in Southeast Oregon
From windswept desert plains to deep river canyon walls, the southeast corner of Oregon is crossed with miles of empty roads that invoke the Oregon Trail and the state’s pioneer heritage. Roads Less Traveled in Southeast Oregon leads modern explorers on more than 950 miles of routes and explains what they’ll find along the way. Cruisin’ Highway 20 and Obscure Points North Brothers to Burns (200 miles) Going to the Birds Hines to Fields (148 miles) Exploring Oregon’s Outback Fields to Burns (125 miles)
Roads Less Traveled in Southeast Oregon
Roads Less Traveled
Roads Less Traveled
in Southeast Oregon
Visiting Basque Country, Rome, and the Jordan River in a Day McDermitt to Jordan Valley (109 miles) Exploring Leslie Gulch, Succor Creek, Jordan Craters, and the Oregon Trail Jordan Valley to Vale (102 miles) “Where Oregon Begins” Ontario to Vale (124 miles) Don’t Start a Fight In Drewsey! Vale to Burns (147 miles)
Roads L
in Oregon Steve Arndt
learn more at:
www.roadslesstraveledoregon.com
Steve Arndt
d
Travele s s e
A Guide to Back Roads and Special Places
Steve Arndt
Roads Less Traveled
in Southeast Oregon
A Guide to Back Roads and Special Places
Steve Arndt
About the Roads Less Traveled Series: "The series will stitch together the state's history and habitat for anyone who pays as much attention to what they're driving through as where they're going." — Bill Monroe, The Oregonian
www.roadslesstraveledoregon.com Also by Steve Arndt: Roads Less Traveled in Northeast Oregon Roads Less Traveled in Northwest Oregon I Roads Less Traveled in Northwest Oregon II Roads Less Traveled in North-Central Oregon Forthcoming books in the series: South-Central Oregon Southwest Oregon, Second Edition
Roads Less Traveled in Southeast Oregon A Guide to Back Roads and Special Places Steve Arndt Copyright Š 2012 Steve Arndt All rights reserved. Photographs by Diane Arndt of Woodburn, Oregon Maps by Justin Eslinger, Box Lunch Design Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-0-9844294-4-8
Front Cover: Succor Creek Canyon (Photograph by Diane Arndt) Back Cover (from top to bottom) Along the road between Durkee and Bridgeport Barn and windmill near Fort Harney Leslie Gulch Bighorn Sheep found between Durkee and Bridgeport Pillars of Rome (Photographs by Diane Arndt) Designed by
Justin Eslinger | Box Lunch Design boxlunchdesign@gmail.com
Dedicated to the newest member of the Arndt clan Megan Claire Arndt May you be as intrigued with the beauty and wonder of our state as your grandparents are and inherit our passion to learn about, explore, and conserve its uniqueness.
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. —Robert Frost (1874-1963) from his poem, "The Road Not Taken"
Acknowledgements Special Thanks to: Kelly Everhart office coordinator, Harney County Chamber of Commerce Sharon Johnson Harney County Court House Pam Bourasa and Margaret Tolman Vale Public Library John Breidenbach President of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce David and Melvin L.Leteer residents of Durkee Charity Wright owner of the Brogen Quick Stop Market (Vilsmeyer Country Store) All who provided assistance in the production of this book or shared information about their communities, with sincere apologies to anyone not mentioned by name.
Contents Foreword
i
Introduction
iii
Cruisin’ Highway 20 and Obscure Points North
1
Brothers to Burns (200 miles) Brothers Hampton Riley Izee Seneca Silvies Burns
Going to the Birds
Hines to Fields (148 miles) Hines Narrows Malheur Field Station Round Barn Diamond Frenchglen Roaring Springs Fields
Exploring Oregon’s Outback Fields to Burns (125 miles) Fields Andrews New Princeton Crane Burns
Visiting Basque Country, Rome, and the Jordan River in a Day McDermitt to Jordan Valley (109 miles) McDermitt Basque Station Burns Junction Rome Arock Danner Jordan Valley
3 4 6 9 11 12 14
15 19 21 22 24 26 28 29 30
31 33 34 36 37 38
39 41 42 43 44 45 47 48
Exploring Leslie Gulch, Succor Creek, Jordan Craters, and the Oregon Trail Jordan Valley to Vale (102 miles) Jordan Valley Leslie Gulch Succor Creek Adrian Lake Owyhee Nyssa Vale
"Where Oregon Begins" Ontario to Vale (124 miles) Ontario Annex Huntington Lime Weatherby Durkee Bridgeport Malheur City Brogan Jamieson Willowcreek Vale
Don’t Start a Fight In Drewsey! Vale
to Burns (147 miles) Vale Harper Westfall Juntura Drewsey Fort Harney Burns
49 51 55 56 57 59 60 62
63 65 67 69 71 72 73 77 78 79 80 81 82
83 85 87 89 90 91 93 94
395
395
Seneca Izee
Silvies 395
Brothers
20
20
Hampton
Riley
20
395
20
395
Burns
205
395
20
78
OREGON
Brothers to Burns 1
Brothers . . . . . . . 3
Hampton . . . . . . . 4
Riley . . . . . . . 6
Izee . . . . . . . 9
Seneca . . . . . . . 11
Silvies . . . . . . . 12
Burns . . . . . . . 14
Cruisin’ Highway 20 and Obscure Points North Brothers to Burns (200 miles)
More deer and antelope than people will be encountered along lonely stretches of road that wind through the Ochoco and Malheur National Forests. This 200-mile route begins on Highway 20 at Brothers in Crook County and briefly passes through Lake County before entering into Harney County near Hines. The route ventures northward into Grant County before looping south to end in Burns, the seat of government and largest city in Harney County. Lumber and ranching historically defined the economy of Harney County, the largest county in Oregon and the third largest in the Continental United States. The area is known as a gathering place for sports enthusiasts whose interests range from hunting and snow mobiling, to rodeos. Make sure to visit the Antelope Taxidermy Store in Hampton and Riley’s Archery Center. On the route north from Hines, go to the remains of Izee, a once-thriving lumber, cattle and farming community and Seneca, known for its extreme temperatures. Discover the 120,000-acre corporate farm in Silvies and end the route at the Paiute Indian Nation Reservation in Burns.
Road between Riley and Izee
2
Brothers Elevation: 4640 feet Location: 43.48.849 N • 120.36.243 W Services: gas, food Taking a lead from the “Three Sisters” Mountains and due to the fact that three mountains were visible from his land, early homesteader Charley Houston suggested the name “Three Brothers” for both his sheep ranch and the nearby mountains. The name was subsequently given to the small community where a post office opened in 1913 and the school in 1920. Because vast tracts of uninhabited land still surround the community today, the Oregon Rocketry Association launches model and high-powered rockets here. The FAA has granted the ORA a 35,000 feet airspace waiver for rocket launching. The temperatures in Brothers fall below freezing seven months a year. The Brother’s Fault Line follows US Highway 20 from Bend past Burns. Prior to the 1940s, more than 240 homes existed along the road between Brothers and Burns, even though electricity did not reach some of them until the 1950s, and telephone service until the 1960s.
Former Brothers General Store
Points of Interest • Former Brothers General Store The old store is in disrepair. • Abandoned Dwelling Behind the former store. • Brothers School District 15C The current, remodeled school sits behind the original “little red school house.” • Stage Stop Store/Post office/ Gas Station The store is constructed on the site of the old Bend to Boise Stage Stop.
Stage Stop Store 3
Hampton Brothers to Hampton
Elevation: 4418 feet Location: 43.40.437 N • 120.14.201W Services: gas, food, RV, camping
Distance: 20.2 miles Directions: From the Stage Stop/Post Office, proceed east toward Burns.
Points En Route (mileage from the Stage Stop/Post Office) 0.1 miles: Rest Area and Brothers State Highway Division Maintenance Station. 5.5 miles: Views of the northwestern portion of the Great Basin and Pine Mountain in the distance. Watch for antelope. 15.1 miles: Hampton Butte, 6345 feet, is visible to the left.
In the 1870s, Eugene resident Joe Hampton moved to this area. The series of small buttes that surrounded his farm were named after Hampton, as was the small settlement. First called Hampton Station, the name changed to Hampton in 1911 when the post office opened. Located on US Highway 20, the community consists of a restaurant, gas pump, and taxidermy business. In the 1940s, despite lack of electricity and phone service, Hampton had a population of more than forty people. The small, established community, bypassed by the new highway, was re-located and all buildings were moved to locations along the road. Both plant and animal fossils can be found in the area. Hampton Butte, seen from the store and gas station, was an important landmark to the pioneers. It was an especially welcomed sight for members of the ill-fated Meek Wagon Train.
Points of Interest • Former Store and Gas Station Abandoned and neglected. • Antelope Station Artistic Taxidermy A busy place during hunting season.
• Campground Fee area for tent or R.V. camping. Picnic tables.
20.2 miles: Hampton
Brothers 2 km 2 mi
20
Hampton
Hampton Station Café
4
in Southeast Oregon
From windswept desert plains to deep river canyon walls, the southeast corner of Oregon is crossed with miles of empty roads that invoke the Oregon Trail and the state’s pioneer heritage. Roads Less Traveled in Southeast Oregon leads modern explorers on more than 950 miles of routes and explains what they’ll find along the way. Cruisin’ Highway 20 and Obscure Points North Brothers to Burns (200 miles) Going to the Birds Hines to Fields (148 miles) Exploring Oregon’s Outback Fields to Burns (125 miles)
Roads Less Traveled in Southeast Oregon
Roads Less Traveled
Roads Less Traveled
in Southeast Oregon
Visiting Basque Country, Rome, and the Jordan River in a Day McDermitt to Jordan Valley (109 miles) Exploring Leslie Gulch, Succor Creek, Jordan Craters, and the Oregon Trail Jordan Valley to Vale (102 miles) “Where Oregon Begins” Ontario to Vale (124 miles) Don’t Start a Fight In Drewsey! Vale to Burns (147 miles)
Roads L
in Oregon Steve Arndt
learn more at:
www.roadslesstraveledoregon.com
Steve Arndt
d
Travele s s e
A Guide to Back Roads and Special Places
Steve Arndt