In a Picture Perfect Grassy Plateau, Our View Is Marred With a Double Dose of Electric Power Poles!
“Soon we leave the river and the old sleepy buildings and now climb to some sort of a dry, meadowy plateau. The road rolls and bumps and rocks so much I have to keep the speed down to fifty. There are some bad chuckholes in the asphalt and I watch carefully for more. .. We’re really accustomed to making mileage. Stretches that would have seemed long back in the Dakotas now seem short and easy. Being on the machine seems more natural than being off it. We’re nowhere that I’m familiar with, in country that I’ve never seen before, yet I don’t feel a stranger in it. .. At the top of the plateau at Grangeville, Idaho, we step from the blasting heat into an air-conditioned restaurant. Deep cool inside. While we wait for chocolate malteds .... “(Cont.Next)
Three miles East of Grangeville, ID. As this panorama starts, you see the distant buildings of the town of Grangerville. Although not evident in this photo, this is a high plateau. This high level area probably owes its existence to an old volcanic flow. This “cap” of tough volcanic rock (ancient lava) having a relatively greater resistance to being worn down has kept this area here despite some sixteen million years of weathering!
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(Photo = 111 1101+10sc ...... ZMM Page = 259 ...... WayPt = 277x 3446ft)

At the Top of White Bird Hill, Looking Down, Down, Down, and South, To the Lands of the Salmon River Canyon.
“Back in the heat again and not far from Grangeville we see that the dry plateau that looked almost like prairie when we were out on it suddenly breaks away into an enormous canyon. I see our road will go down and down through what must be a hundred hairpin turns into a desert of broken land and crags. I tap Chris’s knee and point and as we round a turn where we see it all I hear him holler, "Wow!" .. At the brink I shift down to third, then close the throttle. The engine drags, backfiring a little, and down we go.
Three miles ahead is White Bird, ID. The location for this panorama photo was by a fairly modern expressway that replaces all the switchbacks experienced by Chris and the Narrator. My photo vantage point is at a scenic viewing area plus roadside pull-off at the top of the hill. At the start of the panorama you can see a segment of the Narrator’s road with one of the first of their hairpin curves. Observe the absence of a Guard rail on what was probably a dirt & gravel road back in 1968. As you scroll to the right, you will see a portion of the newer road where it goes down. Look closely near the center of the panorama, you will see that the local rocks here are volcanic! Also see my ZMM Album III Photos for this same area of Idaho. They give much, much, more information about the volcanic origins of this part of Idaho and Washington States.
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(Photo = 111 1120+10sc ...... ZMM Page = 259 ...... WayPt = 281x 4164ft)

From This Location , We Can See: 1) The Road South, 2) The Salmon River Canyon In the Distance To the West, 3) The Newer Road Descent Dow White Bird Hill, From the North, and 4) The "Little Narrow Thread of Green Surrounding the Town of White Bird ", Toward the Northeast.
“[The engine drags, backfiring a little, and down we go.] By the time our cycle has reached the bottom of wherever it is we are, we have dropped thousands of feet. I look back over my shoulder and see antlike cars way back at the top. Now we must head forward across this baking desert to wherever the road leads. [End Ch 24 and Start Ch 25.] .... The road has twisted and rolled over desert hills into a little, narrow thread of green surrounding the town of White Bird, then proceeded on to a big fast river, the Salmon, flowing between high canyon walls. Here the heat is tremendous and the glare from the white canyon rock is blinding. We wind on and on through the bottom of the narrow canyon, nervous about fast-moving traffic and oppressed by the fiery heat.“
One mile South of White Bird, ID.The Whole Mountain Side, Shown In the Center of This Panorama Is One of the Many Nez Perce National Historical Parks. This mountainside is the location of the Narrator's " what must be a hundred hairpin turns into a desert of broken land and crags." To see both the National Park area and the newer (& old roads) on a map click here: Detour in new browser frame for http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=45.7963&lon=-116.2675&datum=nad83 . Note: When you ask for a print you will see (both on screen and in print) the map nicely extended at top and bottom. Much more information about the new and old roads will be available.
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(Photo = 111 1129+7sc ...... ZMM Page = 259 ...... WayPt = 283x 1732ft)

View From the Center of the Valley of New Meadows. Note Sign That Says “45th Parallel. Halfway Between the Equator and the North Pole" Plus Sign "Pass With Care!!”
[The road “seems to head upward into forest. .. It does, and soon the road becomes shaded by tall, cool pines. Resort signs appear. We wind higher and higher into unexpectedly pleasant, cool, green meadows surrounded by pine forests. At a town called New Meadows we fill up again and buy two cans of oil, still surprised at the change. .. But as we leave New Meadows I note the long slant of the sun and a late afternoon depression begins to set in.“

One mile to New Meadows, ID. At first you see the road just traveled. The distant forests are described by the Narrator where the road seems to head upward into forest.". This is North, as is indicated by the long shadows from the West. As you scroll to the right you will see 1) A Tourist Information Kiosk marked by the "45th Parallel" Sign (East), 2) the continuing road to New Meadows seen in the distance. All the scenery after the town of Riggings accurately fits the Narrator’s descriptions. Photos are needed.
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(Photo = 111 1149+7sc ...... ZMM Page = 267 ...... WayPts = 291&292w 3879ft & 3857ft)

Here the Green Irrigated Valley Floors Are Surrounded By Hills Of Baked Dry Brown.
“This is Oregon now. The road winds through a landscape that reminds me of northern Rajasthan, in India, where it’s not quite desert, much piñon, junipers and grass, but not agricultural either, except where a draw or valley provides a little extra water. .. Those crazy Rubàiyat Quatrains keep rumbling through my head.“
Fourteen mi West of Ox Bow Dam which is on the Idaho-Oregon Border. The first panorama view is West and shows on the distant hills the Narator's “not quite desert“. As you scroll to the right, you see contrasting green grass in the flat valley. This shows the results of irrigation and the Narrator's “ where a .... valley provides a little extra water.” Continued scrolling will reveal: 1) By the road, two square concrete irrigation pipe "access boxes", and 2) a small brook, going South through the deep grass, that carries off excess irrigation water. The two next panoramas will show what this part of Oregon looks like without irrigation!!
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Panorama Showing the Narrator's ""The road winds through a landscape that reminds me of northern Rajasthan, in India, where it’s not quite desert, much piñon, junipers and grass, but not agricultural either, except where a draw or valley provides a little extra water.
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Ten mi East of Baker, OR. This panorama first shows the countryside Southwest. Look closely, the little grey speck is a tiny part the road West, which is the direction of the ZMM Route. As you swing around, you will see the view North, then irrigated green fields Northwest, the Highway from the East, and then the dry hills to the South. [[A Reminder: This is an 8 picture panorama. Click photo for the largest view. You must use the right (and bottom) "arrow-keys" to view the whole picture. As you "scroll" through this panorama your view will be all the way around the horizon, full circle.]]
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(Photo = 111 1183+7sc ...... ZMM Page = 273 ...... WayPt = 301w 2970ft)

Panoramic View Of Landscape Surrounding The Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. This View From the Top of Flagstaff Hill Shows the Present Day and Historic Roads That Lead To An Oregon Valley & Town..
“The map before me says the town of Baker is soon ahead. I see we’re in better agricultural land now. More rain here.“
Flagstaff Hill, 3 mi East of Baker, OR. This panorama opens with a Southwest view showing the modern & straight highway, Rt 12, on its way down to the green valley of Baker Oregon. Although the wheel marks ("ruts") of the Historic Oregon Trail can not actually be seen in this photo, maps (see link below) indicate that the "ruts" of this trail would have descended the hillside at the left (this side of the highway) and moved into the lower areas where now are seen several dirt roads. From there, the ox wagons would have proceeded West into the present day green areas. Here is where the pioneers, called "emegrants", camped for the night. As you continue scrolling around you will see (at North) the paved roads of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. Just after the center of the panorama you see a large white building and a tiny white building. These two buildings mark where you can the paved road "zig-zags" up the hill to the Center. Just beyond the tiny building you can make out the faint trace, diagonal left to right, of the very straight and paved Rt 12 highway. The distant ridges, in the distance, way beyond that tiny building, mark where the ox wagons of the Historic Oregon Trail came through the mountains and over the distant ridges. Again you can not actually see the trail trace in this photo, but you can imagine what it would be like to come over this parched desert in the late August sun! You may combine what you see in this panorama with a study the topomap, which marks the trail, here: Detour in new browser frame for http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=44.808059&lon=-117.72902 (For more information about this Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, see my photos in Album III.)
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(Photo = 111 1195+7sc ...... ZMM Page = 274 ...... WayPt = 303w 3980ft. TopoZone = 3945ft)

View Opens Showing Typical Central Oregon Summer Countryside: Dry Grassy Knoll Sprinkled With Dry-Land Flowers, a Wide Valley, and Distant Mountains.
“Lots of space out here.“
Seven mi East of Prairie City, OR. The road has been down -hill after Dixie Pass. You can see the very nice paved road car will continue down grade to, the White Spot in the distance. This is an Oregon Trail Tourist Information Kiosk, in the Commemorative Form of a Giant Oregon Trail Covered Wagon! The ZMM Route and Prairie City are in the direction of the medium distance little round hill with the stone outcrop sticking up. Continued scroll to the right shows the scene is much the same in all directions. Note the bunches of flowers. Despite the dryness, these were quite alive and were quite beautiful close up. I will get my close-up photos of these, posted in my album “Flowers and Red Wing Blackbirds, as soon as possible. At the right of this panorama you can see how the road goes by my little Red Car and will continue on by my photo location and into the valley. Note green irrigation ribbon. It is hard to imagine how they find that much water out here! Prairie City is ahead.
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The Awesome Desert! Panorama Opens With a North View. At Right, You See the ZMM Road Coming From the East, and Then the Pavement Disappears Into the “Crack” in those black Lava Formations.
“The desert road winds through rocky gorges … “ Parking Area and Tourist Overlook, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, 5 mi West of Dayville, OR.
The ZMM Route West from Dayville, OR is that grey strip this side of the green irrigated area. Follow the road left and look closely to see its left curve disappears into the barely perceptible crack in the rocks! A situation of simultaneous Yes and No = Mu? Learn how to lick on photo (sometimes twice) to get the largest view, usually 10" high and about 7 foot wide!! Then adjust up & down, and scroll to see entire panorama. ************************************ (Photo = 112-1275+7+1sc ...... ZMM Page = 288 ...... WayPt = 340w 3532ft)