The Owyhee Canyonlands, in the remote SE corner of Oregon, have long been on my radar to explore. So, when cooler temperatures arrived this September, friend Andy & I headed out to explore them. That area’s Leslie Gulch was especially enticing, with descriptions of fantastical volcanic towers and gorges which sounded similar to Smith Rocks’. And while we did find Leslie Gulch (& Succor Canyon) beautiful, especially when accented by blooming rabbit brush, we found it difficult to capture photographically. And the open range cattle had produced clouds of oppressive flies. So, after 3 days we headed back toward Bend, but not before putting Starr through some serious off road challenges. One was a very steep and rocky ATV track up to the base of Three Fingers Rock. Starr had no problem handling it, except that he decided to have his air intake hose come loose near the top and thereby loose all power! After a few panic-filled minutes (“how are we going to get a mechanic up here?”), Andy found the disconnected hose and all was well again.

On the way home we visited the always-interesting Alvord Desert, Steens Mountain, and the Pete French Round Barn.

Here’s the photo gallery link: Southeastern Oregon Trip Gallery