Grant County

Grant County is one of the most rural counties in Oregon.  There are about 8,000 residents which equates to about 2 people/square mile.  The photo above is from a bike trip through Grant County in 2009 around the Ochoco Mountains. On that trip, there were lots of beer cans on the side of the road, primarily Keystone and Keystone Light. It was disconcerting to think that we shared the road with mostly drunk drivers, though any drivers at all were few and far between.     

This year, our intent was to pass through on a return trip from the far eastern part of the state.  However, we passed through Mt Vernon at a somewhat late hour and found Clyde Holliday State Park. As luck would have it, there was a 'teepee' available for one night only. This park is situated along the John Day River and was a lot smaller and less of a destination than Wallowa Lake State Park (where we stayed the night before).  The two teepees at the park had a canvas 'skin' on a wooden pole frame over a round concrete slab with sleeping mats. We were advised to put the mats along the edge of the teepee as there's a small hole in the center where the poles come together. It rained a little that night, and the teepee stayed dry; perhaps the cottonwood trees overhead caught a lot of the rain.

We had a dinner at the Silver Spur, which was about the only restaurant in Mt Vernon.  The menu was what you'd expect in a small town; chicken-fried steak, burgers, and the like.  They served breakfast ALL DAY so I had to have eggs, hash browns and kielbasa.  It was a big salt lick; but righteously good! We ended the day with a walk on the riverside trail and a fire until the rain drove us in for the night.



As we left Grant County the following morning, I instructed my daughter to toss out a few of those empty Old German beer cans as a tip of my hat to the Grant County custom. I have never done that before, nor will I do that outside of Grant County.  Probably.