Explore the journey — one trail, museum, meal, and memory at a time.
Paper Tickets and Desert Highways
A quarter tank of gas feels very different in rural eastern Oregon. Driving north from the Painted Hills toward Pendleton, I stopped in Spray at an old-school gas station running on trust, paper tickets, and ancient equipment. Later, over lunch in Long Creek, I met a man named Al whose stories ranged from Harleys and prison time to caring for his daughter through cancer.
Crater Lake to Painted Hills
What started as a simple morning at Crater Lake turned into a long, uncertain drive to the Painted Hills—and five hours I didn’t expect to spend there. Along the way, the landscape shifted from dense forest to high desert, the light kept changing, and the hills revealed more the longer I stayed. The day ended in a quiet pullout, surrounded by cattle and just enough silence to notice.