.  I have always loved history like this so I really enjoyed it.

Those pioneers were a very tough lot.  The covered wagons looked so small.  We learned that they carried their belongings in the wagons and they actually walked the 2,000 miles from the 'jumping-off points' to the Willamette Valley area.  Here's a mural of the area where the interpretive center is and the route they took down the mountain.

You could see part of the Oregon Trail from the interpretive center and I took a picture but you couldn't see it in the picture.

Here's what the inside of a wagon would have looked like.

These make our 40' 5th wheel look like a palace.  Their wagons were 4' by 12' and had to hold enough food, clothing and needs for their new life.  Many people brought enough to do that but because of the terrain or that their animals couldn't pull the weight any more they had to dump it.  The route was lined with discarded items.

We left a little before noon and continued on our way towards Kennewick, WA to visit friends.  When we were coming down the last part of the mountain on I-84 into Pendleton, Oregon the transmission/rear wheels on the truck locked up.  Because of the weight of the 5th wheel on the 6% downhill grade John was able to barely get it on the shoulder.  It was in a construction zone too so the left lane was closed.  There were a lot of big semi's passing by, and many of them didn't know what their gears were for and were riding their brakes.  I could still smell burning brakes last night.  Several people stopped from the Oregon DOT.  They were very concerned about our safety and were so nice.  One young man even stayed until the flatbed truck came for the truck and the tow truck for the 5th wheel.  

John went with the truck to the mechanics shop and I went with the 5th wheel to the campground (I intended at the start of this trip to learn how to set up and tear down but this reminded me that I really do need to learn how).  We are at Wildhorse Resort RV Park in Pendleton and it's very nice.  The Lord kept us safe and provided the mechanics shop and campground.  We don't understand why this has happened but we know He is in control.  We're thankful it didn't happen a month from now when we were in Canada.

John got a call this morning on the truck and the transmission will have to be replaced.  He wants an ATS transmission, which is a heavy duty one with a good guaranty.  They said it will take 10-14 business days to get it built, shipped and put it in, so we'll be here for a while, but it's a beautiful place and we'll just enjoy it.

Roving on (in a couple of weeks)...

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork.  Psalm 19:1