A bright sunny, calm morning, 10oC and awake earlier than normal
(and yes, I remembered the clock change). I had a lazy morning exploring the campground which, being right on the river, was well used as a day area also. I cleaned the van a bit, inside and a quick rinse off on the outside, then took my leave of Maupin (pronounced Mo'pin) and headed off on a loop road for Shaniko (a ghost town). Wow, what a road! It follows the river north, snaking through a canyon for about 5 miles. The river is a must for white water rafting, kayaking and tubing. About 10 nicely appointed Recreation Areas along the banks with plenty of dry camping sites. There was a salmon run at the lower end by Sharars Bridge where the river tumbled though 2 miniature waterfalls. Then the road turned east and wound up into the hills, higher and higher around twists and turns and hairpin bends until I reached the plateau. What a stupendous view! Snow capped mountains in the distance and desert scrub and tumbleweed all around. South now along a backroad, out onto US97 and into Shaniko, just off a righthand bend in US97, literally! The highway bends around it. Shaniko is a very old town of wooden sidewalks, double fronted wooden buildings housing such necessary stores as the post office, bank, blacksmith etc. and a brick built hotel, all unfortunately shut. Not very ghostly as there are still 25 or so people who live there but according to Richard and his sister Sheila, the general store owners, it is slowly dying again. Apparently a local landowner bought about a third of the buildings, including an RV campground and tried to breath life back into the place but the local town council were having none of it! Despite large injections of cash and offers of more, a lot was squandered, or simply disappeared with receipts getting "lost". Eventually the entrepreneur decided enough was enough and so the bustling little town fell into decay once more. It was a very sad thing to see 
somewhere that should have had a future just slowly crumble. One amazing find though was a transport museum housed in a barn put together by a local man who unfortunately had died just last year. He had collected relics of cars, trucks, wagons, a stage coach and even a hand built, leather covered horse-drawn sleigh! The barn was locked and I caught a tantalising glimpse through the dusty window but was fortunate to find that the gas station owner knew the key holder. So tomorrow is due to start with a look see! Parked up overnight on Main Street, outside the hotel. A huge, bright, new moon, deathly quiet and creaking sidewalks......maybe there are a couple of ghosts around after all?
somewhere that should have had a future just slowly crumble. One amazing find though was a transport museum housed in a barn put together by a local man who unfortunately had died just last year. He had collected relics of cars, trucks, wagons, a stage coach and even a hand built, leather covered horse-drawn sleigh! The barn was locked and I caught a tantalising glimpse through the dusty window but was fortunate to find that the gas station owner knew the key holder. So tomorrow is due to start with a look see! Parked up overnight on Main Street, outside the hotel. A huge, bright, new moon, deathly quiet and creaking sidewalks......maybe there are a couple of ghosts around after all?Monday 2 November
-2oC overnight! brrrr...but another bright, sunny morning.
Oh boy! what a place that barn was! Shirley came up with the key, took off the padlock and we both heaved the sliding door open. The sun flooded in to the huge barn and beams spotlighted an array of cars and trucks, all in their original condition, and over a dozen wagons of all descriptions from stage coach to fire wagon, jail wagon to a home conversion with an engine in it!Shirley had left me to wander around with a promise that I would close up and lock the padlock again so once I'd taken a few photos and finished admiring amongst others, the 1914 Chevrolet and 1918 Studebaker I pulled the door closed but it stuck about 4 inches from closed. Try as I might I could not open or shut it any further! Eventually found a lever to prise it back open and then took a run at it. Slid shut as smoothly as you could wish! Hmm, maybe they didn't want to be shut back in the dark again??
So I took my leave of Shaniko and headed out on another loop road south-east to Antelope, an even smaller community, but alive and thriving, then rejoined US97 south to Madras. No curry house but I did buy gas at the Towne Pump! Just south of Madras I saw a sign for the High Desert Museum. Fortunately, I decided to take yet another small detour and check it out. Fabulous! Hidden away in the forest it is a huge place dedicated to showing the history of pioneers and native peoples alike. It was so large that I never even got to the outside exhibits of a homestead, sawmill and the like before closing time. Whilst talking to an attendant it transpired she had visited a friend last year in Yateley! She was really kind and has given me a complimentary 1 day pass so I am overnighting in Walmart (luckily with Internet access care of some kind local company) and going back to the museum tomorrow! One exhibit showed a really cool liquid called a magnetised fluid. Developed and used by NASA to enable liquids to be controlled in zero gravity, it has magnetic properties that allow its movement to be control by magnets. Spooky watching liquid flow from a pool at the bottom of a container STRAIGHT UP 6" to coat a metal ball!Night all.
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