Leaving Oregon

The Columbia river divides Oregon and Washington, and we crossed it on the Hood River toll bridge, an old and very narrow metal bridge. It costs one dollar, has no sidewalks, and even the bridge deck is metal.
Once on the Washington side, we enjoyed a scenic drive beside the river before heading north on highway 97.

We stopped for lunch in Ellensburg at the Yellow Church Cafe - it was built in 1923 and was a Lutheran church for many years until the congregation sold it and built a newer church - the old one was a home, an office, and an art gallery before being turned into a cafe in 1997. Inside you see the high ceiling, the old fir floor, and booths made out of pews. Heavenly Bread was on the menu - how could we resist? It was warm, with cheese and garlic and was delicious!
So our Oregon adventure is now over - thanks for following along!

A hike and brew, or from starvation to libation!

Our hike to the waterfall at Starvation Creek started right near the campground, and followed the old Columbia river highway, with the new highway and train tracks below. Intrigued by the name, we were glad to find an interpretive sign; it explained how in 1885, a train headed to Portland in late December ran into a 25 foot snowdrift, and the crew and 146 passengers were trapped for 3 weeks while the train was dug out by hand!
We found a rather narrow steep trail right up to the falls, close enough that you could enjoy the spray - lovely on a hot day!
Later in Hood River we got to Full Sail Brewing in time for the 4:00 p.m. tour, which of course ends in the tasting room, aka the pub. We had dinner with a couple from Calgary who were also on the tour, and enjoyed ourselves.
The brewery is an independent, employee owned one, and they try very hard to be sustainable: the glass bottles are recycled, the cardboard boxes are reused, and the spent barley mash is picked up by Tillamook Dairy and fed to their cows.

Hood River and the Hatfield trail



Brad outside the Mosier tunnel



Hood River is quite the happening town, and busier than when we were here about 15 years ago! Today we rode our bikes 10 miles on the Hatfield trail; it was part of the original Columbia River highway, built between 1913 and 1922. Of course it was built for Model T's, so a narrow road for cars, but now a nice 20 foot wide path for walkers, runners, skaters and cyclists. When they built the new highway they closed the road and filled the two tunnels with rock; then in the '90's the tunnels were cleared, stabilized inside, and the road was repaved.  From what we could see, it's a very popular trail! And we were thankful that it's mainly in the shade, as it's in the 90's this week here (32-34 C.).

Why was Hood River called Dog River?

While sitting on the patio of the wonderful Sixth Street Bistro, waiting for our delicious blackened sockeye salmon, we wondered why Hood River was originally called Dog River. We'd noticed Dog River WiFi, Dog River Coffee Company, and then on the Historical Walking Tour brochure, a mention of how an early prominent citizen had been instrumental in changing the name of the town.
So we asked our server, a local, but she didn't know. We wondered if this would be another case of asking everywhere and getting many answers.
That's what had happened in Bandon, on the coast; in order to drive from our campsite south of Coos Bay over to Bandon, everyone advised us to take Seven Devils road, in order shave 10 miles off our drive. While having coffee in Bandon on our last morning, at the tiny but fabulous Bandon Coffee Cafe, we thought we'd ask the staff how the Seven Devil's road got its' name. Well the person at the counter didn't know; she called over to a regular sitting nearby - Oh, he said, I think it's named for seven rocks off the coast, where there'd been many shipwrecks, but wasn't sure. A woman sitting nearby contradicted him and said, NO, it was named for the seven curves in the road, but suggested I ask at the Archives across the street.
So while Brad topped up the gas tank and checked the air in the tires, I went over to the Archives. The gentleman there said that there were many theories, but that most historians thought it was because back when it was only a trail, first used by Native Americans, there were seven canyons to navigate...
So why was Hood River originally called Dog River? It turns out that it got that name after starving early settlers ate dog meat to survive! No wonder they changed the name!

Timberline Lodge



Smith Rock State Park

 We left very smokey Bend and headed north, stopping for a picnic lunch at Smith Rock. It's a favourite place for climbers, and we watched several, through the binoculors, inching their way up the rock face. It's a hot and dry landscape, and anyone with livestock or crops, has to irrigate their fields. We're amazed by all the natural lava rock - at home we had to buy it in bags for the paths in the front yard!

Mt.Hood from the window of Timberline Lodge

We drove north again, through the dry Warm Springs area, and as we got closer to Mt. Hood, the landscape changed completely, to green forest and some maple trees changing colour. We drove up to Timberline Lodge, built in 1937, and had fun exploring the amazing interior, with its' huge beams, stone, old windows and enormous fireplaces. We played some ping-pong on a wooden table, and admired the views of the glaciers.

Riding and the Old St. Francis School

Brad went on a single track guided mountain bike ride near Tumalo Falls west of Bend; this is someone's video from his helmet cam - it gives you an idea of the trail. Brad says "it was so much fun! It was exhilarating!"

While he was cycling, I went to Flyspur Ranch and rode Cody, a Paint; we went on trails through the pine forest, crossed a fairly deep river, and saw two Great Horned owls.

Later we went for dinner at the Old St. Francis School, a restored 1936 Catholic school. They were celebrating Half Way to St. Patrick's Day, with Irish music (strolling fiddle players), and lamb stew.
There's so much history in the school and parish building that there's a four page walking tour handout at the entrance. There's a hotel section (stay in a classroom!), a movie theatre, a pub, restaurant and more!

Bend Oregon

From this spot it looks like there's only one smokestack!

Bend, named after what else, a bend in the river, was a mill town, and logs were floated down the river. The mill closed in 1993, and the area is now the Old Mill District, full of interesting shops, restaurants and some townhouses - right beside the Deschutes river. Our destination was REI - it's in the oldbrick building that used to be the powerhouse for the mill, and still has 3 big smokestacks on top.
There's a bridge across the river and walking/cycling paths. After lunch we went to the small downtown historic area, and explored the art galleries, shops, riverside park, the Deschute brewery, and a coffee shop called Thump. It has hundreds of flat pieces of wood hanging from the ceiling, with drawings and writing on them, and when we asked about them, one of the owners said it started out as an art installation of wish boards, as the night they opened it was an art walk night. But then it became so popular that they kept it up, so on the counter there's a supply of boards and markers so you too can make a wish, and it can hang from the ceiling.

There are so many cyclists in Bend, riding so many different kinds of bikes: cool colourful coasters, town bikes with patterned paniers, mountain bikes - you name it! It makes for good people watching, and one thing we've noticed is that not many cyclists wear helmets here, unlike at home. We ate dinner on the patio of Boken, watching the sun go down across the river. The forest fire northwest of here makes for colourful sunsets. You can see the smoke on the right of this photo; the fire is near Sisters, and the air quality there is considered hazardous; luckily the wind is blowing the smoke away from Bend.

Sunriver Oregon

Sunriver is a small community south of Bend, a development with townhomes, a golf course, aquatic centre, and miles of connecting paths. Brad rented a road bike, and we cycled a loop from the village, to the marina, past the air strip, along the Deschutes river, and back through a pine forest to the village. Then Brad went west on the road to Mt. Bachelor and back, about 25 miles.
Everyone we talk to says how this is the perfect time to be here - it's still warm, yet not as crowded - it sounds like it's really busy in the summer.

High Desert Museum

The High Desert Museum south of Bend sits in a pine forest and has both indoor and outdoor exhibits. The birds and animals (a river otter and lynx) have been injured and cannot be released back into the wild, so now have a home at the museum. We were just in time for the raptor talk, as well as one on the river otter. We saw a Harris hawk, and a small screech owl.
While he talked, the handler fed the owl bits of quail: "his favourite!" from a leather pouch on his belt.

Outside, the thing that captivated me the most was a sculpture of a mare and foal, made entirely of barbed wire! It was hard to get a good photo of it, as the sun was right behind it, so I took many, from all directions.

Ride Oregon

We had anticipated the usual quiet start to the day, but were surprised to find that the large parking area beside the campground store was being turned into a stop for cyclists - 2200 of them! Many many volunteers were setting up food stations and recyling areas. It was the Ride Oregon seven day ride, day two; day one they'd started in the town of Bly, and day two they left Fort Klamath and rode to Prospect, with the 33 mile rim road around Crater Lake optional.

The thought of sharing the road with 2200 cyclists was rather daunting, so we found out which direction they were headed, and went in the opposite one, so that when we met them on the narrow rim road, they'd be on the other side of the road. Luckily they were going clockwise, which was perfect as we hadn't been on the east side of the lake yet. We saw a few recumbant bikes, and several tandems.
Then we headed out of the Park, turned East on route 138, and headed north on 97 to Sunriver, south of Bend.

Crater Lake Oregon

The smoke from various wildfires has made it hard to even see across the lake the last few weeks, we were told, so we were lucky to have a rare clear day at Crater Lake National Park. After viewing a short film on the history of the park at the visitor's center, we went up to the lodge, built in 1915, and had lunch in the dining room. From the windows on either side of the room we could see Crater lake to the north, and Klamath Lake to the south.
Then it was time to head to the start of the Cleetwood Trail, the only one that takes you down to the edge of the lake; we caught our boat there - it was a ranger tour of the entire lake, and gave us a totally different perspective. Of course while the walk down (the mile long trail drops 700 feet) was easy, the hike back up took longer!

But we made it to the Watchman overlook in time to join the last ranger led Sunset hike of the season. Ranger Darby took us up the trail, stopping to point out marmot habitat and black and white nutcracker birds. As the sun went down and the light became more and more beautiful, we climbed higher, right up to the top, to the 8000+ foot fire lookout tower. It has windows all around, as well as a rustic walkway, so you can see in all directions; it gave us yet another view of the lake.

To the ocean, but where's the sun?

We found a campsite at Sunset Bay State park, just south of Coos Bay, Oregon. After enjoying hot dry weather inland, it was a bit of a shock to the system to have to add many layers to stay warm on the coast - it was cloudy, misty and a bit foggy. We could tell we wouldn't be seeing any sunsets, despite the name of the campground!

Shore Acres State Park had a mansion on a cliff in the 20's, but now only the gardens remain; they are quite amazing and we walked by the formal beds of roses and dahlias, and had a look at the pond. Over in the big gazebo a wedding was taking place!
We headed to Bandon, a tiny fishing town right on the water; it was their Cranberry Festival, so the one block long Old Town was free of cars, and we sampled cranberry juice, as well as many types of dried cranberries. After looking in some shops, and stopping to watch a fellow doing some chainsaw carving, we stopped for fish and chips and delicious smoked salmon chowder; the sun came out for awhile!

Cottage Grove Oregon

Cottage Grove has a "rail to trail" bikepath that takes you past several covered bridges. We had only just started when Brad discovered that the back brakes on his bike no longer worked; luckily the path was only a 2% grade since it was a former rail line back when they hauled ore from the mines in the area.
The first bridge we saw was no longer in use; a new one was built beside it. The second one we saw was on a two lane road and still in use - luckily we didn't have to ride in it - the cars roared through it, barely slowing to see if another car was coming in the other direction, rattling the wooden boards inside. After our bike ride we headed south west to the coast, arriving in Coos Bay just before their only bike store closed, and Brad was able to buy new brake pads for his bike.

Mosby Creek Bridge, build in 1920



McMinnville Oregon

We headed to McMinnville and the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. The first thing you see is their waterpark, a building with an airplane on the roof, and you know you're in the right place. The aviation museum was built to house the Hughs Flying Boat, designed by Howard Hughs and nicknamed the Spruce Goose by a reporter. We arrived just in time for a tour, and it was an amazing hour long history of aviation.

Silver Falls State Park

There was still mist on the meadow when we got up this morning; we're lulled to sleep by the chorus of frogs and hooting owls, and wake up to birdsong. We headed south-east, and our first stop was the town of Silverton, for coffee and a look in the windows of a knitting store called The Purl District. The Coffee Station used to be an old Filling Station and we saw several murals. One was dedicated to Silverton Bob, a collie lost on vacation in Indiana, who six months later arrived back home - a 3000 mile journey!

The road took us past lots of tree farms; we arrived at Silver Falls State Park and walked first to the Upper North Falls, then to North Falls, 136 feet high. The trail goes right behind the falls, so you can watch the water fall (mesmerizing) and the sun on the tall moss covered trees. You can barely see me on the trail behind the falls - there's a fellow in a white t-shirt on the right, and then me, a speck in a blue jacket.

Champoeg State Heritage Area

Today we enjoyed a non-driving day and got around on foot and on our bikes. First we rode up to the Visitor's Center and walked through the 1860's Kitchen Garden - there were six volunteers and a park ranger working: weeding and trimming. We saw huge squash, really tall corn, a Shoofly bush, Cardoon (relative of the artichoke), and a huge hop arbor. 

Farmer Brad in front of the hop arbor

Then we cycled to the Butteville Store and Cafe, started in 1863. It has wood floors, delicious sandwiches and Tillimook ice-cream. We shared a piece of Marionberry pie with marionberry ice-cream - very tasty!

Across the Columbia River into Oregon

We drove across the high Lewis & Clark bridge from Washington into Oregon and were amazed at the hundreds of fishing boats anchored in the river below. A fellow at the gas station told Brad that they're catching 20 and 30 pound Chinook salmon, with a limit of one per day.

We wound our way down mainly country roads to Champoeg State Park on the Willamette river and found a campsite facing a meadow. We went for a bike ride on a path through the French prairie and alongside the river as the sun set.