We went east out of Christmas Valley to the sand dunes along Fossil Lake Rd.  There were quite a few atv’ers playing in the dunes for a week day.  Once we were past the dunes the roadway was easy going for the first 10 or 15 miles and then it turned into a goat path for another 50 miles.  Aaron spent the day trying to figure out how to patton some use for sage brush so he could retire.  

Once again, the GPS was a life saver but there still was an issue with roads that did not exist.  When I planned my route sitting in my living room, I just picked what looked like the shortest routes and paths to follow.  Problem was…………some of those roads have not existed since the last wagon train went west.  So we had to keep trying different routes.  Finally we hit Gap Ranch Wagontire Road and that seemed like an interstate since there were actually two ruts to follow instead of just one.  

We ended up going approximately 100 miles and ended at highway 20 about 10 miles west of Riley.  We trailered to Burns for the night and will trailer back in the morning to start were we left off.  If you decide to atv in this area, make sure you have a couple of spare tires and a few friends to ride along with.  You would NOT want to be out there by yourself  or you could face the walk of a life time if something goes wrong.  We went approximately 80 miles without seeing one person, building or barn.  To say it’s remote is an understatement.  I expected to see Neil Armstrong bouncing past us in a space suit.

It was great to hit highway 20 and see our man Rod taking a nap.  He had been there waiting since noon.  He polished his boots and walked around in the dirt so much he had to polish them a second time. 

That’s it for the day.  Hopefully the transponder will work by morning.  We are heading northeast towards John Day, Oregon in the morning.