The second stop on our journey was at Leslie Gulch, a canyon in eastern Oregon not far from the Idaho border. Just minutes east of Bend, the landscape changes as you enter the vastness of the high desert of eastern Oregon. We drove through miles of sagebrush and distant mountains before reaching the 25 mile gravel washboard road that would lead us into the canyon of striking tuff formations. Leslie Gulch is BLM land and has a free primitive campground. We were the only ones camping during our visit. The rugged landscape is remote. Solitude is easily obtained here; unless you include the company of flies. Flies loved it here and were abundant. If you have ever seen the movie “The Proposition”, there is a scene with swarms of flies that I was reminded of. Luckily, the flies dissipated as the sun set and we enjoyed a peaceful evening alone in the wilderness. The flies returned with the morning sun and we decided to make the first of many changes to our initial “plan”. We had planned to camp here 2 nights, but decided to cut it short and let the flies find someone else to swarm. I have no regrets of taking the time to visit this remote area and would consider visiting again; though I would research the best time to minimize the potential of flies!