Day 11 – High Desert

High Desert in Oregon

Today we drove about 300 miles from Boise to Bend, OR. The scenery along the route was similar to what we saw in parts of Idaho only this time much more barren. We hardly saw signs of life and you could easily imagine that you were seeing the exact same sights that people on the Oregon Trail saw when coming west 150 years ago. It was frequently more that 50 miles to the next gas station so we had to be conservative when planning our stops. When you get to Bend, that rapidly changes into pine forests and mountains, which is what I thought of when I pictured Oregon before coming out here.

Indian Headresses at the High Desert Museum

We got to our room early today and to kill time while they finished cleaning the room, we went to the High Desert Museum. There we discovered that “high desert” refers to central and eastern Oregon where the land is arid and generally more than 4,000 feet in altitude. As a result, only desert type vegetation grows as there isn’t enough water for crops. That must not apply to all of Oregon as we saw vast onion farms just as we crossed the border. The “High Desert” actually encompasses most of Nevada and Idaho, plus large parts of eastern Washington and western Utah.

Deschutes Brewery Sampler

We checked in and then went to dinner at the Deschutes Brew Pub, which was recommended by Bill. The Deschutes Brewery was founded in Bend and is a craft brewery that has grown rapidly and is now one of the largest of its kind in the US. They make a wide variety of beers so we tried their sampler just to get a taste. I liked the Black Butte Porter and Jeanne liked the Deschutes River Ale. Food was good and we especially like the Oregon berry cobbler made with Marionberries and huckleberries.