THE GREAT SOLAR ECLIPSE LOOP TOUR - Day 7

August 22, 2017, Cascade, ID to Bend, OR.  391 miles.  When we have this many miles to cover in one day, I like to leave at 6 AM so I hit the road ahead of the rest of the group which was leaving at 7:30.  It was a little dark but the sun came up shortly.  We ran ahead of the group all day, just drive, drive, drive.  The route today took me through River Canyons,,,,,

Through farmlands,,,,

Into Oregon,,,,,

Thru lava rock hill country,,,,

and onto the high desert of eastern Oregon which was endless.

Paused to look at murals in Vale,,,,

And lookit,  the Oasis restaurant is still there.   This was a lifesaver back in 2001 when it was way over 100 degrees and nobody had AC.   In 2001, we stopped here and had ice tea and pie and cooled our red faces and wangled a roll of tin foil to wrap the fuel lines, since vaporlock was rearing its ugly head.

And this is for John Guzzetta,   Stinkwater Pass is still the same height, but no vaporlock this time.  (In 2001, we had 6 sick cars limping to the top of this pass.)

Rolled into smoky Bend (major fires over by Sisters, OR).  Pat and I finished the day off with a picnic lunch on the smoky, smoky banks of the Deschutes River.  Big fire in Sisters area.  You can see how hazy it is, sun is just a reddish fireball.

This morning, Eldertons left for Lewiston, to visit and then return home.  Jones, Griffins and Richards split off to go wine tasting in Canada, and will rejoin us in Victoria.

Pat's signs for the day:
"Bear Bait for Sale"
"Do not pass snowplows on right"
"Whinny Farms Stallion Station"