After unloading in Wilsonville, OR they sent me to Hood River, OR to pick up a load of imported Rum/Vodka/Whiskey etc. and I delivered it to the Utah Alcohol and Beverage Control warehouse in Salt Lake City Wednesday morning. In Utah all liquor sales are strictly controlled by the state. After unloading they sent me about 2 miles away to pickup a loaded trailer going to Medford, OR.
What was neat about this load was the routing. There is no easy way to get to Medford from the east. It is located 30 miles north of the California border on I-5 and has mountains on the east and west sides. North and South to actually. My good friend with the 76th Division, Jay Hamilton Ltc-Ret. lived in Medford. I have wanted a load up here for 10 years to visit with him, but sadly he passed away in 2008.
From Salt Lake City I came back in to southern Idaho and across to Boise on I-84 again. From Boise over to the Oregon state line and then picked up US-20 over to Bend, OR. The entire trip of 255 miles has only one town on it by the name of Burns. There is one stretch of 99 miles with no gas stations between Burns and Bend. The first 70 miles or so there is no cell service and it follows a river through valleys most of the way. One poor deer like to have bought the farm and my bumper. She decided to change direction in the middle of the highway and her hoofs were like ice skates. Luckily I had seen her in time to get slowed way down. Didn't have to worry about traffic, wasn't any. I saw another vehicle that first 125 miles about every half hour.
Bend, OR has a population of 80,000 and is kind of like a tourist trap city at the edge of the mountain range. Mt. Hood and 3 Sisters peaks are to the north and northwest. There are state and national parks and camp grounds and trout streams everywhere. Seventy miles south of Bend is Crater Lake. My route took me down and around the north side of Crater Lake and talk about beautiful scenery.
Normal states wouldn't let trucks that close to a National Park, but up here there just aren't any other routes through there. There is a highway on the south side of Yellowstone in Wyoming that swings down by Grand Tetons National Park that is the same way. Very close but just not into the park.
The pictures I have added I haven't labeled yet but will try to later. I have been up a long time and got to hit the hay. Basically the first 17 pictures are leaving Portland going along the Columbia River again, over Cabbage Pass at Pendelton, OR and the rain showers in the distance are around Baker City, OR. Last of these is at truck stop in Salt Lake City.
From there I have a couple in southern Idaho again. Then they pickup with the early morning shots beginning just outside Ontario, OR all the way to Medford, OR. All of the pics of basically vigin ranch land is the 255 miles to Bend. The city pics in middle of shots is one coming in to Bend on US-20. Then I pick up US-97 going south toward Klamath Falls, OR and this is where it starts to get pretty. Stopped at the truck stop for a quick shower in Chemoth, OR.
Leaving there, I went 10 miles south and picked up Oregon hwy 138 west to Oregon hwy 230 south and then picked up Oregon hwy 62 that comes out of Crater Lake National Park.
The last two pics are my sitting in the truck stop on south side of Medford looking at the mountains on west side of I-5 and 2 para-sails. I used my telephoto lens fully extended to catch them. All morning was 35 to 40 degrees until I came down into Medford. Here in Medford they had a high of 70 today. Like it up here.
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