Back on US-26, the first town east of John Day is tidy little Prairie City (pop. 1,080), an old-fashioned ranching community that is fast becoming a western false-front photo-opportunity. For a taste of local life, stay at the 100-year-old Riverside Schoolhouse (541/820-4731), a B&B located on a working cattle ranch.
Leaving the John Day River watershed, US-26 heads east, climbing over mile-high Dixie Pass (which is exactly one mile high—5,280 feet above sea level) while rambling through the Malheur and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests, where campgrounds, cool mountain lakes, natural hot springs, and dense forests abound.
East of the crest, dropping down from the mountains across the Snake River plain, US-26 crosses another 75 miles of rolling sagebrush, with little more than an occasional cattle ranch, or a golden eagle sitting atop a telephone pole, to attract your attention. Tiny little tavern-and-post-office towns like Unity, Ironside, Brogan, and Willow Creek will make you slow to 45 mph (or risk a ticket), while on a hot summer’s day the smell of juniper and sage is so potent it perfumes the dry desert air, unmistakable even if you cruise through at 70 mph with the a/c blasting away.
