We took a nice drive on Quartzville Road through the Cascades today, from Marion Forks to Sweet Home. The sun was shining and the berries were ripe along the scenic route. We were detoured onto a gravel road that took us high into the mountains where we had views of Mount Jefferson and Mount Hood from new perspectives. We returned to the Quartzville Creek canyon when we descended from the heights and had great viewpoints of waterfalls, green tinted pools and whitewater. The ghost town of Quartzville is somewhere along the route, perhaps the area we were detoured around. The creek must become a torrent during part of the year, or has in the past, evidenced by this washed out bridge. Our sightseeing was curtailed somewhat by a boiling battery. It’s a good thing the diesel truck has two batteries, so we could unhook the bad battery and continue on our tour without shutting the truck off!

We had a great picnic at Prineville Resevoir with our friends Mark, Sue, Alastair and Melody. Special thanks to Alastair for the great pictures! Blue skies and warm sunshine invited us onto the water thanks to Mark & Sue and their speedboat. At first I was a little reluctant but after seeing Mark wakeboard, the teenager took over in me and I gave it a try.

It doesn’t take long for gravity to take over!

A beautiful sunset reflected the mythical Margaritaville onto the very real Bigfoot!

On Tuesday we took a drive in the desert to visit a few sites we haven’t been to in many years. Some of the roads were different, some new, some the same rutted gravel we remember, but the views are timeless. Fort rock, a sentinel in the distance, Paulina Peak with all back roads aiming for it, the ponderosas giving way to lodgepoles who in turn give way to junipers, then to sagebrush. The lava flows are as craggy and inhospitable as they have been for millenia. We explored the cool depths of ‘Crack in the Ground’, aptly named.

Today is the 4th anniversary of the beginning of our grand adventure. We’ve been “On the Road” for 4 years now. Our travels throughout these years have taken us from Key West, Florida to Inuvik, Northwest Territory, Canada. From the farthest south you can drive in the continental U.S. to the farthest north you can drive in Canada, and lots of points in between! We’ve met many interesting people, made new friends and enjoyed visiting all our friends and family around the country.