Today I was heading to Spray, Wheeler County, Oregon, located adjacent to the John Day river in eastern Oregon. I was driving my diesel powered Dodge pickup. Given its weight and four wheel drive the Dodge is a great vehicle for winter driving. I know better than to get too low on diesel because many of the small town stations in eastern Oregon do not carry diesel fuel. But I thought a larger town like Condon would surely have diesel. The tank indicated about one eighth full as I pulled into Condon but no green diesel pumps greeted me. The next nearest town was Fossil.
The town of Fossil, the county seat for Wheeler County, was another 20 miles away, within easy reach, but if they didn’t have diesel I might have to call my son back home and have him mount a rescue… he would not be happy with me. Home was three hours and 164 miles away and I was headed the wrong way.
The town of Fossil has been bypassed by the main highway so I turned into town… a fuel station with a green pump was a happy sight. The station attendant suggested I wouldn’t be so happy with the price but it sure beat walking… even though a fill-up cost eighty eight dollars (about 25 gallons).
We chatted as he filled the tank… he said most stations didn’t carry diesel because the ranchers had their own storage tanks and bought fuel directly from the distributor.
I was early for my appointment in Spray so I stopped roadside along the John Day river near Spray and hiked a ways up the hill. I was looking for moss… Marvin and I have signed up for a class in Bryophytes at the University of Oregon and I thought I might find something interesting to photograph.
I was surprised to find a “Lomation cous” blooming happily… in spite of winter-like conditions.
When I get back home I’m going to see about putting a 100 gallon transfer tank on the Dodge. I’ll be able to go to Mexico and back without stopping for fuel.
byLarry
