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Trip Day 10
Pics for the day
Spent the day driving across Oregon on I-84, which meant recovering the territory I'd visited with my friend the previous day. Not a bad thing, considering the view.
Stopped off at The City of The Dalles to see a number of places of historical interest.
First up, Discovery Center, which offered fascinating exhibits about the Lewis and Clark expedition (the old adventures of two rather super men... ;) ). All the baggage they packed. Their medical supplies (there was a medicine chest there with herbs and pills and explanations of what they were used for and how effective those treatments actually would be). All sorts of nifty things. Like the city's first fire engine, from 1879. Went through a little hastily, though, because I had driving to do and other sights to see. I did, however, get helpful directions to my other stops in the city.
Next stop was the Rock Fort campsite. It was a location by the river which was once a major native trading post. Several nearby tribes would gather regularly there. Lewis and Clark made sure to make it a stop on their journey.
The site is on the edge of town, overlooking the river, and the road that goes to it is narrow. Only two lanes, and the entrance was under construction. I drove past the entrance to the campsite, but didn't see any parking nearby. I went around the next curve and down a moderately steep hill before I saw a little pull-out on the other side of the road. I U-turned (just before the street took a 90 degree turn to go under the highway and back to town) and parked. Took a picture of the handicapped parking (presumably for the campsite, since there's nothing else along that stretch of road but a couple of industrial sites half a mile further back) on my way back.
The sign pointed to a little break in the hill by the side of the road, which led to a short path, which opened into... a small unremarkable patch of land with a few very rusty old signs with historical information. Still, it was cool to be there. I took pictures of the signs, for later reference, and turned around... to see a little unmarked pathway leading up the side of the hill. That turned out to lead to an open, rocky plateau, at the far side of which there was a small historical marker (and also a view across and down to the handicapped parking space in the distance). I took a moment to look around and soak in the history and then made my way back to the car.
From there, I drove to a marker I'd read about in the AAA guide and just about nowhere else. The park mentioned in the guide wasn't even on the maps, and the GPS couldn't find the intersection it listed, either (because, it turned out, the little park blocked the named streets from actually intersecting - but it was the right intersection to name because the marker turned out to be on the side of the park where the intersection would have been). Luckily, I'd gotten a map and directions from the woman at the Discovery Center.
Now, those of you who grew up on in the US and are approximately my age may remember playing a computer game (possibly in school) called The Oregon Trail. There are some t-shirts dedicated to it, and (if it doesn't cause your browser to crash - it works for me on this comp with IE8, but seems to give FF trouble), there's an archived copy of the game at Virtual Apple (Apple ][ section, under O). After struggling across the country day by day and mile by mile, you hit a decision point. The trail ends. There's a new overland trail which will be longer and harder, or you can take the faster, more established, more dangerous route - take the wagon wheels off, put everything you own on a raft, and float the rest of the way down along the river. The game, IIRC, tells you that the river was, for several years, the only choice. The trail ended, and you had to take your chances with the raft. That happened in the city of The Dalles, and there's a marker:
Now, as you can tell by the picture, the Columbia river has moved a bit in the last 150 years or so. It's now a few blocks down, at the bottom of the hill:
But still, that gate is where the Oregon Trail once ended.
By then, it was lunchtime, so I headed over to the Baldwin Saloon:
Beautiful place, and the food and service were pretty good, too.
Filled up the tank, got back on the highway. Drove to Baker City. Or, more properly, to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, which is about 20 miles out in the middle of nowhere from the Baker City exit. Got there about half an hour before closing (and by "closing," I mean the time when they close and lock the gates at the bottom of the mountain, when the main building is at the top). Dashed through some very cool displays (including a life-sized chuck wagon with team and recorded voices, a reproduction of one of their old newspapers, a moving model of a 5 stamp mill, a diorama of a fort, and so much more... with yet more on the acres of ground outside the building I didn't have time to explore).
GPS cut out on me as I headed to the Center. Lost the satellites and wouldn't reconnect for the rest of the day. Luckily, I didn't really need it at that point.
Going over the mountains that mark the border between Oregon and Idaho, there was a place where the road suddenly curved off to the left to avoid a mountainside. Fortunately, for those who weren't paying attention, there was a helpful sign. Click here to see.
Stopped off the highway for dinner, but missed seeing the Perkins which had been advertised as being just a couple of miles off the road. Turned around and found it on the way back. The lights were on and the door was open. It was 9:30pm. The place closed at 9. ... Technically. It had previously been open until 10, but the owner had decided to cut back, due to the recession. But the cook had decided that if hungry people came to the door (notwithstanding the fast food place next door, which was open late), he wouldn't turn them away, and the hostess/waitress had elected to say with him. She let in two more groups after me, each with the explanation that she'd let the last group in, so she couldn't very well turn these people away, too. It was oddly touching and very hospitable. I was very grateful, and made sure to give her a little something extra above the usual tip to split with the cook.
The table next to me (admitted a few minutes after me) had an elderly (though still vital) couple who were apparantly driving around (I expected in an RV, though I didn't see one in the parking lot), either on vacation or for their retirement. Like me, they'd already put in several hundred miles that day, and were looking to put in a few more before stopping for the night. They looked a fair bit like the L&C version of Jonathan and Martha Kent, which put a quiet smile on my face. What put a bigger smile on my face was the fact that she was wearing a nice little black beret with a cute little repeating pattern silkscreened in shining silver... stylish, elegant, vaguely artistic. Nothing too remarkable. Except that the pattern in question was a skull and crossbones. I kind of wish I'd gotten the nerve to compliment her on it, but I think they were happier left alone to make their plans and eat their dinner.
Spent the day driving across Oregon on I-84, which meant recovering the territory I'd visited with my friend the previous day. Not a bad thing, considering the view.
Stopped off at The City of The Dalles to see a number of places of historical interest.
First up, Discovery Center, which offered fascinating exhibits about the Lewis and Clark expedition (the old adventures of two rather super men... ;) ). All the baggage they packed. Their medical supplies (there was a medicine chest there with herbs and pills and explanations of what they were used for and how effective those treatments actually would be). All sorts of nifty things. Like the city's first fire engine, from 1879. Went through a little hastily, though, because I had driving to do and other sights to see. I did, however, get helpful directions to my other stops in the city.
Next stop was the Rock Fort campsite. It was a location by the river which was once a major native trading post. Several nearby tribes would gather regularly there. Lewis and Clark made sure to make it a stop on their journey.
The site is on the edge of town, overlooking the river, and the road that goes to it is narrow. Only two lanes, and the entrance was under construction. I drove past the entrance to the campsite, but didn't see any parking nearby. I went around the next curve and down a moderately steep hill before I saw a little pull-out on the other side of the road. I U-turned (just before the street took a 90 degree turn to go under the highway and back to town) and parked. Took a picture of the handicapped parking (presumably for the campsite, since there's nothing else along that stretch of road but a couple of industrial sites half a mile further back) on my way back.
The sign pointed to a little break in the hill by the side of the road, which led to a short path, which opened into... a small unremarkable patch of land with a few very rusty old signs with historical information. Still, it was cool to be there. I took pictures of the signs, for later reference, and turned around... to see a little unmarked pathway leading up the side of the hill. That turned out to lead to an open, rocky plateau, at the far side of which there was a small historical marker (and also a view across and down to the handicapped parking space in the distance). I took a moment to look around and soak in the history and then made my way back to the car.
From there, I drove to a marker I'd read about in the AAA guide and just about nowhere else. The park mentioned in the guide wasn't even on the maps, and the GPS couldn't find the intersection it listed, either (because, it turned out, the little park blocked the named streets from actually intersecting - but it was the right intersection to name because the marker turned out to be on the side of the park where the intersection would have been). Luckily, I'd gotten a map and directions from the woman at the Discovery Center.
Now, those of you who grew up on in the US and are approximately my age may remember playing a computer game (possibly in school) called The Oregon Trail. There are some t-shirts dedicated to it, and (if it doesn't cause your browser to crash - it works for me on this comp with IE8, but seems to give FF trouble), there's an archived copy of the game at Virtual Apple (Apple ][ section, under O). After struggling across the country day by day and mile by mile, you hit a decision point. The trail ends. There's a new overland trail which will be longer and harder, or you can take the faster, more established, more dangerous route - take the wagon wheels off, put everything you own on a raft, and float the rest of the way down along the river. The game, IIRC, tells you that the river was, for several years, the only choice. The trail ended, and you had to take your chances with the raft. That happened in the city of The Dalles, and there's a marker:
Now, as you can tell by the picture, the Columbia river has moved a bit in the last 150 years or so. It's now a few blocks down, at the bottom of the hill:
But still, that gate is where the Oregon Trail once ended.
By then, it was lunchtime, so I headed over to the Baldwin Saloon:
Beautiful place, and the food and service were pretty good, too.
Filled up the tank, got back on the highway. Drove to Baker City. Or, more properly, to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, which is about 20 miles out in the middle of nowhere from the Baker City exit. Got there about half an hour before closing (and by "closing," I mean the time when they close and lock the gates at the bottom of the mountain, when the main building is at the top). Dashed through some very cool displays (including a life-sized chuck wagon with team and recorded voices, a reproduction of one of their old newspapers, a moving model of a 5 stamp mill, a diorama of a fort, and so much more... with yet more on the acres of ground outside the building I didn't have time to explore).
GPS cut out on me as I headed to the Center. Lost the satellites and wouldn't reconnect for the rest of the day. Luckily, I didn't really need it at that point.
Going over the mountains that mark the border between Oregon and Idaho, there was a place where the road suddenly curved off to the left to avoid a mountainside. Fortunately, for those who weren't paying attention, there was a helpful sign. Click here to see.
Stopped off the highway for dinner, but missed seeing the Perkins which had been advertised as being just a couple of miles off the road. Turned around and found it on the way back. The lights were on and the door was open. It was 9:30pm. The place closed at 9. ... Technically. It had previously been open until 10, but the owner had decided to cut back, due to the recession. But the cook had decided that if hungry people came to the door (notwithstanding the fast food place next door, which was open late), he wouldn't turn them away, and the hostess/waitress had elected to say with him. She let in two more groups after me, each with the explanation that she'd let the last group in, so she couldn't very well turn these people away, too. It was oddly touching and very hospitable. I was very grateful, and made sure to give her a little something extra above the usual tip to split with the cook.
The table next to me (admitted a few minutes after me) had an elderly (though still vital) couple who were apparantly driving around (I expected in an RV, though I didn't see one in the parking lot), either on vacation or for their retirement. Like me, they'd already put in several hundred miles that day, and were looking to put in a few more before stopping for the night. They looked a fair bit like the L&C version of Jonathan and Martha Kent, which put a quiet smile on my face. What put a bigger smile on my face was the fact that she was wearing a nice little black beret with a cute little repeating pattern silkscreened in shining silver... stylish, elegant, vaguely artistic. Nothing too remarkable. Except that the pattern in question was a skull and crossbones. I kind of wish I'd gotten the nerve to compliment her on it, but I think they were happier left alone to make their plans and eat their dinner.