The Sunday drive may be up against the ropes and reeling, but it’s not dead yet.

With a gallon of regular going for $4.31 (and climbing) as of 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, no matter what day of the week you pick for your Sunday road trip, you better choose wisely. This is no time to bury your head in the sand, drop the ball, cloister yourself indoors.

It finally feels like summer out there, and it would be a shame to let the fleeting season sprint by under a scudding cloud of petrol panic. On the other hand, it’s virtually impossible to ignore the gathering storm.

So I’ve been keeping my eye out for outings that offer maximum bang for the buck, mileage for the money, aesthetic delight per overpriced drop of fossil fuel.

From Bend, it’s less than 100 miles to the far side of Big Summit Prairie in Ochoco National Forest, where the North Fork of the Crooked River flows clear and cool by Deep Creek Campground. To me, it was 200 miles (round trip) well spent.

For us, the trip essentially began in Prineville, where lunch can mean burritos at one of the authentic taquerias or a good old-fashioned drippy burger at Tastee Treet, a good old-fashioned burger joint.

U.S. Highway 26 spools east out of Prineville, past Ochoco Reservoir and on into the Ochocos. Ochoco Creek Road (a right off the highway) delivered us to the ranger station where we opted to jog right for the drive up to the Independent Mine. The old cinnabar mine is now a couple of rustic wooden buildings in an emerald meadow of grass and false hellebore (a fine place for a picnic if you got past Prineville without stopping).

Back out on the pavement, we turned right on Canyon Creek Road (Forest Road 42), crested the pass and descended onto Big Summit Prairie.

Although wildflowers bloom there all summer long, the next week or two will be special up there. It’s not just single blooms, but a riot of purple, white, yellow and orange. Indian paintbrush, yellow wyethia, arrowleaf balsamroot and many other species abound on the flat prairie. The interior of Big Summit Prairie is privately held and off limits to the general public. Most of the land along the roads that circle the prairie, however, is administered by the Ochoco National Forest and the Prineville District of the Bureau of Land Management.

Several gravel roads head south from the main road and offer more flower viewing and hiking opportunities.

Beyond the far eastern side of Big Summit Prairie, you’ll meet up with the North Fork of the Crooked River, a wild and scenic waterway that looks more like a creek up there than a full-fledged river. The headwaters of the North Fork are within Big Summit Prairie.

East of Deep Creek Campground, which is temporarily closed because of a logging operation, we parked and explored a short reach of the North Fork. We found wildflowers, willows, alder and a profusion of butterflies along the banks. In river, rainbow trout seek refuge under log jams and beneath the protective blur of riffles.

Depending on your time and gas tank constraints, you can continue east, making a big loop to county roads 113 and 112 through the town of Paulina and on to Paulina Highway through Post and back through Prineville.

We headed back west through Big Summit Prairie, turned north and ended up at Walton Lake via Forest Road 2220. The 18-acre Ochoco oasis, formed by a small dam near the head of Cady Creek, was once a diversionary dam used to supply water to nearby downstream mines.

Now, there’s a 31-site campground here, the Round Mountain Trailhead (16 miles round trip), a boat ramp and a fishing dock. The latter attraction was the reason my 11-year-old son, Daniel, endured 100 miles of starting and stopping and photographing and starting again.

One 14-inch rainbow trout and a small bullhead had that kid lobbying to start a new family tradition: the Sunday drive. On Monday.

If you go

Getting there: From Prineville, drive east on U.S. Highway 26 for 14 miles to the sign for Ochoco Ranger Station. Turn right and drive about eight miles and turn left on Forest Road 22 to reach Walton Lake or right onto Forest Road 42. The road to Independent Mine is on the right toward the top of the pass. Continue on Forest Road 42 into Big Summit Prairie.

Contact: Ochoco National Forest, 416-6500.