We left Dayville about 11 AM and headed east to the city of John Day. It is charming. We had been advised not to miss the "Chinese Museum" which is actually a state heritage site, commemorating Kam Wah Chung, a Chinese immigrant in the 19th century. We arrived, of course, just in time for their lunch hour, so we wandered through the exhibit in the lobby for about 10 minutes until they closed for lunch.
What we learned was that in the 19th century, many Chinese left their home country and came to the west coast of the U.S. because of famine in China. They were drawn to the gold fields in the John Day area and worked alongside the U.S. miners, as well as providing services such as laundry, barbering, etc.
When the gold ran out, jobs became scarce, and the whites resented the Chinese, whom they blamed for the shortage of jobs, since the Chinese were generally paid at about half wage of whites. Violence broke out in many places where Chinese were living. Eventually, the Federal Government passed a Chinese Exclusion Act. Chinese were literally excluded by law from participating in many everyday activities vital to living.
Kam Wah Chung, as I understand it, provided a kind of sanctuary for Chinese in John Day. Here the Chinese in the area could get food and lodging, practice their religion and generally feel safe from the attacks of whites in the area. I would tell you more, but we decided rather than to wait an hour for the tour, we would press on toward Burns, our destination for the day. Besides, now we have a stellar reason for returning to John Day.
As we headed south from John Day on US 395, we passed through Canyon City, which was one of the early centers of the mining trade. The Canyon from which it takes its name is beautiful. The road winds lazily up from John Day, following a creek (whose name I either didn't get or don't recall).
We were a little surprised to see dense evergreen forests along the way. They included pines, cedars, firs and even what appeared to be redwoods. The road continues to climb to just over 5,000 feet elevation, then, just as you are expecting to head down the backside of the mountain, you discover that after a modest descent of 4-500 feet, the terrain levels off into a plain.
We crossed quite a broad expanse of grassy and sagebrush covered plain. This photo was taken at an elevation of 4,750 feet! Eventually we came to the town of Seneca, which is quite a nice little settlement.
We saw some beautiful rocks and trees and followed the Sylvies river for quite a spell.
Past Seneca, the road rises again, this time topping 5,300 feet elevation. From there we drove through plains and hills, most of which seem to be part of the Sylvies Valley Ranch. It goes for miles and miles.
Finally, we arrived in Burns. A substantial city, Burns is the county seat of Harney County. We stopped for gas and then headed SE toward Crane. Just a few miles outside of Crane, we arrived at the Crystal Crane Hot Springs RV Park.
We haven't had time to explore the park fully, nor to use the hot spring yet. It is windy, with gusts into the 20+ mph range. The landscape is flat and arid. But more about that in my next post!!
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