The HC Museum didn't keep Ansel !!

The final stretch: Funny when we got to Burns I thought we were home... then came the realization that we still had 130 miles to go... but I needed some iced coffee and a break, so we made a quick stop. (quick ???)
The last time we were in Burns, we had tried to go the Harney County Museum but it was closed for the winter. So we thought we'd try again. This time it was open, and it was a neat surprise to see George and Hilda there. (Hilda is Martina's younger sister) When we stopped and visited Hilda at her home in Burns a few weeks ago, we had told her we had tried to go to the museum but is was closed and she said that they'd be opening it in April for the summer. For me, I had been through it 20 years ago, but at that time I didn't know very many people around the County. Now that I know more of the history and the Harney County folks, I knew I'd appreciate it more. I also wanted to see if there was anything we had of Ilda Mae Hayes stuff that might should go to the museum.



Ansel reminisces while looking at the Harney County Centennial saddle. Ansel was the Harney County Grand Marshall during the Centennial in 1989 and he rode in the saddle during the parade and festivities. The saddle was made especially for the Harney County Centennial Celebration by John and Jeanne Bennett of Bennett's Saddlery, Burns, Oregon with the donations of many sponsors. It was a reproduction of an 1889 Visalia Saddle.

We did manage to get out of the museum with Ansel... he loves to tell everyone how Bob Meck teases him that he should never go inside one, as they may keep him for an antique and hang him on the wall.

After we left the museum, I was getting my iced coffee fix before setting out across the desert, and I saw Kyle Osborn drive by in his dodge flatbed... (good thing he's still driving the same pickup :0) so we ran him down, so Ansel could say Hi. Kyle is a 2nd or 3rd or 4th ??? cousin to Martina... and had lived and apprenticed with Ansel in the early 80's at their ranch north of Burns Paiute Reservation for a time.
Ansel remembered a time when they, (he and Kyle) were shoeing a horse in the barn there at the home place on Foley Dr (now West Loop Rd)... Kyle's younger brother Byron had been splashing around in the Silvies, which was right behind the barn, and he came running in with fish in a bucket. Carp, big carp were prevalent and they didn't pay any attention to him, and just assumed that he had caught a big carp. He kept saying "I caught Walter ! I caught Walter ! The movie On Golden Pond, had just come out, and Walter was the elusive grand daddy trout that was mentioned through out the movie. When they finally got done with the horse and looked at the fish in the five gallon bucket they had assumed was a carp... they were bowled over to see a huge 18-20 inch or so beautiful rainbow trout.

On the road again... we finally did set out for Deschutes County... I had to keep slapping myself to slow down... Pretty much every where we had been, the speeds are 75 mph on the two lane highways like the one between Burns and Bend. It wasn't a problem when we were going along the Malheur River, but once we got outside of Burns on the straight stretch... I had to keep extracting my foot out of the floor board. I did manage to make it home to Bend without getting a speeding ticket... whew... don't need to chance messing with the insurance premiums.

After 3100 miles... from St. Louis, to Iowa, Mo, KS, OK, KS, CO, WY, ID, OR... we finally we made to our driveway...




Ansel was excited to be home to his electric blanket, and I was looking forward to a long soak in my hot tub under the stars.

Vale to Burns...

Tutu (Jill) with Shanny and Courtney
Ansel and Seb discuss rabbits and turtles.. (that's what Seb has in his hands and what's in the aquarium)

Should be in Bend this afternoon... funny the last 250 miles are the longest...

We left Ontario much later than I had planned... Imagine that ????? We stopped on the way out of town to visit with Courtney, Sebastian and Shan. (Jason was working) They had moved from Bend to Ontario last summer, so we hadn't seen the baby in several months. They are doing very well, Jason has a good job with a HVAC company over there. We finally got on the road again... Saw this new sign on some silos just outside of Vale. I lived in Vale for several years in the early 80's.

I'd forgotten they (Vale) have their very own "Bates Motel", so since I had made reference to it so many times during the trip, I couldn't resist snapping a picture for the blog.

Finally on down the river, we went as we made our way across the high desert... it had been a long time since I had driven between Vale and Burns. There was a time when I had all the corners named. It's a pretty drive. I was surprised to see that they still had snow on Cottonwood. And then as we made our way to Harney County, I was even more surprised to see snow still on Drinkwater and Stinkingwater.

Yup, back in Harney County... (Hwy 20 going up the grade just before Pine Creek)

Almost there.. 134 miles to Bend, but of course we have to stop in Burns... April 11 and there is still snow on Burns Butte.