Saturday August 6, Lofton Lake Campground, Freemont National Forest

Today, I think we have travelled through the biggest most arid country of our all our travels in North America, the roads have been so good and so little traffic, and the temperatures have stayed below 30 degrees..what more could we ask!

The first section was the 60 mile drive to Fields, and the road opened out into some vast Ranch country, the largest being Roaring Springs Ranch which we understand is owned by an Oregon Forestry Company. It went on for miles, and rose up into the mountains. Would love to know how much stock they carry.

We had a very important stop in Fields…..especially for Terry. He had heard from his motocycle buddies that they make the best milk shakes in the country, we checked them out and would have to agree…. Not that we have tried any others, try to avoid them to help the waistline!!! Anyway we shared a chocolate shake and it was so thick the spoons stood up in it. I think the whole country knows of its reputation as they keep a tally of the number of shakes made each year..so far this year they have sold 2688…and growing! Enjoyed a long chat with Sandy the owner and found out quite a bit about the surrounding area.

Have decided to head west to the coast, and some cooler weather for the next few weeks before exploring more of the centre of Oregon. So took Route 140 which took us through a bit of Nevada for a short while, then it was back into Oregon and huge high country desert at about 5000 feet elevation. It really was quite magnificent although wouldn’t want to spend too many days driving in it.

Continued on through Lakeview and up into the forest. Had seen a campground noted on the mp near Quartz Mountain mentioned on the map, it was about 10 miles off the main highway, but the road was sealed so decided to check it out as were both feeling a bit jaded and it was getting later in the afternoon. It was such a surprise to find this great little campground on a small but very deep clean lake, surrounded by trees. A number of people were camping and we managed a really nice spot right beside the lake, complete with table and firepit for $6, and a wonderful breeze….just perfect to relax at the end of a longish day.