OR -- Pendleton, Nehalem, & McMinnville 23 Oct–14 Nov 2018

Change of plans…

As soon as fall hit, we felt the pull of the Oregon coast. Not only do we love the coast, but we really looked forward to replenishing our wild mushroom supply.

We scratched most of our itinerary after Arco, Idaho and came up with a new plan so we could spend some time searching for our delicious treasures.

First, we stopped in Boise, Idaho for a week to visit our friends, Nate and Colleen. Then we pushed onto Oregon!

Pendleton OR…

Pendleton was a perfect halfway point between Boise and the coast. We were able to drive up Deadman’s Pass in the afternoon rather than early in the morning when it might be slick. The forecast was for snow and freezing temperatures. Deadman’s Pass climbs “2,000 feet in elevation that's chock-full of double-hairpin turns, as well as 6 percent grades.” It’s best to go over in fair weather.

So rather than stay in LaGrande, we pushed over to Pendleton. Plus, we had heard about their underground tours and wanted to check it out.

We stayed at Wildhorse Casino just outside of town, based on advice from our travel friends, Tom and Deb. “The RV Park has 30 & 50 amp spaces, complete with full hookups, laundry, showers and heated swimming pool.” It was a great suggestion because the sites were wide with a lot of extra room and areas to walk. Even though it is nearly a mile from I-84, we could still hear traffic at night.

Pendleton is a small city with a population of about 16,000. They have a charming downtown area. It is evident that they have embraced their history which includes Pendleton Woolen Mills, China town where thousands of railroad workers settled, and the notorious red light district.

“The town is the cultural center of Eastern Oregon. Pendleton's ‘Old town’ is listed as a Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.^”

“Pendleton Underground Tours is a non-profit corporation that started in 1989. The history of legal and illegal businesses operating in the same area for over 100 years makes the tour unique and like no other tour anywhere.”

We met for the tour at their downtown gift shop. The tour started in a tunnel around the corner with access from a street level stairwell.

Our guide was dressed appropriately since it was Halloween. She told us how the tunnels used to extend up to three miles under the streets and city blocks.

We wandered under a two block area and saw old gambling halls, ice cream shop, a bowling alley, an Opium Den, Chinese dorm rooms, laundry rooms, and jails.

The guide briefed us about the lively history of the Chinese, bootlegging and prostitution. Finally, she took us through the Cozy Rooms where Stella Darby tried to provide a better home and future for the girls while they continued their work in the notorious brothel.

Pendleton OR map from 1896

       

About to do the Pendleton Underground Tour  /  Our guide  /  Stella Darby, the Madame of the Cozy Rooms bordello from 1928-1967

   

Gambling and prostitution were common in the underground

   

Laborers, mostly Chinese, slept in bunk beds  /  A picture of the bowling alley that was underground

   

Pendleton is famous for its wool

Nehalem and Manzanita OR…

Transportation day was very windy. We safely made our way along the Columbia River and through the busy city of Portland.

We chose to take the Necanicum Highway to the coast. It was very bumpy, narrow, and winding. When we drove back that way later in the week, we were shocked that we’d drug our little home through there.

We were very happy to arrive at the quiet Nehalem Beach State Park. Only a dozen of the 265 sites were taken. However, that changed the next weekend.

We were welcomed at our site by two porcini shrooms hiding out under the shrubbery. We set up quickly and grabbed the mushroom baskets.

We filled a basket in the waning light of late afternoon in just a portion of the campground. Arleen rushed them home and got her dehydrator out.

The next day we went for a walk and filled another basket with fresh #1 porcini buttons.  We also saw an elk herd in the horse camping area.  We walked out for a ways on the spit but did not find any out that way.

That afternoon we headed out for an afternoon hike to the Cape Falcon overlook. We did this hike seven years ago and found about three pounds of chanterelles.

We were disappointed to see a sign that said we could not collect mushrooms in that area. Still, we had a great hike, enjoyed the wonderful views, and were mesmerized by the waves crashing against the rugged cliffs.

The next day we went to hike around Soapstone Lake in the Clatsop State Forest with mushroom baskets in hand. The hike meanders and undulates along a nice and easy trail thick with pine needles. It’s a typical northwest forest of Douglas-fir, western hemlock, western red-cedar and Sitka Spruce.

We found only eight chanterelles along the trail but we saw deer, newts, Silver salmon, and Sasquatch. The lake was small and looked to be shallow but is rumored to have cutthroat trout.

After we got back to the truck, we walked down the road a ways and poked around in the woods. It was second growth of hemlock.

This area was typical of second growth forest that is not protected by the tall mature canopy. Typical of the coastal rainforest, the understory has gotten totally out of control! It was very difficult to move through and even see the ground where the mushrooms would be.

At one point I got turned around and a little panicky because I was not sure I was headed the right direction. I had to remind myself to slow down and keep on the same heading.

Luckily I found a few pounds of choice chanterelle mushrooms! We returned to the same spot in the woods later in the week. Again, we got turned around but collected a few pounds of delicious chanterelles for soup later this winter.

On Sunday, we walked around the runway in the state park. We also went off trail on the ridge above it.  But we only found birch boletes.  It was the first night at Nehalem with an empty dehydrator.

Monday was the first of several rainy days and a perfect day to drive to the Tillamook Creamery to see their new visitor center.

We filled up on grilled cheese and tomato soup with a side of deep-fried cheese curds. Our bellies were full so we could only handle one scoop of ice cream.

We took our time on their self-guided tour to see how the cheese is made and packaged. But we were still too full for more ice cream. Always follow Heidi’s rule, “eat dessert first”!

It continued to rain heavily during the rest of the week. Arleen was optimistic that there would be a second flush of porcinis and roamed around the state park in the rain. She was disappointed to find just a few more.

Fortunately, the weather cleared up by Friday. The forecast for Veteran’s Day weekend was for unseasonably warm and sunny weather. After having the campground mostly to ourselves all week, it was shocking to see it fill up. 90% of the 265 sites were full.

It was Arleen’s birthday so we walked the beach to Manzanita, our favorite little Oregon town. This time we had dessert first! We each got a pint of ice cream and ate it out on the beach. Perfect!

A herd of elk grazed near our campsite a few times. (That’s our rig in the background.)

       

The new Tillamook Creamery visitor center  /  Enjoying some Tillamook ice cream  /  For lunch we had some tasty grilled-cheese sandwiches and fried cheese curds

   

What an excellent way to utilize cow manure!  /  It was interesting watching the cheese line

   

Hike route to Cape Falcon  /  “A person may not pick, cut, mutilate, or remove plants, or other natural resources.”  That means no mushroom hunting…BOOO!

The bridge across Short Sand Creek

Short Sand Beach

The view from Cape Falcon is incredible

   

Posing at Cape Falcon  /  A cool tree along the trail

   

Hike and shroom hunting route around the state park  /  We saw this herd of elk a few times

   

Boletus Edulis aka king bolete  /  We found two baskets full. We dehydrated them and they will be added to meals though the winter.

   

Hike route to Soapstone Lake  /  A little bridge.  We saw a coho salmon in the small stream.

   

We’re always surprised and thankful to see steps on remote trails.

   

Looks pretty shroomy  /  Peak-a-boo

   

Soapstone Lake  /  We found a few pounds of yummy chanterelle mushrooms.  We partially dry sauté them, and then freeze them.  They will be the main ingredient in yummy soup this winter.

Walk route to Manzanita.  We each got a pint of ice cream and ate it on the beach. The weather was glorious and it was a very pleasant adventure.

The quaint coastal town of Manzanita and Mount Neahkahnie

McMinnville OR…

The Olde Stone Village in McMinnville was the closest RV Resort to where our friends Kay and Jim were building their new house. We were very comfortable at the Village in a double wide pull through site.

McMinnville is the county seat in Yamhill County and with a population of about 32,000, it’s the largest city in the area. It’s the anchor city to nearby Sheridan and Willamina, providing needed services and shopping.

We met Jim and Kay in Willamina where they have been renting a townhome while trying to get their home built for the last twenty months.

Willamina touts being, “Timber Town USA”. The town of just a few thousand residents was established in 1903. At one time brick making was an economic mainstay but timber has been throughout its history.

We had lunch at the fun Coyote Joe’s. We had a very lively discussion catching up on each other’s lives, but mostly talked about home building.

Finally, we went for a tour of the house in Sheridan. Jim lived there many years ago and he and Kay still have several close friends in town. It is the perfect community for them to retire to.

The town of about 6,000 is “located in the western part of the Willamette Valley. The city is at the base of the Northern Oregon Coast Range along the South Yamhill River.” It is a picturesque town with a winery around every other bend. It has a farming and timber history that dates back to when it was established in 1880.

At the house, Jim and Kay gave us the full tour. The house was in its final construction stages. It looks great and exudes the Oregon beach vibe. We had to step around workers who were busily trying to complete all the painting.

It has been a long and arduous process for them. We met their builder who shared their pain and was diligently trying to get them in their new home for Christmas. He was struggling to find subcontractors to complete the remaining items.

As I type this, Jim and Kay just received their “Certificate to Occupy”. We are so excited for them!

We were going to tour the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum the next day. Popular exhibits include the Hughes Spruce Goose, World War II Aircraft area, a Titan II Missile, and a SR-71 Blackbird.

The museum is right next to the Olde Stone Village and they have a trail that cuts over to it. But I felt like crap. So instead Jim and Kay came over to visit.

We spent the whole afternoon talking houses. Arleen showed Kay our plans and they spent a lot of time discussing things like paint colors.

We look forward to their Christmas card with a picture of them in their new home!

Good friends, Kay and Jim, are about to move into a newly built home after many delays

Next…

We have returned to Sequim WA and John Wayne’s Waterfront Resort for the winter season.

Since Nehalem I had been feeling mostly like poop. My resting heart rate was going up and I had all of the physical symptoms of sky high anxiety. I was concerned that my Graves Disease was active again.

We contacted my doctor who told me to do lab work as soon as possible. The day after we arrived in Sequim, I did as told and got the results by the end of the day. Yep, my thyroid stimulating hormone was at zero while my other hormone levels were five to six times normal.

I am thankful to be in Sequim and very comfortable at John Wayne’s Waterfront Resort.  It’s a good place for me to take it easy for awhile, and I am optimistic that I’ll be back to normal before we leave!

Parting shots…

   

A banana slug on the Cape Falcon trail  /  We saw lots of newts along the Soapstone Lake trail

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ID -- Arco, 19-23 Oct 2018

Four days in Arco, Idaho…

Why we came…

To see Craters of the Moon.

The campground…

The Arco KOA was nice.  We had a long pull-through site with plenty of space between neighbors.  The site was fairly level and composed of packed gravel.  The RV park was 75% empty during our stay.  We had full hook-ups, decent wi-fi, and a reliable Verizon 4G signal.  The facilities were well maintained and kept clean.  It was well off the main road but in town.  Other than occasional obnoxious exhaust breaks, it was peaceful.  Complimentary waffles were offered each morning in the campground.  They also offered grilled food in the evening and would deliver it to your site. 

Overall, we were comfortable and would gladly stay again if in the area.

   

A KOA Tipee and Number Hill in Arco ID  /  The campground was 75% empty during our stay

Nearby towns…

Arco, population 995 and elevation 5,325 feet, is a quaint little town.  There is one small grocery store, a few gas stations, a few restaurants, and not much else.

“In 1955, tiny Arco won fame as the world’s first nuclear-powered city. Today, it mainly serves as a jumping-off point for excursions into the nearby Craters of the Moon National Monument.”

“Besides the lava-scorched earth to the south and a range of mountains to the north which include both Idaho’s highest peak (Mt. Borah) and its most awesomely-named, Appendicitis Hill, the most striking feature of Arco is its “Hill of Numbers”. For decades, the senior classes of the local high school have been decorating the nearest mountain with the last two digits of their graduation year. Graffiti on a grand scale!”

“The town's economic base is primarily derived from the Idaho National Laboratory, agricultural products, and recreation in the Lost River Valley.” We drove through a portion of the Laboratory on the way to Arco. In addition to numerous pronghorns, we could see enormous hangars out in the distant desert.

After we were set up, we took an afternoon walk around town. First, we walked by Arco’s #1 rated restaurant, Pickle’s Place. We had dinner there the next night and it was very good.

Then, we walked down the Grand Avenue downtown area. We paused in front of the historic Arco Fire Department fieldstone building that bragged, “First City in the World to be Lit by Atomic Power” and elevation of 5,320 feet. A few blocks later we checked out the “Atoms for Peace” roadside marker.

Finally, we cut through the city park and fairgrounds. Playing right into our Idaho stereotypes, we saw a group of high school students selling BIG sacks of potatoes.

   

Arco’s claim to fame

Adventures…

Craters of the Moon National Monument, day 1…

Have you ever wondered what all the damage to Hawaii's Big Island from the lava flows would look like after a few thousand years? It’s easy to picture that at Craters of the Moon National Monument in southeast Idaho.

“The 3 young lava fields found in the monument, range in age from 15,000 years to 2,000 years. The basic types include block lava (very dense and formed into angular blocks), aa lava (mostly individual small pieces of a very rough, jagged, clinkery debris), and pahoehoe lava (mostly large or continuous with a smooth, ropy, or billowy surface). Visitors can also see vents, fissures, cinder cones, lava tubes, lava bombs, spatter cones, tree molds, rafted blocks, and many other volcanic features and structures.”

We started at the Visitor Center that is 20 miles south of Arco. We watched the informative movie, which featured a lot of Hawaii volcano comparisons. Plus, we got another sticker in our passport book.

We spent the day stopping at five viewpoints and trails along Loop Road.

1. First, we checked out the short North Crater Flow Interpretive Trail. We saw examples of different kinds of lava in the fairly recent flow area (2,000 years).

Then we walked up a trail along the vent of the North Crater Trail. We climbed till we had a good view of the western lava field.

2. Next, we walked the Devils Orchard Nature Trail. The block lava intertwined with the Limber Pine and Rabbitbrush lead the imagination to observe unworldly shapes. “A visiting minister declared this jumble to be a garden fit for the devil himself”.

3. Then we stopped at the Inferno Cone and climbed it. The cinders sparkled in the sun and crunched under our feet. There was a crowd here all making their way up to the top of the cone. It climbed a couple hundred feet in a short quarter mile at an average grade of 15%. From the top we had a good view of the extensive blackened landscape and the Pioneer mountains.

4.  Next we hurried to the “Snowcone” and the cool looking “Spatter Cones”. “These miniature volcanoes formed when blobs of molten lava were lobbed into the air during the last gasp of an eruption sequence that ended 2,100 years ago.” They have walking trails up to the cones so you can look into their little craters.

Then, we hiked the south side of the North Crater Trail. We were so glad we did because it led us away from the crowds and to the biggest and most colorful crater we had seen all day.

5.  Finally, we parked at the Cave Trails area. It was packed with picnickers and hikers. There were large groups of families hurrying to peak in the caves.

The paved Y-shaped trail leads you 1.6 miles to see four different caves. We walked by Boy Scout and Dew Drop cave on our way to the farthest one, Beauty Cave. Both Boy Scout and Dew Drop had a number of children poking around and having a great time exploring the black depths.

The entire area was pahoehoe lava and looks like brownie batter was poured everywhere forming caves and tunnels far and wide as it cooled.

We had to walk down and over some boulders to get into the wide gaping entrance of Beauty Cave. But the cave floor was fairly smooth. It was quite dark glad so we were glad we had our headlamps. We were thankful to have it to ourselves as well. The cave was chilly and we could see our see our breath in the dim light.

We returned to Boy Scout Cave. The sign said that we had to crawl on our hands and knees over volcanic boulders to get into the cave! We decided to skip it. Dew Drop cave was still crowded with children.

We followed the trail to the Indian tunnel entrance which had a number of folks climbing in and out. So, instead we went off trail and followed markers to the exit of the Indian tunnel about 1,000 feet away. It was fun to peer down at the hikers through the occasional abyss where there had been tunnel cave-ins. Surprisingly, the exit was just a tiny hole. We were able to watch a few hikers pop out like human prairie dogs.

Our Loop Road adventures filled the whole day. But we saved a few things to explore another day.

Our first time at Craters of the Moon!

   

Arleen got another sticker and stamp in her National Park Passport book  /  Craters of the Moon stands out

   

We love the kid’s drawings  /  Looks like Craters of the Moon is named appropriately

   

Informative displays and signs at the Visitor Center

   

Our hike routes along the loop road  /  Colorful plants in the colorful volcanic rocks

   

Walking the North Crater Flow Trail  /  The rock formations are varied and interesting

Expansive view along the North Crater Trail

   

The Devil’s Orchard Nature Trail  /  Lichen and an ancient tree

   

The Inferno Cone Trail  /  It’s pretty steep

   

Looking south from the top of the Inferno Cone  /  Looking north from the Inferno Cone

View of the spatter cones from Inferno Cone

   

The Spatter Cone and North Crater Trails  /  Me running up a spatter cone

   

The North Crater Trail  /  At the top of a spatter cone

The view of the Big Craters is one of the best in the park

   

The Caves Trail

   

Beauty Cave is one of four caves along the trail and the only one we entered

One of the collapsed sections of the Indian Tunnel.  There were quite a few people down there.

Ketchum and Sun Valley…

As snow enthusiasts, Arleen and I wanted to visit Sun Valley since neither of us had been there before and it is fabled in the ski industry.

Sun Valley is the ski resort area of Ketchum, Idaho. Ketchum, “a once prosperous mining town, had transformed into a sleepy little town with a year-round population of only 100 people by 1936.”

Sun Valley, “the first destination winter resort in the U.S. was developed by the Union Pacific Railroad, primarily to increase ridership on passenger trains in the West.”

“During the winter of 1935–36, Count Felix von Schaffgotsch, an Austrian Sportsman, traveled across the western U.S. to locate an ideal site for a winter resort. Schaffgotsch was impressed by Bald Mountain, its surrounding mountains, adequate snowfall, abundant sunshine, moderate elevation, and absence of wind, and selected it as the site.”

“Sun Valley was the first ski resort to build a chairlift, which was adapted from a system used to haul bananas onto ships in Panama.”

Climatologically, it does not get that much snow compared to other Rocky Mountain resorts. However, “Sun Valley has the largest automated snowmaking system in the world.” Its meticulously maintained slopes with long consistent pitches are a favorite for many skiers.

First, we drove through Ketchum, which had a ski town vibe. We parked at the Sun Valley Lodge, northeast of town. Then we wandered around the first-class lodge which has 108 guestrooms, spa, fitness center, yoga studio, glass enclosed outdoor pool, ice skating rink, restaurants, lounges, and many shops.

We ate at Gretchen’s Restaurant. “Sun Valley’s own Gretchen Fraser is the restaurant’s namesake. She was the first American to win an Alpine Olympic Gold Medal.” Then we stopped by the Austrian-inspired Konditorei Bakery to grab a few treats for later.

Next, we drove southwest to the base of the main ski resort. We set off on the Bald Mountain Trail. 

The trail immediately moved into the woods and kept a nice steady climb. On the north side, we were in the shade of a Douglas Pine forest with woodland plants and moss layered on the floor. 

As soon as we switched-backed to an east slope, the habitat changed entirely! Now we hiked through nothing but sagebrush, grass and other drought tolerant plant life. Grasshoppers sprang back and forth across the arid trail.

We hiked two miles to a wooden overlook. From here we had a great view of Ketchum and the surrounding Sawtooth Mountains.

We had considered driving Trail Creek Road through the mountains towards Mackay.  The narrow rough road is not recommended for big vehicles, but is touted as one of the prettiest drives in Idaho.  Not only does the road have a reputation for eating tires, it would take more time than we had… it was almost “deer-thirty”.  We hesitantly returned to Alco the same way we had come.

The ski slopes of Sun Valley from the Sun Valley Lodge

   

Ice skating rink at the Sun Valley Lodge  /  The lodge hallways feature pictures of celebrities and dignitaries that have visited

   

Arleen watching swans at the Sun Valley Lodge  /  The Sun Valley Inn

   

The bridge across the Big Lost River to Sun Valley Ski Resort  /  The welcome bear at the resort

This fantastic overlook is two miles and a thousand feet of climbing up the Bald Mountain Trail

A sheepherder and his three dogs moving a bunch of sheep between Ketchum and Hailey

Craters of the National Monument, day 2…

We returned Monday morning to explore the Tree Molds and Broken Top trails.

It was cooler with mostly cloudy conditions and a few rain showers in the area. We were glad to see the park almost empty.  It felt like our own park, just like we prefer it this time of the year.

First, we walked the mile to the Tree Molds. Just as two days before, the evidence of fiery drama was all around us with the lava flows frozen in time. Yes, ironically frozen.

The first tree mold was a deep hole. The lava had flowed around the tree but it was not quite hot enough to instantly char it and the imprint of the stump is still here 2,000 years later.

The next few tree molds were of fallen trees. The bark imprints in the lava were apparent and quite interesting.

We backtracked to the trailhead to start the 2 mile Broken-Top Loop Trail that circumnavigates the cinder cone. First, we left two quarters ($.50) for the interpretive guide at the trailhead.

As we hiked, we paused at each of the number markers and learned more about the youngest volcano on the Snake River Plane. One of the first stops was at the Big Sink Overlook where we looked down upon the massive lava flow known as the Blue Dragon.

As we walked we crunched on cinders. “Cinders contain many gas bubbles or vesicles making them very lightweight. Thin layers of glass coat the cinders creating prisms that refract and reflect light into millions of micro-rainbows.”

One area was covered with volcanic “bombs”. Some bombs weigh well over 100 pounds. ““Spindle” bombs form as hot lava spirals through the air, freezing into twisted, bizarre shapes.”

We strolled down the Wilderness Trail for a half mile to get an up close look at the Big Cinder Butte. It’s the highest point in the park and much older. It even has an aspen grove growing on it.

Back on the Broken Top Loop, we walked through an area punctuated with a lot of pressure ridges. “Crusts of cooling lava develop on the surface of a lava flow. The crust encapsulates the hot, flowing lava below creating a roof. When the pressure under the roof increases, it forces the crust upward causing it to bend and buckle.”

The pressure ridges combined with all the Pahoehoe in the area were like the scene of a giant dragon fight. It’s like they fell and piled on top of each other, their scaly black armor laid out in chaotic directions.

Finally, we poked our heads in Buffalo Cave. It is evidence of lava tubes in the area and how slow moving the hot lava was.

After two full days exploring Craters of the Moon, we felt we knew the area well and learned quite a bit.  When we drove away, we were glad we had visited this unique location.

An empty parking lot.  We love it when we have our own national park!

 

   

Hike route on the Tree Mold and Broken Top Loop Trails  /  We started on the Tree Mold Trail

   

Cool views along the Tree Mold Trail

       

Interesting lava formations and tree molds

   

Next was the Broken Top Loop Trail  /  How do these plants survive?

   

Looking across the Big Sink to the Inferno Cone  /  We took a half mile detour on the Wilderness Trail

   

These white colored plants provided a nice contrast  /  Patchy snow and colorful aspens on Big Cinder Butte, 6,515 feet, the highest spot in the park.

   

Arleen reading about Buffalo Cave  /  She gave it a quick look

The pressure ridge formation (along the top third of the pic) reminded us of the Tremors worm tunnels

Next…

We are currently in McMinnville OR.  Our next stop is Sequim WA where we sill spend the winter.

Parting shots…

Slow down for the pronghorns!  We saw more than a hundred between Dubois and Arco

   

One of the coolest mailboxes we’ve seen  /  We saw lots of Clark’s Nutcrackers feeding on the pine cones

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