SOUTHEAST Oregon's remote high-desert country is a little-known and remarkably diverse region that covers nearly one-quarter of the state. Wind-seared desert and lush wetlands border stunning geologic formations; pelicans and trumpeter swans fly over pockmarked lava beds, and dry winds sweep through ghost towns where sheepherders used to spend the winter months.
Most of Oregon's high desert, with an average altitude of 4,000 feet, is in Harney and Malheur Counties. Only 34,500 residents live in the counties' 20,125 square miles, an area larger than Vermont plus New Hampshire. Seventy-five percent of the land is owned or managed by Federal or state agencies, primarily the Bureau of Land Management.
Many of the high desert's most impressive features can be seen along a 750-mile route that my husband and I traveled last summer on a five-day trip. All these roads, including dirt ones, are well maintained and easily traversed by passenger cars.
We began our journey at the High Desert Museum in Bend, a central Oregon recreation hub, 163 miles southeast of Portland. The museum offers slide shows and innovative displays that describe the region's natural and cultural history. Our favorite exhibit was the "desertarium," a series of living tableaux furnished with native plants and populated by 37 small critters who call the desert home but are generally elusive hosts. We saw burrowing owls, catnapping cottontails, a long-nosed leopard lizard eyeing his cricket dinner, and a coiled garter snake that resembled an elaborately woven Indian belt.
Prepared with books from the museum's gift shop, we drove east on U.S. Route 20 through a gently rolling landscape sprinkled with juniper, soft yellow wildflowers and sporadic dust devils. Miles of sagebrush lined our route, broken by splotches of bright green irrigated land and occasional lava outcrops that reared several hundred feet above the desert.Continue reading the main story
Seventy-one miles east of Bend we sighted Glass Butte, one of the world's largest obsidian outcroppings, literally a mountain of volcanic glass that gently rises 2,000 feet above the surrounding countryside. Although we expected a dazzling view of the obsidian slopes, a wetter-than-usual winter had cloaked them in dusty green growth.
As we walked toward the butte along a dirt road edged with orange and purple wildflowers, we realized that the glistening "pebbles" in the road were chunks of obsidian. We filled our pockets with fragments of sienna brown glass flecked with black stripes, and shards of opaque black glass swirled like the bottom of an antique bottle. We later learned that over 7,000 years ago, local Indians used this obsidian to fashion arrowheads that have been found in archeological sites as far east as Ohio.
Our next stop was 44 miles east of Glass Butte at the Sagehen Hill Nature Trail, a half-mile walk through the surrounding desert terrain. Low shrubs tickled our legs as we followed the sandy path to 11 stops described in our guide. We identified bitterbrush (a winter food for deer, elk and antelope), recognized volcanic landforms and read that the distant Palomino Buttes supported wild horses, descendants of those that escaped many years ago from local ranches.
After a late lunch in nearby Burns, Harney County's largest town with a population of 2,920, we continued 128 miles east to bustling Ontario, adjacent Malheur County's biggest metropolis with 10,160 residents. Our route crossed desert landscapes, marshy wetlands and fields where the farm machinery looked bigger than nearby houses.
Along the way, historic markers reminded us that this vast, empty land was once stained with the blood of Indian families and settlers, and, beginning in the 1870's, was the site of fierce range wars between cattlemen and sheepherders. The cattlemen wanted to fence in their land; sheepherders wanted open range. Today the two groups coexist, with fences, but cattle predominate.
The next day, we drove south on State Route 201, turning after 28 miles onto Succor Creek Road, a dirt byway that leads to the high desert's most stunning landscapes. Swarms of white butterflies surrounded our car as we crossed cattle guards, passed by weathered signs pointing to invisible ranches and headed for what appeared to be sand dunes wearing rock crowns and shoulder pads.
After 12 miles, sloping hillsides gave way to rough-hewn canyon walls as we entered Succor Creek Canyon, a remote, rugged terrain carved by an innocent-looking creek that parallels the road. Canyon walls soar to 1,000 feet, broken into towering pinnacles, fat, flat slabs and delicate stalagmite shapes. At one point the canyon narrowed to 50 feet. In more open areas, whimsical lava formations resembled enormous castle towers and sci-fi landscapes.
WE stopped to search for "thundereggs," Oregon's official state rock. Resembling fossilized mud balls, these unattractive gray blobs sometimes contain brilliant agates. Unfortunately, the ones I gathered, then cracked open at home, held no treasures.
Continuing our back-country explorations, we followed the Leslie Gulch turnoff that leads 15 miles west through increasingly dramatic landscapes to Lake Owyhee. At first we were struck by the immense emptiness and scope of the land where sagebrush and wildflower fields, scattered with lava rubble, stretch to distant horizons. It was easy to imagine we were on an uninhabited planet.
After stopping to read a sign explaining that Leslie Gulch was named after a pioneer killed here by lightning in 1882, we descended nine miles into a remarkable ravine filled with multicolored spires. Solitary yellow towers stood near the road like arthritic fists streaked with bright orange and brown; enormous honeycombed cliffs hovered overhead. In every direction there were geologic wonders: jagged crystal shapes, pitted bowls and mammoth clubs formed from weathered volcanic ash in yellow and red, gray and orange, even subtle green and purple hues.
At the end of the road the formations spill into Lake Owyhee, a 52-mile-long placid blue pool in the Owyhee River. Owyhee (pronounced o-WYE-hee) is a corruption of Hawaii. Peter Skene Ogden, an explorer for the Hudson's Bay Company, named the river in honor of two of his men, both Hawaiian fur trappers, who disappeared near here in the 1820's.
As we slowly drove back up the gulch, we saw a magnificent bighorn sheep delicately lapping water from a shallow rivulet. Once plentiful in the area, the sheep disappeared in the early 20th century before being reintroduced by the Bureau of Land Management in 1965. Today the herd numbers over 200.
We spent the night in Jordan Valley, a small town 28 miles south of Leslie Gulch. It was originally established as a gold-mining supply station, then was home to Basque settlers who moved here during the 1890's. Today an abandoned 25-foot-high stone pelota frontone, the traditional Basque ball court, stands next to a mobile home park.
Driving west the next day, we saw Steens Mountain in the distance, a towering, snow-capped monolith that rises more than 5,000 feet above the landscape. It remained visible throughout the rest of our trip, so we adopted it as our informal compass.
Fifteen miles west of Jordan Valley, we detoured south on a dirt road, traveling 18 miles to the Owyhee Canyon Overlook. Along the way we saw antelope prancing through sagebrush, buzzards flying overhead and ducks floating in marshy pools. The overlook offered panoramic views of wide, 1,000-foot-deep, reddish-brown canyons cut by the narrow Owyhee River.
Our next stop was Rome, named for an outcropping of weathered volcanic ash said to resemble ancient Roman columns. We drove several miles north to see 100-foot, sandy-colored badland formations that actually do resemble columned ruins.
From here we headed 95 miles northwest to Diamond, a tiny ghost town where we stayed for the next three nights. Founded in the 1880's, Diamond's population soared to 50 during the 1920's when it boasted one store, a community hall, a school, a hotel and a saloon. Today five people live here, including Judy and Jerry Santillie, who own the Hotel Diamond, a two-story, cedar-faced structure built in 1898 to accommodate sheepherders and visiting horse traders.
Restored, modernized and reopened in 1991, the hotel has five small, pleasant rooms, a comfortable screened-porch sitting area and family-style meals. It also sells gas, operates a postal station and has a small store, an oasis that stocks deli meats, Perrier and California wine.
The Santillies told us that 150,000 acres of the surrounding valley were once owned by Peter French, a cattleman known for the unusual round barns he built for breaking and exercising horses during the winter. Since one of these barns still stands, 11 miles north of Diamond, and is open to visitors, we went to see it.
Built around 1880, the barn, 100 feet in diameter, has board-and-batten exterior walls. Inside is a 60-foot-wide, 18-inch-thick lava-stone corral pierced by 14 wood-framed windows. Horses were broken in the center area, then exercised on the track formed by the corral and outside walls. The cedar-shingled conical roof, supported by a 35-foot juniper center post, resembles a partly opened umbrella, the inside intricately webbed with wood ribs and cross braces. Today hundreds of barn swallows nest in roof crannies. (Visitors should wear hats.)
Our next stop was Diamond Craters, a lava extravaganza said to be one of the best and most diverse volcanic formations in the country. Following a self-guided, 24-mile driving tour, we discovered red cinder craters, lava tubes, trenches and spatter cones. I particularly liked the "driblet spires," volcanic spit-ups thrown into the air then plopped back down in stacks.
THE next day, at the 185,000-acre Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, which is visited annually by five to ten million birds, we saw flights of Canada geese, trumpeter swans and pelicans, as well as a variety of shore and song birds. A pheasant strutted across the road in front of our car, a merganser floated nearby in a marshy pond. At the southern tip of the refuge we visited Frenchglen, another sleepy ghost town offering visitors vintage hotel accommodations.
We spent our last night outside Diamond, five miles east of the Refuge, at the McCoy Creek Inn, a working cattle ranch where peacocks roam the grounds. After a hearty dinner, as if on cue, a handsome rancher sporting a jaunty handlebar mustache joined us on the porch, spinning tales of hard ranch life and quoting his own poetry -- an ode to Copenhagen snuff. A Hollywood ending to our high-desert adventure. TOURING THE HIGH DESERT When to Go
Although paved roads in this region are generally passable year-round, the dirt ones are not. The best time to visit southeast Oregon is from mid-May through October. Maps
Detailed maps that include precise locations of geologic formations can be found in the Oregon Atlas and Gazetteer ($14.95), published by DeLorme Mapping, Post Office Box 298, Freeport, Me. 04032; (207) 865-4171. Where to Stay and Eat
Burns, Jordan Valley and Ontario all have motels and restaurants that are open year-round. In addition, the area offers the following:
Frenchglen Hotel, Highway 205, Frenchglen, Ore. 97736; (503) 493-2825. Open March 1 to mid-November. Doubles are $42 to $48. Breakfast and lunch are $2.50 to $5 a person; dinner, $10 to $15 (reservations required).
Hotel Diamond, 10 Main Street, Diamond, Ore. 97722; (503) 493-1898. Open March 1 to mid-November. Doubles are $45 to $55. Breakfast is $1.50 to $4.75 a person; family-style dinners, $8 to $13.50; a la carte dinners, $2.50 to $6. Dining available only to hotel guests.
McCoy Creek Inn, HC 72, Post Office Box 11, Diamond, Ore. 97722; (503) 493-2131. Open April to November. Doubles are $75 and include a full breakfast. Dinners are $15 to $20 a person (reservations required). Destinations
For a self-guiding tour brochure and additional information about Diamond Craters, contact Burns District Office, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior, HC 74-12533, Highway 20 West, Hines, Ore. 97738; (503) 573-5241.
High Desert Museum, 59800 South Highway 97, Bend, Ore. 97702; (503) 382-4754. Open daily, 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. (except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day). Admission $5.50.
For information about Leslie Gulch, Owyhee River Canyon and Succor Creek Canyon, contact the Vale District Office, Bureau of Land Management, United States Department of the Interior, 100 Oregon Street, Vale, Ore. 97918; (503) 473-3144.
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, HC 72, Post Office Box 245, New Princeton, Ore. 97721; (503) 493-2612.
Information about the Round Barn and the Sagehen Hill Nature Trail is available through the Harney County Chamber of Commerce, 18 West D Street, Burns, Ore. 97720; (503) 573-2636. Side Trips
To explore more of southeast Oregon take the 66-mile Steens Mountain loop that begins near Frenchglen, climbs to the top of 9,773-foot Steens Mountain and offers spectacular desert views. The loop is generally open from July through October.
Another option is to visit the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, 49 miles southeast of Frenchglen. Access is via a rough but passable dirt road from which you may see herds of antelope grazing on sagebrush, as well as the occasional coyote, bighorn sheep and other wildlife. Hart Mountain drops off precipitously to the west, providing stunning views of distant lakes and wetlands.Continue reading the main story