Traveling south on 97, lush spectacular scenery

MOSES LAKE - This is the first of a two-part series about a visit to Camp Sherman, Oregon and the Metolius River Basin

The e-mail from Gary Lewis arrived in early July. Basically the message was an invitation for my wife, Garnet, and I to explore part of his country in central Oregon; The Metolius Recreation Area.

Many hunting groups establish a base camp, which is a central point where the group members gather when not hunting to prepare and eat meals, sleep and otherwise spend time together. The hunters spread out from this central location to hunt in their own special part of the countryside.

Viewing this concept of using a base camp for the center or core of outdoor exploration on a larger scale, Moses Lake is the perfect location for an outdoor writer's home, therefore this city in the Columbia Basin is our base camp.

This location allows us to travel in every direction, but return home to a central spot. The distance we travel to bring stories to our readers is limited to one day's travel in any direction, with a few exceptions, such as when traveling by air.

Our writing subjects are as varied as the entire outdoors, including birding, fishing, hiking, camping, cooking, hunting, wildlife viewing, etc.

Oregon is not a foreign place to us. Garnet was raised in the far eastern Oregon town of Nyssa and we have visited the area several times. My mother was born and raised at Goble, in the northwest part of Oregon and we attend annual family reunions there.

However, neither Garnet nor I have spent much time in the central portion of Oregon. Gary's invitation was a perfect chance to explore a part of Oregon Garnet and I didn't know much about.

We have owned a Garmin Nuvi GPS for over a year now and have come to rely on her directions for our navigation. Yes, she comes to life and tell us which way to go, so her name is, naturally, Nuvi.

A week before we were to leave on the trip, we needed to drive to Ephrata. On the way, we programmed Nuvi to take us to Sisters, Oregon. Besides providing the navigation, this GPS estimates the time of travel. Nuvi estimated our time of arrival at 2:30 p.m. when leaving Moses Lake at 8 a.m., so we knew we were in for a six and a half hour drive, well within our one day travel limit.

We have perfected such trips for comfort, ease of travel and enjoyment. Stopping at interesting places or sites may be on our list. Sometimes we need to scoot right along, so we may make note of such locations on the way down and stop on the way home.

Garnet has perfected the art of preparing meals during such trips. Sandwiches and chips make a fantastic lunch. My favorite is her sandwich spread of diced left over roasted chicken, onion, celery, along with mayonnaise and a small amount of lemon juice. This mixture is stored in a plastic container.  

When we decide to stop for lunch, preferably at a rest stop or other such public place, the sandwich spread is placed between two slices of bread with a plastic knife. If the weather is pleasant, we may eat lunch at a picnic table, but eating in the Jeep is acceptable if the weather does not cooperate.

Stopping at a restaurant is also suitable and we have done so on occasion, but I prefer to have Garnet's sandwich lunch.

Nuvi took us through Yakima, Goldendale and across the Columbia River and into Oregon at Biggs. At this point we were driving in parts of Oregon we had never or seldom seen. We traveled through the towns of Wasco, Mora, Grass Valley, Kent, Shaniko and Madras.

Below Madras, Nuvi took us south for a bit, then west and south again on a secondary road. The best part of this stretch, with forest, farmland and scabland, was the number of mule deer seen. It was obvious the rut was in full swing as large bucks were seen chasing does in farm fields, standing next to the road preparing to cross and actually crossing the road. Our speed slowed to avoid a collision, a condition we didn't mind as wildlife viewing was one of the reasons we were on the trip.

The sky was clear and along the way we were able to see the mountains; Hood, Rainier, Adams, St. Helens, the three Sisters, Three-Fingered Jack, Jefferson, Broken Top and others. The scenery made the trip worthwhile, even before we arrived at our destination.

The road turned slightly to the right and we entered Sisters, a town of around 2,000 with a western theme to the downtown buildings. Traffic through the town was surprisingly heavy, but understandable after realizing the road splits at Sisters and heads north to Salem and south to Eugene.

We were now about 15 miles from our destination of Camp Sherman and the Camp Sherman Store in the middle of the Metolius River Basin. We traveled west on Highway 20, then north on the Camp Sherman Road and then, right in front of us was the Camp Sherman Store. 

We walked inside and a man behind the counter greeted us.

"You must be Garnet and Dennis," he said and introduced himself as Roger White, the owner.

We shook hands and exchanged business cards.

"Your cabin is ready, it's right there," he said pointing out the window. We'll see you at the Suttle Lake Resort in an hour."

Next week: The conclusion of our visit to Camp Sherman and the Metolius River Basin.