Creeping eastward, across the Great Basin

Time to head for home, but as usual, we aren't in a hurry. We'll be creeping our way eastward, hoping to arrive back in Texas before the end of October.

Here the route for the first three days:

View Creeping Eastward - Sept. 2012 in a larger map

Monday we left Armitage Park in a bit of a germ induced haze, I must admit. We probably would have stayed another day, but we were both thoroughly sick of being in such civilized quarters, so planned a very short hop over the mountain to a campground we've used as a staging ground before.

Cresent Creek is an unremarkable little BLM ground, administered by Hoodoo as are most of the federal campgrounds around the area. It's oddly laid out, with two pull-throughs (both rather sharp curves) and several short back-in spaces, and most seemingly "backwards" which is to say the tables and fire rings are on the driver's side. 'Fine for tent or auto camping but a little awkward for RVs. There's a hand pump for water, and a vault outhouse. It's near the highway too, so during the day there's road noise, but it usually dies down after dark. A signboard has information about all the bird varieties here.'Good to know, but any time an area brags about lots of birds it's a clue as to the bugs you can expect in the spring. The bug situation isn't bad this time of year, as it's getting down to the 30's at night. The creek runs right behind the campground, though with all the brush it's hard to get to it. A fly fisherman must have found a trail into the creek somewhere, as popped out of the bushes near camp and was greeted by Shiner's hearty WOOF! I don't know which of them was the most startled!

Slightly improved Tuesday morning we took our time getting on the road. Heading for Burns, in eastern Oregon, we traveled down hwy. 20 under a sunny but smoky sky. The fire near Sisters was still burning, though it's about 50% contained.

We'd heard the ads for Ken's Sporting Goods in Gilchrist on the radio so thought we'd stop in on the way through - what a great store!

This one truly fills the "beer, bait and ammo" bill. The store stocks a great selection of weapons and ammo,. There's a liquor department, and a few great souvenirs for the outdoor enthusiast.

The best part is the outdoor carvings ornamenting the entrance. Gilchrist has a history as a logging town,kk as that Paul Bunyan figure on top of the hotel sign on the left side of the photo suggests, so the chainsaw carvings are very appropriate.


Anybody need left-handed weapon? Ken also has special sections for women and youth, and several other specialized categories....and all the ammo you need for any model you can name.

And Ken has all the bases covered on the financial side: 

If you'r drinkin to forget please pay in advance

Tuesday night's stop was Chickahominy Reservoir. No kidding.... sounds like a casserole recipe doesn't it? Actually the reservoir is named for the nearby creek of the same name, but the Chickahominy tribe is in Virginia, and no one seems to know why the creek was so named, so as with many place names, it remains a mystery.

The area is wide open, with a few sites sporting shades over the picnic tables. There are several shoreline camping areas where one can just pull over willy-nilly and camp. We selected that type of area as it had the best view of the lake.
We had thought to let Shiner go swimming in the lake, but a quick look at the shore line canceled that idea.

Though the placid waters were dotted with ducks and geese, as heads-up from the folks on the Wheeling It blog made me pay attention to the blue streak of algae lining the shoreline.

blue algae on the shoreline

They nearly lost their dog Polly from the blue-green algae toxins, and we certainly didn't want to have the same experience.

Shiner seemed content to follow rodent trails in and around the boulders than line the road, and so didn't miss the swimming at all. In fact, the row of boulders turned out to be a favorite roosting place for more western bluebirds than I have ever seen at once. Shiner attempted to chase them too but wasn't particularly successful at that endeavor.

On the way to the reservoir we passed the Northern Gread Basin Research Center. We are definitely in the Great Basin here, as the land is flat, flat, flat, with only a few mountains silhouetted on the horizon. It's all the more striking to us as we've spent recent weeks under tall trees and in narrow, forested canyons.

The smoke from the Sisters' fire did lend a lovely rosy glow to the sunset, and we enjoyed it as we sat in the twilight listening to the ducks and geese chatter in the distance. The campground is very minimalistic, but easily met our requirements for a bit of scenery and wide open spaces.

Wednesday night, Bully Creek campground. Bully Creek is a Malheur County park, and a lovely one it is! After all the dry dusty gravel and dirt campsites, Shiner was ecstatic when we set up camp in this grassy, park-like campground. She even had a chance to swim in the lake. The reservoir is very low, due to the ongoing drought here, but there was enough water to wash off the trail dust.

Though the spaces in this campground tend to be on the short side, they are wide, and generously spaced, with wide grassy areas all around. There are a couple of shaded pavilions, and lots of trees creating filtered shade over most of the sites.

Many of the sites have a view of the lake, most have electricity, but the water situation is a little odd. Rather than connections right in each site there are occasional faucets out in the middle of the grassy areas. One faucet might serve more than one site, so a "y" connector is useful. Sites on the outside loop don't really have access to water. The restrooms have showers, though, so even tent campers can be comfortable here.

A note of caution for those with dogs or small children. There is a heavy infestation of goathead weeds in a few of the sites and gravel paths. The seeds of this low lying weed are wicked sharp, and will puncture the soles of flip-flops and tough dog feed, and they hitch-hike on the soles of rubber shoes, so the carpeting of an RV can quickly trap several. Then they lay in wait to stab your foot when you get up in the middle of the night! . . voice of experience here!!!

There is another wicked weed here too. The lake shore areas that were previously underwater but are now exposed support a healthy crop of  Cockleburs. They weren't quite dry/ripe during our visit, but will be wicked stickers when they are dry. These are round, held up on taller stems, so would mostly be a problem for long-haired dogs passing by.
(As with all of the photos, you can view a larger version by just clicking on the picture)

All things considered, this was a nice overnight stop, and a good deal at $15. 'A nice little out of the way campground, and we'd defininately stay here again.