Small Town Oregon, Where Strangers become Friends

On occasion we find ourselves wandering in Oregon. As rockhounds, we do this wandering thing, exploring back roads looking for treasure. Flying from Maryland, we pack up our tent and other camping gear in appropriately sized bags that fit Southwest's generous luggage policy and just go.

Oregon is one of those states that holds many geologic secrets and treasures and we have loved every area of the state that we've had the privilege of exploring. Southeast Oregon is pretty remote, by most accounts, and especially so when you're from a city like Baltimore. So imagine my intrigue when visiting a friend in San Francisco a few years back and discovering through conversations about our hobby that another friend had a ranch in southeast Oregon. I remember thinking "who the heck has a ranch in southeastern Oregon?" She extended an invitation to explore the land around her ranch whenever we would like to visit, and I definitely put that in the back of my mind for future.

Fast forward a couple of years and Oregon was our destination. Why not do southeast this time? After a conversation with our friend, who told us she had recently sold the ranch to her long time caretaker, Justin, she contacted Justin on our behalf and put us in touch with each other. The kindness began with that friend and a thoughtful invitation, but continues in our story of a couple of days in Harper, Oregon.

Harper is a community in Malheur County and in 2019 listed a population of 135. When we contacted Justin to arrange a day to meet at his home, our goal was to have access to some untouched territory where the average rockhound wouldn't be digging. Not only did we achieve our goal, but gained so much more.

On the morning we arrived, Justin had an unexpected run to the hardware store (1-1/2 hour round trip), so we killed some time wandering. Harper is a crossroad just off route 20 with very little central activity. All of the work was going on down the long dirt roads on the cattle ranches that lie in this beautiful high desert terrain. The most central building was a school built in 1925, still serving the community. In his conversations with us, Justin talked about the school, telling us that his wife was a part of the largest graduating glass to date, 13 students. We attended schools back east with classes of over 600 students. A stark reality of a different life experience.

Upon meeting up with Justin, one of the first things we investigated was the stone wall that had been built over the years just behind his house. Central Oregon is one of the most mineral rich areas in the country for a variety of agates and jaspers. My husband's family operated a rock shop in Medford, Oregon some years ago, and having traveled in the area for a number of years, we were overwhelmed by the quality of material in this wall. Every type of stone that we search for, right there. Justin's comment, "Oh those are just rocks we pull out of the fields. They're in our way."

So we spend a few hours on Justin's porch. An affable guy, he is incredibly welcoming and friendly. He's a cowboy, the real deal. I imagine ranching to be hard work and living this lifestyle can present challenges that are overcome only by an intimate relationship with the land. We hear a passion for this in Justin's voice. He is open to chatting and is a wonderful storyteller. We begin by talking about life and growing up in Harper and in the exchange we share stories of growing up in the suburbs of Baltimore. Each of us are so enchanted with the differences, but find such common ground in embracing and sharing our own personal stories. It's a wonderful conversation and a sharing of two very different life experiences.

We talk about ranch life. As we spend quite a bit of time camping in these remote areas it is very interesting to hear what people are doing here. What is life like behind the cattle guards and down these long dirt roads? Justin is passionate about his work here and his life as a ranch owner. He explained how water is purchased from the reservoir 50 miles away, the irrigation systems that carry the water, scheduling delivery and the careful calculations on timing. We discussed how grazing land is leased from the Bureau of Land Management, and what the benefits are to him to have open space beyond the borders of his property, what responsibility goes along with that and what challenges he faces. In fact, the area that we spent the next several days exploring is that very BLM area that he leases. Beautiful open country covered in wildflowers and packed with interesting stones.

Justin asked if we could return later to meet his wife. He offered space on his property to pitch a tent, and space on his grill to cook our steaks. We had our route already planned, and traveling in limited spurts of vacation time, we tend to be a little selfish changing our plan for the night. In retrospect, I wish we had been more flexible and feel like we missed out on a lovely campfire evening with Justin and his wife. We intend to return, and will absolutely make more time.

This stop, one of so many we try to find and embrace in our travels, has become such a favorite travel story from our collection of journals. We love the open road and the luxury of not seeing another soul for days on end, but are always on the lookout for the Justins of the world.

I recently discovered that a business associate's family has a ranch in Montana. So, Southwest, when can we expect flights to Montana? There's some pretty swanky agate in those parts.