The Human Element 1

I want to post some highlights about the travels I just had...this story took place during my visit to the John Day Fossil beds area of Oregon.  I'm  adding some photos from the locale there not exactly pertinent to the subject of the post..and mostly shot from/thru the window scenes of the human element on the landscape. 

People are asking me "what was your favorite part of the trip"? It's so hard to answer that question...I enjoyed the entire experience with a few exceptions of course the wrong turns I made, not good...and all due to, well.... Wrong Turning...like my first one was when I went the wrong way on one campground loop...OOOPPPSSS sorry the arrow was so faintly painted I didn't see it.  Everyone gave me the stink eye kind of wished I had a Rebel Flag to fly behind me---as a gag of course.    LOL 

Sometimes the best  part  was the human element!! 

It was getting near dark thirty I had 1/8 tank of gas my target campground for the night was off the main road onto  Forest Service road 12, and 5 miles up and then 5 back who knows the grade so I needed to secure gas first.  I passed through many small towns NO GAS stations...not one.  I had made a point of not letting the tank get below 1/2 but suddenly I was in the middle of nowhere with fumes in my 25 gallon tank! 

mural in Moro, OR 

not my photo from the web 

I was a happy camper when I saw the sign for Mitchell, OR and another sign Use Lower Gear...TG its down hill all the way...I cruised down the hill missed the left hand turn that takes one the  2 block loop of the "business district" entrance but entered it on the exit end, it was a 2 way black top.

THANK YOU small town of Mitchell, OR and the old fashioned gas pump with a sign above it stating Public Pumps,  operated by the lady who came from the hotel across the street she kept a watchful eye out and came over to pump on an "as needed basis"...

"Fill er up Please!' I was grinning ear to ear and silently saying YESSSSSS to myself...Then this silly man drives up jumps out, asking, "where can you buy gas in this town"?...the lady looks at me, I look at the sign...and say right here...Then he says "I don't see anyplace to put the credit card in the pump"...lady looks at me I look at him, I say "cause there is no slot"; then he takes another look at the pump and says, "I haven't seen one like this since I was 9 yrs old, how do you work it?"   I looked at the lady she looked at me, so I said, "you don't work it, she does", she was there pumping my gas DUH,,,,then I realized he thought we were together me and the lady pumping the gas...OH>>>now I get it..So then I said, "she will pump yours when she is finished pumping mine", then he really looked confused HA!HA!  The lady whispered to me, "MEN" I had to laugh. 

I told the gas pump lady not since Alaska have I had a similar experience when we saw a hand lettered sign  ------> GAS 15 MILES------> My sis and I were riding on fumes in one of those long dry stretches so we kinda humped our shoulders and turned left we were watching that odometer like it was a heart monitor...finally at the 15 mile mark when an old weathered group of odd wooden buildings, with junque here n there, came into view we slowly cruised into the driveway....halfway expecting to see an ax welding maniac...and half wanting to hightail it outta there...and then we saw the hand lettered sign in drippy red paint -> GAS <-over an old pump that had the glass jar on top we sort of gave each other that, "you have to be kidding me" look, then the screen door of the weathered house slammed as an overalls clad man approached, spat  on the ground, and asked, 

"WANT GAS"?

"Yes SIR FILL it UP"

"I have a 5 gallon limit"...

 "we'll take 5 gallons" our rented Suzuki Swift held 8 gallons only So we were very happy with the 5!

one of the many roadside ranches in Oregon

I am of course home now and it has rained 8 days now with out the sun so remembering the fun and sometimes weird encounters of my trip is a nice way to make it through these gloomy days. 

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.