Today we escaped the heat in Idaho by driving to Page Springs Recreation Site (In the Steens Mountain Wilderness) near Frenchglen, OR. We drove through some good rain at the beginning of the drive, which I imagine helped to bring the temperature down.
This part of Oregon is high desert. The landscape is rolling hills of sagebrush and volcanic rock intermixed with mountains that also have exposed layers of volcanic rock. The campground is like an oasis in the middle of all this. The Donner und Blitzen River (I’m not making this up!) runs by the campground, so there are nice shade trees and other vegetation here.
I’m camping for $8.00 a night, three bars on my cell phone, and the poor man’s awning is up – Life is good!
I used the awning for shade and a fan to deal with the 82 degree high for the day, but nothing like the sweltering heat we hit in Idaho on Sunday and Monday…