Long Drive Into Oregon and The Bates Motel

Since I had a lot of miles to cover, I got an early start in leaving Lava Hot Springs. My stay there was enjoyable (although the second day was taken up by the long time it took to get back there after viewing the eclipse).

I headed up to Pocatello to catch Interstate 84 that would take me beyond Boise to get to Ontario, Oregon. It seemed a long drive along Interstate 84 as there were long stretches of no services. But, the views along the way were spectacular.

Once I reached Ontario, I stopped at the state's welcome center to get information on the best route that would eventually get me to Crater Lake National Park. I had camping reservations at the Diamond Lake RV resort, which is five miles from the entrance to Crater Lake.

Above, the Oasis Restaurant in Juntura, Oregon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I originally planned to stay in Vale, Oregon, but I could not find a suitable RV park along U.S. 20. So, I pressed ahead with the thought about staying the night in Burns. But after the long drive through Idaho, and the long drive along the meandering Malheur River, I was hoping to find a RV Park or campground before Burns. Luckily, I found a RV park in a tiny burg called Juntura. It was the Oasis Restaurant, Motel and RV Park.

Before leaving Vale, I spotted something interesting. It was a motel in town named...the Bates Motel. Movie buffs would be familiar with that name as it was the name of the motel in the Alfred Hitchcock classic, Psycho. I posted a photo of it on Facebook, saying that I was thinking about staying there in order to take a long, hot shower. Then I was offline for a couple of days, making many of my friends to wonder.

Above, the Bates Motel in Vale, Oregon. Yes, this is for real! Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Oasis Restaurant, Motel and RV Park appeared to be a family-run business. I'd hazard a guess that the place had been around since the 1950s. The RV park was small with grassy campsites. The electical hook-ups seemed dated, but the most important thing was that they worked. The staff were friendly.

Above, the Oasis RV Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The restaurant is a small diner that served good food for weary travelers, most of which seemed to be truck drivers. I checked the Good Sam campground directory and the Oasis RV Park and Juntura, Oregon are not even listed.

After checking in, I took a nice hot shower. The Beast has an excellent water heater. After showering, I went to the restaurant and had a very good French Dip sandwich.

Above, The Beast at the Oasis RV Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I spent the evening relaxing and watching the Timothy Dalton James Bond movie, The Living Daylights. After the movie, I climbed into bed and slept.

The next morning, I rose again early as I had a lot of miles to cover before reaching the Diamond Lake and Crater Lake National Park area. I reached the Diamond Lake RV Park at about 11:30. After relaxing for about a couple of hours, I headed off to Crater Lake National Park.

UPDATE (8/27/17):

I tried to post a review at RV Park Reviews on the Oasis RV Park, but there's no Juntura, Oregon or Oasis RV Park in their system. I notified them of this. A couple of things they will need to set up a review is the campground's address and phone number. For future reference to me (and for those who may want to stay there), the address is 5838 Highway 20, Juntura, OR 97911. They charged $31.60 per night to camp there. Telephone: (541) 277-3605.

The Octopussy Collection

I just finished reading Octopussy, a collection of three short-stories of James Bond 007 by Ian Fleming.

Octopussy consists of "Octpussy," "The Living Daylights" and "The Property of A Lady."

The book's cover (I have the July 1967 first Signet printing with the cover as shown at right) states that the book contains "The Last Great Adventures of James Bond 007."  This would've been the case had the Ian Fleming estate not licensed further Bond adventures by other writers.

To get to the meat of the book, I'll start out with "Octopussy," the book's first story. 

"Octopussy" is nothing like the movie of the same name that starred Roger Moore as James Bond.  It is about a retired major, Dexter Smythe, O.B.E. of the Royal Marines.  Bond is sent to question him on a mission Smythe undertook following World War II in which Smythe murdered a former German officer to steal gold ingots.

 

There is very little of James Bond in the story, but it is interesting anyway, especially the way Smythe meets his demise.

The second story is titled, "The Living Daylights."  Unlike "Octopussy," "The Living Daylights" does contain elements that were used in the movie of the same name starring Timothy Dalton as Bond.  Following a shooting range sequence that has Bond practicing with a Winchester .308-caliber Experimental International Target rifle, the story moves to Bond's assignment to kill a KGB sniper before the sniper can kill an agent with important information. 

The KGB agent turns out to be a blonde female who conceals her weapon in a cello case.  (Sound familiar?)  As in the movie, the woman catches Bond's eye and he makes the split-second decision to disobey orders to kill her.  He wounds her instead.

The final story, "The Property of A Lady" was lifted for the movie Octopussy.  It primarily is set at an auction house where a Faberge jeweled sphere called "Emerald Sphere" is up for auction.  (The movie uses the auction story for the auction of a Faberge egg.)  MI6 is hopeful that Bond (who attends the auction) can pinpoint an underbidder who would possibly be a Soviet agent.  After the underbidder is pinpointed and is determined to be a Soviet agent, he can be expelled from Britain.