Do Not Drink the Water

After one night each in Heyburn and Bruneau Dunes, we did two more one-nighters.

First stop was Bully Creek Reservoir Campground, a county-owned park about ten miles west of the tiny town of Vale. Vale was the first Oregon stop for pioneers on the Oregon Trail.

When we made reservations and again when we checked in, we were advised to NOT drink the water as it contains arsenic.  We were also told that it should take about 50 years of ingesting it before the water would probably cause any real damage.  But, added the camp host, "none of us drink it."  A flyer indicated that arsenic levels are nearly 30 times higher than what’s supposed to be safe.

So we didn’t drink the water. 

But we enjoyed walking around the tranquil, wooded campground, which has 40 campsites with electricity.

Next stop was Burns, Oregon, named for the Scottish poet Robert Burns, says the city website. Burns is the county seat of Harney County Oregon; the city website says Harney County is the seventh largest county (by area) in the US and bigger than some states.

Jim and I have driven through and near this area several times before, and decided that we would stay in as many new-to-us campgrounds/towns as possible.  So we looked for a place that had good reviews and chose the Burns RV Park. Only to realize when we pulled in that we had been there before. Oh well. 

Last time we didn't even unhook our tow car -- we just just hunkered in for the night. This time we needed groceries, so we found a nice Safeway and did some exploring.  But I didn't take a single photo in Burns. Sorry Burns.You are a very nice town.

On our way to Bruneau Dunes we drove behind a double semi truck load of straw, which created a windstorm of bedding until the truck exited I-84 after about 50 miles.  Then we followed the above big load of onions most of the way to Bully Creek, and onions flew off the entire time.  Jim was going to pass it, but stayed way behind because he wasn't sure how much windshield damage could be caused by a flying onion. If you look closely you can see the truck was still losing onions as it took the exit ramp.

Our camping spot at the Bully Creek Reservoir near Vale, Oregon.  Bully Creek is a tributary to the Malheur River, which in turn is a 190-mile-long tributary to the Snake River.

That's our rig and Bully Creek campsite near the center of the photo, which was taken from land that was once under water.  Obviously the reservoir  is way down. The dam that created the crescent shaped reservoir was built in 1963.

A boat dock at Bully Creek Reservoir is yards away from the water.