Quote: From Bend, OR, we took Rt 97S to Rt31E and then after going twenty miles through the Fremont National Forest we found Fort Rock Road. We went a short distance down the road and then we were out on the open prairie with nothing but sagebrush in every direction as far as the eye could see. Five miles further down the road we found Fort Rock, a volcanically formed crater out in the middle of a flat field of alfalfa that seem to go on for miles. A herd of antelope were grazing on the newly cut alfalfa. The farmers cutting the alfalfa noticed we were taking pictures and when they saw why they tried to get rid of the herd.

Fort Rock is a national park and there is a half mile hiking trail inside the crater. As you approach it from Rt 31 it really looks like an old western fort. As you drive on you can see one side of the crater is completely open and it doesn't look as if there is any vegetation inside. Fort Rock and the area around it is a national park. It's hard to figure out where the park is because the land around it is so flat and there are crops growing for miles.

Along the road, in view of Fort Rock, is a collection of buildings brought from various places and each one is significant to the history of homesteading in the area. The little town was closed for the season so it had the appearance of being a ghost town out on the high desert.

A few miles down the road is the center of the town of Fort Rock. There are a few agricultural establishments and a new restaurant that didn't seem to be open due to its dark shaded windows, but when we tried the door it wasn't locked. The sign in front said 'pizza'. They were offering a salad bar for less than $4. We tried it and it was excellent.

Ken and Janice Hamlington had opened the restaurant recently. Janice said her great grandmother came west with the wagon trains and told her stories about the Indians. Her grandmother told her they weren't unfriendly but they were always on the move. Fort Rock is thought to have been an Indian camp at one time.

From journals The High Desert