Monday
October 18
It was dark when I got up. Nancy was still sleeping when I slipped out of the room and headed out for a paper, and early breakfast at Bette's Cafe. There was only one other customer there when I arrived about 6:15 and I was able to chat with the waitress a bit regarding the menu! I felt like an Omelet with toast and hash browns--I was hungry, even after the pizza from the night before! It started to lighten up outside, and about the time I was done eating, and through most of the paper, Nancy turned up with her caffiene from the Dog River coffee house across the street and ordered a home made muffin to soak up some of the caffiene to make the dose last longer in her system.
We had alot of touring to do today, starting with whatever was at The Dalles, and then turning south along the eastern side of the cascades with Bend as our destination. One of the reasons we decided to come to Oregon was to check out Bend as a possible retirement destination, so there was some anticipation in the day. Plus we planned on staying in one place for 3 days--instead of riding in one afternoon and the next day moving on!
So we settled up at the hotel, saddled up, and kicked up some dust on I-84 east.
The Dalles was a wierd name for a town, and I forget just exactly where the name came from, but it sounds French for something. As I remember, it was a primary stop for many on their way to Oregon, and the last stop before people headed up to take on the Cascades with their wagons. There was a Fort Dalles built there to provide protection for the many settlers on the trail. It was at the "mouth" of the gorge, and was the main "commercial" river gateway from the Notheastern and middle part of the Oregon territory. It wasn't far from Hood River and I-84 got us there within 30 minutes. As we approached the town we saw a sign which directed us to something called the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and County Museum. Wow! Any tourist worth his salt couldn't miss that!!! So we took the offramp! It was a very good discovery, and was similar to all the great National Park Visitor's Centers we had visited on our trip; except it was a locally funded and staffed facility. There were interesting exhibits about early Oregon, commerce on the Columbia, and alot about local history. There was also a nice gift shop, so we bought Matt a couple of postcards.
There were a lot of "guys with guts" dressed in work clothes, boots, jeans, cowboy hats, and Catapiller and Deere Caps hanging around in the wide foyer. I had to ask about them and found out that the county maintenance dept was having an early morning meeting there in one of the rooms. I guess that also explained all the pickups out in the parking lot.
We drove through The Dalles without a stop and headed south on a small two lane road going in the direction of Bend. We were east of the Cascades and hoped that we would get some great views of Mount Hood, but the skies were so overcast that the mountains to the west of us were completely shrouded. The country east of the Cascades was a stark contrast to the trees and heavier vegetation to the west. The annual rainfall drops considerably and the terrain is mostly a rolling plain with no trees.(Bend gets about 12" annually, and as one goes east it drops off from that amount) There was occassional evidence of a ranch off in the distance, but it was pretty much open range. I have a feeling that some of the land was also Indian reservation.
We drove for an hour and I was looking at the gas gauge hoping that we would get to the next town soon. According to the map the town was a place called Maupin, and was on the Dechutes river, the same river that runs through Bend. As we approached town there was a run down gas station with a couple of pumps, and I thought I would drive further to see if there was a Chevron or something else more appealing. Two blocks later we were out of town! So I turned around and headed back to the only gas in town! The attendant reminded me of Jr. Samples, that stout hillbilly on Hee Haw from years ago, who was friendly and always had something to say. He pumped my gas for me and looked grateful that I had a gas guzzler with a 22 gal tank! We chatted a bit, and he gave me a copy of the local news, and told me a bit about the town. I told him that I had grown up in a town with a population of 600, and that Maupin reminded me of that. There was a small school, which I am sure served a wide area of the surrounding countryside, and a block and a half of stores on Main street. I took some pictures. He told me that fishing was pretty good for steelhead, and that was pretty much what kept Maupin alive--fishermen coming to fish the river. He also said that if we wanted to take a small detour 20 miles east, there was a ghost town we could visit. That sounded pretty interesting, so we took the turn where he directed us and headed east on a two lane tarred road across the lonely plain. I don't think we saw another car on the road, and it seemed to me to be further than I had expected. I was getting nervous! What if we were heading off our route into the vastness of nothingness. I actually stopped at an intersection with another rural road to check the map. It looked like we would hit Rte 97 if we kept heading east, and that would take us to Bend, so on we went, ghost town or not!! Another 10 minutes and we were at Rte 97, and at the ghost town as well!
Actually, it was a pretty interesting place. It was a cold and windy day, and it was obvious that only the ghosts were around this time of the year. Everything was closed, but there was a post office in one of the buildings that was open, and Nancy mailed Matt the post cards we had picked up earlier. We walked around with the ghosts a bit. There was a big old barn filled with rusty old cars and pickups, and some of the old buildings were open just to walk through--which we did. There was a guy in a big RV looking in the window of the "Hotel" who told Nancy that he had been camping in his RV and was looking for someone the last couple of days so he could pay his bill. He said he was giving up and leaving.
The place probably got alot of tourist action off Rte 67 in the summer months, but really was a "ghost town" during the off season!
We headed south! There wasn't much to look at . The mountains were still under cloud cover, so we never did see Mt. Hood. As we approached Redmond we again saw evidence of civilization and traffic. Redmond is about 20 miles north of Bend, has a small airport and some commercial activity, but little charm, and no quilt shop of note, and so we just drove through.
Just outside of Bend I saw a sign noting the upcoming Crooked River Gorge Scenic overlook. Oh boy!! We had to stop there. Rte 97 has a newer bridge over the gorge! The old bridge still stands off to the side and can be used by pedestrians. As we drove over the bridge, I looked down, and down , and down. We pulled into the parking lot and parked near the only other car visible. It was a big parking lot, and was probably a big tourist draw in the Summer! (But even the rest rooms were closed at this time of the year.)
We walked over to the rail at the edge of the gorge and noted a sign that said, "Danger", and to control your dogs and small children. Nancy would not get close enough to look over the precipice, although I did get her to stand by the sign for a picture. The gorge was a slash in the earth over 300 ft deep created over the eons by the Crooked River, which ran its crooked way far below.
I walked out a ways on the old bridge just to get some got pictures. Nancy stayed on shore!!
Our next stop was Bend, and the first goal we set for ourselves was to find a place to stay close to the old downtown area. We drove around the main streets downtown and parked to walk around and seek out the local chamber of commerce for some ideas. We found it and picked up some brochures from some of the local establishments. Back in the car, we decided that we should try the two best looking B&Bs. The first we called was fully booked. The Lara, supposedly the best in town, had an opening for $125 per night, and while more than I wanted to spend, I could see the delight on Nancy's face when I said go for it!! It ended up to be a great decision.
The Lara B&B was in an old house which had been built by a rich early mover and shaker in Bend whose name happen to be Lara. It was in a prime location on a corner just across from the Dechutes River and Drake Park, which ran along the river in Old Bend. Nancy was thrilled with our room and the old house. Not only that, we had arrived just in time to partake of the late afternoon wine and snacks our host, Bobye, had put out for the guests. The wine was my favorite--2$ chuck!! Bobye and family make a trip south to California every year and she said she had picked up 15 cases Trader Joe's ($1.99/bottle)!! There were 5 rooms at the Inn and all but one was filled, and everyone was sipping the 2$chuck and having shrimp, cheese and crackers and getting aquainted! One older couple was from San Diego as well, and were checking out retirement real estate. When the wine was gone, most of us decided to eat together--and we walked to an Italian resturant, had pasta, and of course, some more wine!! The waiter was very pleased to see us. We were the only party for about an hour, and kept him busy working for a generous tip!
Another walk in the crisp evening air, and we all headed back to the Lara and a warm bed.
The next day's plan was to head for Sisters, a small town 18 miles east and the site of one of the best all time quilt stores, and do some touring of the area. It was nice to think that we were going to be in one place for 3 nights.
October 18
It was dark when I got up. Nancy was still sleeping when I slipped out of the room and headed out for a paper, and early breakfast at Bette's Cafe. There was only one other customer there when I arrived about 6:15 and I was able to chat with the waitress a bit regarding the menu! I felt like an Omelet with toast and hash browns--I was hungry, even after the pizza from the night before! It started to lighten up outside, and about the time I was done eating, and through most of the paper, Nancy turned up with her caffiene from the Dog River coffee house across the street and ordered a home made muffin to soak up some of the caffiene to make the dose last longer in her system.
We had alot of touring to do today, starting with whatever was at The Dalles, and then turning south along the eastern side of the cascades with Bend as our destination. One of the reasons we decided to come to Oregon was to check out Bend as a possible retirement destination, so there was some anticipation in the day. Plus we planned on staying in one place for 3 days--instead of riding in one afternoon and the next day moving on!
So we settled up at the hotel, saddled up, and kicked up some dust on I-84 east.
The Dalles was a wierd name for a town, and I forget just exactly where the name came from, but it sounds French for something. As I remember, it was a primary stop for many on their way to Oregon, and the last stop before people headed up to take on the Cascades with their wagons. There was a Fort Dalles built there to provide protection for the many settlers on the trail. It was at the "mouth" of the gorge, and was the main "commercial" river gateway from the Notheastern and middle part of the Oregon territory. It wasn't far from Hood River and I-84 got us there within 30 minutes. As we approached the town we saw a sign which directed us to something called the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and County Museum. Wow! Any tourist worth his salt couldn't miss that!!! So we took the offramp! It was a very good discovery, and was similar to all the great National Park Visitor's Centers we had visited on our trip; except it was a locally funded and staffed facility. There were interesting exhibits about early Oregon, commerce on the Columbia, and alot about local history. There was also a nice gift shop, so we bought Matt a couple of postcards.
There were a lot of "guys with guts" dressed in work clothes, boots, jeans, cowboy hats, and Catapiller and Deere Caps hanging around in the wide foyer. I had to ask about them and found out that the county maintenance dept was having an early morning meeting there in one of the rooms. I guess that also explained all the pickups out in the parking lot.
We drove through The Dalles without a stop and headed south on a small two lane road going in the direction of Bend. We were east of the Cascades and hoped that we would get some great views of Mount Hood, but the skies were so overcast that the mountains to the west of us were completely shrouded. The country east of the Cascades was a stark contrast to the trees and heavier vegetation to the west. The annual rainfall drops considerably and the terrain is mostly a rolling plain with no trees.(Bend gets about 12" annually, and as one goes east it drops off from that amount) There was occassional evidence of a ranch off in the distance, but it was pretty much open range. I have a feeling that some of the land was also Indian reservation.
We drove for an hour and I was looking at the gas gauge hoping that we would get to the next town soon. According to the map the town was a place called Maupin, and was on the Dechutes river, the same river that runs through Bend. As we approached town there was a run down gas station with a couple of pumps, and I thought I would drive further to see if there was a Chevron or something else more appealing. Two blocks later we were out of town! So I turned around and headed back to the only gas in town! The attendant reminded me of Jr. Samples, that stout hillbilly on Hee Haw from years ago, who was friendly and always had something to say. He pumped my gas for me and looked grateful that I had a gas guzzler with a 22 gal tank! We chatted a bit, and he gave me a copy of the local news, and told me a bit about the town. I told him that I had grown up in a town with a population of 600, and that Maupin reminded me of that. There was a small school, which I am sure served a wide area of the surrounding countryside, and a block and a half of stores on Main street. I took some pictures. He told me that fishing was pretty good for steelhead, and that was pretty much what kept Maupin alive--fishermen coming to fish the river. He also said that if we wanted to take a small detour 20 miles east, there was a ghost town we could visit. That sounded pretty interesting, so we took the turn where he directed us and headed east on a two lane tarred road across the lonely plain. I don't think we saw another car on the road, and it seemed to me to be further than I had expected. I was getting nervous! What if we were heading off our route into the vastness of nothingness. I actually stopped at an intersection with another rural road to check the map. It looked like we would hit Rte 97 if we kept heading east, and that would take us to Bend, so on we went, ghost town or not!! Another 10 minutes and we were at Rte 97, and at the ghost town as well!
Actually, it was a pretty interesting place. It was a cold and windy day, and it was obvious that only the ghosts were around this time of the year. Everything was closed, but there was a post office in one of the buildings that was open, and Nancy mailed Matt the post cards we had picked up earlier. We walked around with the ghosts a bit. There was a big old barn filled with rusty old cars and pickups, and some of the old buildings were open just to walk through--which we did. There was a guy in a big RV looking in the window of the "Hotel" who told Nancy that he had been camping in his RV and was looking for someone the last couple of days so he could pay his bill. He said he was giving up and leaving.
The place probably got alot of tourist action off Rte 67 in the summer months, but really was a "ghost town" during the off season!
We headed south! There wasn't much to look at . The mountains were still under cloud cover, so we never did see Mt. Hood. As we approached Redmond we again saw evidence of civilization and traffic. Redmond is about 20 miles north of Bend, has a small airport and some commercial activity, but little charm, and no quilt shop of note, and so we just drove through.
Just outside of Bend I saw a sign noting the upcoming Crooked River Gorge Scenic overlook. Oh boy!! We had to stop there. Rte 97 has a newer bridge over the gorge! The old bridge still stands off to the side and can be used by pedestrians. As we drove over the bridge, I looked down, and down , and down. We pulled into the parking lot and parked near the only other car visible. It was a big parking lot, and was probably a big tourist draw in the Summer! (But even the rest rooms were closed at this time of the year.)
We walked over to the rail at the edge of the gorge and noted a sign that said, "Danger", and to control your dogs and small children. Nancy would not get close enough to look over the precipice, although I did get her to stand by the sign for a picture. The gorge was a slash in the earth over 300 ft deep created over the eons by the Crooked River, which ran its crooked way far below.
I walked out a ways on the old bridge just to get some got pictures. Nancy stayed on shore!!
Our next stop was Bend, and the first goal we set for ourselves was to find a place to stay close to the old downtown area. We drove around the main streets downtown and parked to walk around and seek out the local chamber of commerce for some ideas. We found it and picked up some brochures from some of the local establishments. Back in the car, we decided that we should try the two best looking B&Bs. The first we called was fully booked. The Lara, supposedly the best in town, had an opening for $125 per night, and while more than I wanted to spend, I could see the delight on Nancy's face when I said go for it!! It ended up to be a great decision.
The Lara B&B was in an old house which had been built by a rich early mover and shaker in Bend whose name happen to be Lara. It was in a prime location on a corner just across from the Dechutes River and Drake Park, which ran along the river in Old Bend. Nancy was thrilled with our room and the old house. Not only that, we had arrived just in time to partake of the late afternoon wine and snacks our host, Bobye, had put out for the guests. The wine was my favorite--2$ chuck!! Bobye and family make a trip south to California every year and she said she had picked up 15 cases Trader Joe's ($1.99/bottle)!! There were 5 rooms at the Inn and all but one was filled, and everyone was sipping the 2$chuck and having shrimp, cheese and crackers and getting aquainted! One older couple was from San Diego as well, and were checking out retirement real estate. When the wine was gone, most of us decided to eat together--and we walked to an Italian resturant, had pasta, and of course, some more wine!! The waiter was very pleased to see us. We were the only party for about an hour, and kept him busy working for a generous tip!
Another walk in the crisp evening air, and we all headed back to the Lara and a warm bed.
The next day's plan was to head for Sisters, a small town 18 miles east and the site of one of the best all time quilt stores, and do some touring of the area. It was nice to think that we were going to be in one place for 3 nights.
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