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The eastern portion of
Crook County is dominated
by rugged scenery and cat-
tle ranching. Oregon Route
380, southeast of Prineville,
is a winding scenic route.
As the route climbs from
Prineville, vistas of the
Cascade Mountains come
into view. Winding down
toward the Crooked River,
the scenery is dominated by
juniper and sagebrush until
Eagle Rock comes into view.
Once past this unique rock
formation, the road hits the
Crooked River just above the
upper end of Prineville
Reservoir. From there, the
route follows the river and its
tributaries for most of the
remainder of its length.
Post
Twenty-five miles from
Prineville, Post will come into
view on the right side of the
road. Little more than a wide
spot in the road, Post has lim-
ited amenities. Gas, refreshing
beverages, and a mini café are
still available at the Post
General Store — served with
upper country hospitality.
Post is an unincorporated community in
Crook County. It has a post office assigned
the zip code 97752. Post lies along the
Crooked River on Oregon Route 380,
southeast of Prineville at:
(Degrees, Minutes, Seconds)
Latitude: 44-09’44’’ N
Longitude: 120-29’24’’ W
(Decimal degrees)
Latitude: 44.162354
Longitude: -120.490005
It sits at an elevation of 3,383 feet
(1,031 m).
Post is reportedly named for the geolog-
ical marker in a field nearby: a post mark-
ing the geographic center of the state of
Oregon.
Paulina
As the road follows the Crooked River
past Post towards Paulina, picturesque vis-
tas of cattle ranches and open rangeland
come into view. Nearing Paulina, the valley
opens up into wide open rangeland, and
the community of Paulina appears.
Paulina is an unincorporated communi-
ty in Crook County.
Held each Labor Day weekend, the Paulina Rodeo is great amateur rodeo fun.
The community is named after Paiute
Chief Paulina. The Paulina Post Office was
established in 1882 and has a zip code of
97751.
Paulina is located at:
(Degrees, Minutes, Seconds)
Latitude: 44-08’02’’ N
Longitude: 119-57’46’’ W
(Decimal degrees)
Latitude: 44.1337503
Longitude: -119.9627597
It sits at an elevation of 3,688 feet.
The community is home to the Paulina
Rodeo, a family-oriented amateur rodeo
that runs the Saturday and Sunday of
Labor Day weekend each year.
Highway 380 skirts by Paulina on the
left. Taking the loop road through town
brings you past a country church, the
Paulina Store, and a cluster of houses.
The community has a K-8 public school.
The Paulina School PTO is a group of par-
ents and community members that sup-
port the Paulina School students. Each
year, the PTO sponsors a rifle raffle to raise
funds for the students’ overnight field trip.
The raffle culminates with a community
dinner the first Friday in December as the
winning ticket is drawn.
Paulina, although a small community,
has a big heart. Several non-profit volun-
teer groups call Paulina Home.
The Pau Mau Club is a ladies community
service organization started in 1931. The
club owns the community hall where they
sponsor several events throughout the year,
such as the Soup Supper, the Rodeo
Cowboy Breakfast Sunday morning during
the Paulina Rodeo, and trap shoots at the
rodeo grounds. Funds are used to support
community, school functions, and mainte-
nance of the community hall, which is
available for weddings, family gatherings,
and community events.
Also in the Upper Country is Rager
Emergency Services, a non-profit volunteer
ambulance service that provides emer-
gency services to 1,150 square-miles of
East Crook County. Their ambulance is sta-
tioned at Paulina and is manned by volun-
teer EMTS and drivers around-the-clock.
Currently, there are two full-time EMTs and
five drivers that share the responsibility of
responding when needed. They also have
two seasonal EMTs that work in the Upper
Country.
THINGS to KNOW about . . .
CROOK COUNTY’S UPPER COUNTRY
THINGS TO KNOW 2013 • 21