Tag: rest stop

Rest Stop

Rest stops are things to be much appreciated! Driving 8 hours days to get somewhere, or back from somewhere, they can provide a place to get out, walk around, and of course use the facilities.

Back when our family moved around the country multiple times, there weren’t any that I recall. It was the gas station bathroom or the woods or a bush. Some rest stops are well maintained by organizations or the state, others are sadly neglected and really disgusting. Really, really disgusting. The good ones have scenery, a place to sit and have a picnic, a place to walk the dogs. Some have vending machines, others give out weather info from NOAA, and some give a bit of history of the area.

This is a rest stop in Nebraska. It was clean and had a lot of room to wander. There was a bit of a woodland, a stream, late summer flowers, and a beautiful view of farmland and prairie. The sky was filled with fluffy clouds. Granted, it was in the 90s F, and very humid, but it did our souls and butts good to get out and wander. I had my camera and got a few good shots. This is a painting of one of them.

Watercolor, 9×12 CP Arches.

Grass Lake

Eastern Oregon; Grass Lake.

Apparently back in the early part of the last century, this was a really nice place to come. The lake was renown for fishing and there was a hotel – resort, anyone? So, to kill a lot of fish all at once, someone decided to do it with dynamite. The result? The area is volcanic and beneath the lake was a cave or something, made from cooled lava. The dynamite broke the roof of the cave . . . drained the lake . . . lots of dead fish, and that was it.

The End.

Now it is a lovely rest stop alongside the road, with a trail, picnic grounds, pet area, and a much welcomed spot. When it rains, I think the lake may fill with water, but for now native grasses fill the lake bed.