Calgary Trip - Day 17

2013 Calgary Trip Day 17 Monday August 19

Today's segment of the Calgary trip is between
Meridian, ID and Burns, OR
This segment is a total of 180 miles with
a stop in Juntura, one of the smallest towns in the USA

Places Visited Along The Way, Photos, and Notes

We're heading west toward home. This is a route we traveled twice before through eastern Oregon

Actually, we stayed in Boise near the airport.
Meridian (A) is adjacent to Boise on the west side but has far fewer motel choices
The map below still shows Meridian, I was too lazy to change it.

This segment is not so much about a destination per se, but is all about the ride
We left Boise and headed west.

This part of Eastern Oregon is so beautiful. Very verdant and lush.

Corn? This must be Iowa

The first stop was Vale. The distance was just about perfect to fuel up.
We were getting toward the bottom third of the tank and a full tank would last the day
On the way here, the cruise control went out along with the turn signals.
Oh, oh, but we had experienced this before and I knew what it meant.
The trailer has been wonderful and performed very well
There is one weakness though. The way they routed the wiring at the factory
runs the lights past a raw edge of metal in the tongue
When the insulation wears through, a fuse blows on the bike.
I adjusted the wire routing and hope that it will be okay for the remainder of the trip
I did not remember which fuse, so I had to search through abou a dozen.
Finally, I found the culprit, the on marked ACC.
Makes sense since it supplies the cruise control, the turn signals, and the brake lights

Oregon is blessed with many mountain ridges
We went over several ridges some of which are over 4,000 feet.
Often following the route of beautiful rivers. Often also little valleys with rich farms
The grain trains here are not nearly so long as in Idaho or Montana

Heading west, the next stop was Juntura (B)
For a little town of around 200, this is the third year we have visited.
Who would have thought?! We were also here in 2011 and 2012
We always stop at the Oasis Cafe and Hotel for a little bite

There is a bus line that originates in Bend and runs as far east as Juntura

Juntura has what must be one of the smallest post offices in America

Back on the road heading ever west
More ridges, more little farm valleys

Burns (C) is a nice little town with a little of this and a little of that
We have always stopped at the Broadway Deli

We wandered around town, visited the library and looked at the little shops

Small towns seem to be touched more by our military conflicts
The chamber of commerce has an honor roll

You can even learn Hebrew at a local Baptist Church

After settling into our motel, we headed out to dinner
Carol wanted to try a place called Ye Olde Castle Family Restaurant based on Yelp reviews

The owners are an older couple who are tired of running the restaurant
They called upon a friend, Ken, to manage the place.
What Ken found was a wonderous collection of toys and memorabilia
For example, there were about 30 bicycles, each in perfect shape
several as pairs of identical his and hers types