Hells Canyon Scenic Byway
I decided that I should get up quite early in the morning, as it would be a long day ahead. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring an alarm clock, and there wasn’t one provided in the room (I guess this is what you should expect for $52 at the Rodeway Inn). However, a herd of elephants was staying in the room above me, so when they got up at 3:15 am to go to the bathroom, that woke me up. I napped until 4:00 and then started my day.
A viewpoint not far out of Baker City discussed a lone tree which once stood in Baker Valley between Flagstaff Hill and the Blue Mountains. It was a marker for French-Canadian fur trappers and early Oregon Trail emigrants, until it was felled in 1843 by what explorer John Fremont called, “some inconsiderate emigrant axe.” No doubt if the person was alive today, they’d be driving an SUV.
My next two stops were sudden as I spotted some deer off the side of the road. Unfortunately, they’re rather shy about paparazzi, so they scampered off while I frantically pushed my telephoto lens out as far as it would go. Hm… I need one of those 1000mm lenses…
Halfway
After a while I arrived at the turnoff for Halfway, Oregon, so named because it’s halfway between nothing and nowhere. Oh wait that’s not quite right. It was a booming mining town situated halfway between Robinette (now under water) and Cornucopia (now a deserted ghost town). So like I said, halfway between nothing and nowhere. This tiny little town received media attention in early 2000 when the town was renamed Half.com; a blatant media stunt by the then-new website. Since that time, Half.com (the website) was bought out by Ebay (so surprising) but apparently the town is still calling itself Half.com.
Baker City