The Great Eastern Oregon Adventure

55 and Drive

Yes we had a great trip and yes we found some Plush Diamonds but the most exciting part of the trip was staying at the Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge near by!

Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge is located on a massive fault block ridge that ascends abruptly nearly three quarters of a mile above the Warner Valley floor in a series of rugged cliffs, steep slopes, and knife-like ridges. We almost gave up when we saw the road - but it was so worth it, all 23 wash board miles of it and 2,000' climb. Myrtle Creek is about 500' and now at the Refuge we were almost 7,000'.

We camped next to Rock Creek which had enough cool and flowing water in it that we could get wet in the heat of the day. Rock Creek was a oasis in the high desert. Leave the shade of the creek and it was sagebrush and 30 degrees hotter as far as you could see, which was a long way. In addition there were natural hot springs in the area and as it cooled down in the evening they were very relaxing.

This pool was natural and over my head. A stone wall had been erected around it for privacy but a natural outdoor pool was also available and it was lovely in the middle of a large meadow, with hot hot water and a sand bottom. I had forgotten how many stars there are.

We saw more wildlife in 2 days there then in the last 2 years! We saw 2 herds of antelope. Pronghorns, one with a baby. Also a coyote kit, that was as surprised as we were. We saw several mule deer, ospreys, eagles, and dessert rabbits with huge ears.

As for the diamond mine - there was no place to stay there and that was why we stayed at the Refuge which on the map looked close but in reality the roads were 15 miles per hour from the Refuge to the mine. We knew it would be warm and we left the reserve at dawn after taking one last hot spring dip. By the time we got to the mine it was noon and very hot. We looked for a while and found several small diamonds (Oregon Sun Stones). I was surprised how easy it was to see them, they glinted in the sun like real diamonds and we had not gotten very far off the beaten path. William lasted longer than me. Finally I had to sit in the car in the air conditioning and wait while he searched another area. I knew I would regret not searching more and I do, but I could not go out into that heat again. I swear it was 110 in the shade! But there was no shade, only sagebrush as far as the eye could see. It took hours to get back to a main road.

We did collect a lovely handful of sun stones, at least 55 for my 55th birthday - which was my goal. They make me happy. Would 2 handfulls make me twice as happy? On the way home driving through our own downtown Myrtle Creek, we stopped at our friend Lena's the local rock shop and William bought me a lovely sun stone ring that Lena made. It was a great birthday and it is always fun to see something you have never seen before.

Oh and there is an amazing book store in Klamath Fallls that we found last year on our first visit there. This year we knew to stop and we were not disappointed. I found several great books and felt very blessed.

Thanks for listening.