Baker
Continuing in the thread of "I'm kinda sad to leave", I met up with Megan for one last round at Barley Brown's in Baker City the other night. BB's is a brewpub that just happens to be located almost halfway between her place and mine (we live 2 hours apart). Mego rocks, y'all, and I'm so glad we'll be within spittin' distance next year - me in Hood River, she in Eugene.
I remember when we were both new to this RARE thing, this Eastern Oregon thing, this leave-all-your-friends-and-family behind thing; and it was winter and it got dark at 4:30 and we needed to talk to somebody under 30 - so we'd drive an hour on the terrible icy snowy highway and meet for a beer and a few hours' good conversation.
It was a surreal drive in the winter - no towns to speak of on the entire stretch, just utter darkness and the great bare mountains blanketed in snow and the odd light from a ranch house once in a while. And then the cement plant, brightly lit at all hours, tucked into a cleft between two hills like those bright, laser-eyed sphinxes in The Neverending Story. And, of course, no cell phone reception the entire way.
It's less surreal but no less lovely in the summertime; unfortunately I've never gotten any pictures because I'm too chicken to pull over on the interstate. Also, a picture never really gets the feeling of moving over and around and between the silent bulk of the mountains.
We did, however, take some pictures in Baker -
(full set HERE)