The Many Murals of Estacada

For some 20,000 years, humankind has been attracted to the bare wall as a canvas for artistic expression. From the caves of Lascaux in southwestern France where primitive men drew the animals of their known world to the satirical stencilings of British graffiti artist, Banksey, murals have been a popular art form and means of communication. They are considered one of the oldest artistic endeavors and even here, in the Pacific Northwest, native tribes along the Columbia River left art work in the form of petroglyphs that are still visible today after hundreds of years.

The outdoor wall mural has been chosen by a number of small Northwest towns as a strategy for economic development and beautification with Chemainus, British Columbia, as the most noted example. A dying logging community on Vancouver Island, it transformed itself into a huge outdoor art gallery drawing tourists from around the world.  Taking a cue from its northern neighbor, the town of Vale in Eastern Oregon painted 30 empty walls with tales from the Oregon Trail as a way to attract travelers along Interstate 84. Toppenish, Wash., Cottage Grove, Silverton, Springfield, and The Dalles have all dressed up their towns with colorful murals.

A good example closer to Portland, is the town of Estacada, about 35 miles southeast along the banks of the Clackamas River, at the edge of Mt. Hood National Forest. Rather young by Oregon standards, the community was founded in 1905 after a rail line was built to support construction of a series of hydroelectric dams upstream along the Clackamas River. The railroad also serviced a thriving logging and milling industry and the owners of the line (Oregon Water Power and Railway Company) built a grand hotel and park to lure Portland tourists. On weekends, city dwellers rode the electric streetcar out to Estacada or further along the route to Cazadero for an enjoyable day of picnics, fishing, and chicken dinners at the Hotel Estacada.

Over time, the dams were completed, the logging industry faded, the hotel burned down, and the town began to fade as the local economy stagnated. In 1992, several local, professional artists joined together to create the Artback Artists’ Cooperative, and painted the first mural in Estacada. It was so well received by the community that a tradition was born of painting a new mural on the fourth weekend in July during the city’s Summer Celebration. This mural-in-a-weekend program has created a total of 18 murals scattered about town. Because sun and exposure to weather elements have faded many of the older murals, the artists have switched to an alternating program of restoring a mural one year and creating a new one the next year.

Most of the murals celebrate some aspect of the area’s history and recreational opportunities including Native American life, logging, the Barlow Road, train travel, fishing, quilting, and mushroom foraging. On the wall of Wong’s King Chinese restaurant is a colorful mural dedicated to a surprising, local crop called ginseng. In the early 1900s, this medicinal herb was an important element in the local economy, and was shipped to China where it is highly revered for its restorative properties. But, global events including the Depression, World War II, and the rise of Communism in China brought an end to the industry.

To visit the murals, pick up a Walking Tour map available at the Chamber of Commerce office in City Hall on Main Street. Most of murals are located in a compact area of about six city blocks and their color and size make them easy to spot. This year’s Summer Celebration falls on the weekend of July 26 and 27 and provides an opportunity to view a mural in the making. The theme of the 2014 mural is the Hamatsa dance of the Kwakwaka’waka people of Vancouver Island, B.C. and will complete a trilogy of native-themed murals designed by John Freese on the walls of the Harvest Market on Broadway.

 

 

In addition to the mural-in-a-weekend project, the festival includes music, arts and crafts, food and entertainment. Unfortunately, the trolley no longer brings city dwellers out to Estacada; you’ll have to drive.

Port Gamble: Where the Past is Always Present

Turn onto Rainier Avenue in Port Gamble, Washington, blink twice, and you’d swear you had been transported to a tree-lined village in New England. And, you wouldn’t be entirely wrong.

In 1853, Maine lumbermen, Andrew Pope and William Talbot, sailed around Puget Sound seeking the right place for a Northwest logging outpost for their successful San Francisco- based timber and shipping company. They chose a small harbor off the Hood Canal, brought in mill machinery, and constructed a saw mill, bunkhouse, store, and cookhouse. Named Port Gamble, it became one of several successful, company-owned logging towns taking advantage of the plentiful, first-growth forests around the Olympic Peninsula.

When gold was discovered in the Klondike, workers abandoned their lumber jobs to seek fortunes in Alaska. It was obvious to the company that married men would provide a more stable, dependable workforce.  Pope and Talbot sought to recruit workers from their hometown of East Machias, Maine, and to lure them into taking the long trip west, they recreated the town on the shores of Puget Sound. A proper church, school, and Victorian frame houses complete with picket fences and lawns transformed the rough sawmill town into a little bit of New England in Washington State.

The mill and town thrived and timber from Port Gamble was shipped to ports all over the world including Australia, Hawaii, and England. However, by the late 20^th century, overharvesting, economic downturns, and some bad business decisions forced the company to shut down the mill in 1995. It was the oldest continuously operating mill in North America.

However, the company (now called Pope Resources) recognized the unique value of the town, and poured money into restoring the community to its former glory days.  The only remaining company owned town in Puget Sound, Port Gamble is now listed as a National Historic Landmark with tourism replacing timber as the main business.  The homes, commercial buildings, common outdoor areas, and water/sewer system are all owned by Pope Resources and are leased rather than bought and sold.

A good place to begin a visit is the General Store. In the downstairs level, is the Port Gamble Historic Museum (open May through October) where local history is interpreted through a number of realistic tableaux. On the mezzanine, is Of Sea and Shore Museum featuring a remarkable collection of seashells, part of one of the world’s largest private collections. The store, dating back to 1916, sells everything from candy to

sweatshirts, and houses an excellent restaurant serving breakfast and lunch.  Get there early as it is quite popular, but a good alternative is the award-winning Mike’s Four Star BBQ located nearby in the former service station.

The main street is lined with a number of attractive, frame homes and commercial buildings now occupied by antiques shops, retail stores, and a tearoom. You can’t miss the grandiose Walker-Ames house, next door to the General Store. The Queen Anne mansion, built for the mill manager, faces the bay so ship captains would spot it first. Today, it has a reputation for being haunted with mischievous ghosts residing in the basement.

Walker Ames House

Beyond the iconic, wooden water towers, sits the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, also a company-owned property. Built in 1879, its Gothic windows and needle spire are reminiscent of the Congregational church in East Machias, Maine. The church and a new pavilion overlooking the water have made Port Gamble an increasingly popular wedding destination.

To reach Port Gamble from the south, follow Interstate 5, US Hwy. 101 from Olympia, and Wash. Hwy. 3 past Bremerton and Silverdale. If you want the ferry experience, take the Seattle-Bainbridge Island or, further north, the Edmonds-Kingston ferry.  Other sites nearby include the neighboring town of Poulsbo known for its Norwegian roots, and the Victorian city of Port Townsend. Or, make your stop in Port Gamble a launching pad for a visit to the Olympic Peninsula.

A handy and comprehensive “Walking Tour of Historic Port Gamble” with map, photographs, and descriptions may be downloaded from the following website:  www.portgamble.com.

Cascade Locks

Cascade Locks and Bridge of the Gods

In the final chapter of her bestselling book, Wild, author Cheryl Strayed ponders her experiences on the Pacific Crest Trail while enjoying a soft serve cone at the Eastwind Drive-In at Cascade Locks, Ore. Located 40 miles east of Portland off Interstate 84, it’s the only town on the trail’s 2600-mile journey from the Mexican border to Canada, and the spot where the trail crosses the mighty Columbia River via the Bridge of the Gods.

The town, one of the oldest in Oregon, has long been a place where travelers needed to come to terms with their plans. An ancient landslide created a series of whitewater rapids and cascades that served as a major barrier in the river, forcing a long portage around them.  Lewis and Clark described the cascades as “…water passing with great velocity forming and boiling in a horrible manner…”,  and pioneers on the Oregon Trail had to choose between the hard trek over the Barlow Road, or facing the rapids in a make-shift raft with the possibility of losing everything.

 

In 1856, a portage road was built and mules carried freight around the cascades until they were replaced with the Oregon Pony, the first steam locomotive to operate west of the Mississippi. The Pony, described as an “ungainly contraption,” with its tiny engine carried around 200 tons of freight each day. Passengers rode in one small coach or aboard the flatcars.

Historical Museum

The era of portage railroad ended in 1897 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed a series of locks to move river traffic around the cascades. Later, when the Bonneville Dam and Locks were completed during the New Deal, the waters flooded the old locks leaving only skeletal stone and concrete outlines, and stairs leading to nowhere.  What remains is now a National Historic Site and can be viewed at the town’s Marina Park, owned and operated by the Port of Cascade Locks. This attractive, riverside swatch of parkland is also home to the Oregon Pony which currently resides in its own glass-enclosed and climate-controlled structure.  Next to it, occupying the former lock tender’s house, is the Cascade Locks Historical Museum with three floors of artifacts and mementos from the region’s past.  

At the east end of the park are statues of Lewis and Clark guide, Sacagawea, and their canine traveling companion, Seaman. Next door at the Locks Waterfront Café is the docking site of the Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler, a three-story replica of the ships that cruised the Gorge in the 1800s. Built in 1983 in Hood River, this 499-passenger paddle

Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler

wheeler offers narrated excursions, brunch and dinner cruises on the river between May and October.

A few miles downstream is an attraction well worth a short detour off Interstate 84.  While a working fish hatchery might not be on anyone’s top ten sightseeing list, the Bonneville Hatchery is located in a pretty, creek side setting with stone ponds, flowers, tall trees, and neatly manicured grounds, and receives over a million visitors annually.  The hatchery, opened in 1909, raises fall Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, and summer and winter steelhead. A self-guided tour leads visitors through the process. In the historic, wooden Egg Incubation Building, a small museum covers everything anyone would want to know about salmon and their fascinating life cycle. However, the biggest and best known attraction at the hatchery is Herman, a 70-year-old, 450 pounds, ten foot

Egg Incubation Building and Museum

long sturgeon. He and his buddies can be observed through an underwater, glass window. The adjacent Bonneville Dam and Locks also welcomes visitors.

Cascade Locks is the nearest town to a number of popular Columbia Gorge hiking trails.  In addition to the Pacific Coast Trail, there is access nearby to the Eagle Creek and Wahclella Falls trails offering some of the Gorge’s most spectacular scenery and waterfalls. This spring, a new mountain bike trail opened on the east side of town.

Herman

 

Bandon-by-the-Sea

 

When Irish immigrant George Bennett arrived at the mouth of the Coquille River on the southern Oregon Coast he brought the name of his Irish hometown, Bandon, to the new settlement.  Additionally, he brought an Irish shrub called gorse (ulex europaeus) and planted it as a fence hedge surrounding his property.

Gorse is plentiful along Oregon's South Coast

This ornamental evergreen with its bright yellow blossoms soon infested the area, spreading along the sand dunes and throughout the town. Unfortunately, the high oil content of its foliage made the plant extremely flammable, a factor that would change Bandon forever.

In 1936, the town was a thriving community: a logging and fishing center, home to cows and cranberries, and the busiest port between San Francisco and Portland. On a warm and dry September evening, a shift in winds brought a nearby forest fire closer to town. When it reached the gorse, the fire exploded into an inferno completely destroying the entire commercial district in a short time and leaving 1800 inhabitants homeless.

Coquille River Lighthouse

Like the mythological Phoenix, the town rose from the ashes and rebuilt itself. Today, Bandon-by-the-Sea, as it is known in tourism parlance, is a favorite destination on the Oregon Coast. The Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, a complex of five courses just north of town, attracts players from all over the world. Set on a bluff overlooking the ocean and dunes, it consistently appears on any list of top ten golf courses and compares favorably to some of the best in Scotland and Ireland.

There is more than golf to keep visitors coming back. Like any coastal community, the ocean is the big draw, and the setting in Bandon couldn’t be more spectacular. Wide, sandy beaches are easily accessible and offer a plethora of driftwood, agates, jasper, and petrified wood. Offshore are wildly sculpted sea stacks and monolithic rock formations providing sanctuary for a wide variety of sea birds. Where the Coquille River meets the ocean, an octagonal lighthouse with a tall round tower stands guard over the perilous bar. Built in 1896, it was the last lighthouse constructed along the Oregon Coast. It was decommissioned in 1939, but volunteers and lighthouse enthusiasts keep this landmark maintained and opened to the public during summer months.

Wooden, welcome arches lure travelers along Highway 101 to detour into Bandon’s Old Town. This compact downtown offers a variety of shops, galleries, restaurants, an excellent history museum, independent bookstore, and plenty of free parking. A walkable waterfront lines one of the two main streets allowing close access to fishing boats, charters, and fresh seafood. Bandon Fish

Market makes a tasty stop for fish and chips followed by a dessert visit to Cranberry Sweets located across the street. This local institution features all sorts of cranberry candy goodies, and they are most generous with their free samples.

Cranberries are an important business here and Bandon boasts of being “The Cranberry Capital of Oregon.” The acidic, sandy soil and mild climate make it a perfect place for cranberries and there are nearly 1600 acres under cultivation. Bogs can be seen along Highway 101 north and south of town with most of these berries destined for bottles of Ocean Spray juice.  On the second full weekend in September, the town celebrates this crop with a four-day cranberry festival.

Bandon Fish Market

Bandon is also known for its dairy industry and for years, Bandon Cheese was a popular stop for visitors traveling the coast. After the business was sold to Tillamook Cheese, the creamery and retail store closed, but a new cheese factory opened this spring. Face Rock Creamery will be offering a variety of their locally made cheddars as well as squeaky cheese curds and Umpqua ice cream cones.

The town of Bandon is bookended by two state parks. To the north is Bullards Beach State Park with a large campground, sandy beach, and access to the lighthouse. To the south, is a string of state owned lands including Face Rock Scenic Viewpoint and Bandon Natural Area offering beach access and close-up viewing of the rock formations offshore. Beach Loop Road parallels the ocean, connecting all these scenic vistas. No trip to Bandon would be complete without a stop at 11^th Avenue and Beach Loop Road at Coquille Point for a calendar view of the very best of the Oregon Coast.

From Coquille Point

Ghost Canneries of the Lower Columbia River

 

 It was much more than our childhood memories of those unsavory, school-lunch salmon patties served with creamed peas that brought down the salmon cannery business along the lower Columbia.  A combination of overfishing, degradation of spawning habitat upstream, and the construction of dams on the Columbia and its tributaries combined to destroy what had been in early history, salmon runs estimated as large as 16 million annually.

For centuries, natives fished the river, preserving the salmon through smoking or drying processes. Early Europeans tried salting and packing salmon in barrels which were shipped to Hawaii and the East Coast with mixed results. However, improvements in canning methods meant the fish could be packed safely and travel all over the world.  The Hume brothers opened the first salmon cannery in 1866 in Eagle Cliff, Washington, a few miles upstream from present day Cathlamet. Their success spawned the development of more canneries along the lower Columbia River, and by the heyday of the late 1880s, there were 38 canneries in the area, packing as much as 30 million, one-pound cans a year. That’s a lot of potential salmon patties.

Pier 39, Astoria

The canneries brought jobs to the area along with a rich mix of ethnic groups whose cultures and influence have remained.  In the early days, much of the dirty work of butchering salmon was done by Chinese men supplied by labor contractors out of San Francisco.  With the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, canneries turned to Filipinos and Japanese workers, while at the same time immigrants from Scandinavia, Finland, Yugoslavia and the Mediterranean arrived to fish and labor in the canneries.

Inside the Bumble Bee Museum

Astoria, Oregon, was the center of the canning business and carried the moniker, Cannery Capital of the World. Once home to 22 canneries, it’s a good place to begin a tour of what remains of this important industry.  Nearly all the wooden cannery buildings have succumbed to old age and blustery winter storms, but a few remain in Astoria. At the end of 39^th St. on the eastern end of town is Pier 39, the old Hanthorn/Bumble Bee Cannery.  It was the last operating cannery in the area, closing in 1980. Today it houses a coffee shop, pub, and the free Bumble Bee museum. Inside are wooden gill-netter boats, old cannery processing equipment, and photos of the days when Bumble Bee was Astoria’s largest employer.

Big Red, Astoria

Nearby, at the end of 31^st St., is a large, hulking, red building sitting out in the river and looking a bit tattered. Known as Big Red, it served as a satellite station for Union Fishermen’s Coop where fishermen could drop off their catch and spread their nets to dry. Over 100 years old, the wooden structure lost its top story in a wind storm in 2007, but efforts are underway to save this piece of history.

Cross the Astoria-Megler Bridge to the Washington side of the river and follow Hwy 401 east to Knappton Cove. Rotting wooden posts extending out into the water are all that remain of the Eureka and Epicure Packing Co. In 1899, the federal government built a quarantine station on the site of the abandoned cannery. Ships arriving in Astoria were inspected for any signs of contagious diseases. If infected, they were directed across the river to the quarantine station, or pest house.  Ships were fumigated with burning sulfur and passengers treated for disease. Today the building houses a museum open on Saturdays during summer months.

Knappton Cove Quarantine Station

Altoona, Washington

A bit further east, a winding road leads south from Rosburg to the ghost town of Altoona. A few houses and wooden pilings in the river are all that remain of a town that was once a major port for steamers traveling between Portland and Astoria. This stretch of the river had six canneries in the early 1900s, but today it is a quiet spot in a beautiful setting.  Large rock pillars topped with hemlocks sit in the harbor, and the end-of-the-road atmosphere makes it well worth the 13-mile, round-trip detour.

In the town of Cathlamet along the riverfront, a little upstream from the boarded-up Water Rat Tap Tavern, is what remains of the Warren Cannery. Two years ago, a large part of the building collapsed and today what little remains is being salvaged. Once gone, it will join its fellow ghost canneries along the lower Columbia.

Remnants of the Warren Cannery, Cathlamet

Rattlesnake Grade: A Road to Remember

Oregon Highway 3 on its descent to the Grande Ronde River

On the map, Oregon Highway 3 and its continuation, Washington Highway 129, appear to be a direct shot across the upper right-hand corner of the state, connecting Enterprise, Ore. and Clarkston, Wash.  However, the reality of this road is quite different. Why else would the American Motorcycle Association designate it as one of the top 15 motorcycle rides in America? The 80-mile trip offers an enormous variety of scenery from snow-capped peaks, expansive canyons, pine forests, wide open wheat fields, a narrow river valley, ghost town, and enough twists and turns and plunging drop-offs to make a person dizzy. Fortunately, there is very little traffic.

Joseph Canyon Overlook

Traveling from south to north, the drive begins in Enterprise, the county seat of Wallowa County and, more important, home to the last gas stations for the next 65 miles. The road heads north through rolling prairie and ranch land with spectacular views of the Wallowa Mountains receding in the rearview mirror. Elevation gain transforms the scenery to pine forests, and around 30 miles from Enterprise is the Joseph Canyon Overlook. From here, the view spreads out forever across a network of steep canyons. The Nez Perce called the area Saqanma, meaning long, rough canyon, and made their winter camp here at the confluence of Joseph Creek and the Grande Ronde River in the protected canyon’s bottom.

To savor this remarkable panorama, continue a few miles north to the Rim Rock Inn, a restaurant offering indoor and outdoor dining with a million dollar view. Who would expect to find a turkey panini sandwich with sun-dried tomatoes here in the absolute middle of nowhere! A former stagecoach stop, the inn now has four tepees available for rent for adventurous types wanting to spend the night right on the canyon edge.

Flora Methodist Church

Beyond the inn is a road turning west marked “Flora” and well worth the six mile, roundtrip detour to this once thriving farming and ranch community.  Platted in 1897, the town was named for the daughter of the first postmaster and grew to a population of 320 by 1910 with a bank, general store, and newspaper. The Methodist Episcopal Church was constructed in 1898 and an impressive, 8-room school house added to serve the rural community in 1915. However, the area’s isolation and the economic realities of the family farm contributed to the town’s demise and by 1966 the post office closed, followed by the school in 1977.  Today, the town (population 7) consists of a dozen or so abandoned houses and buildings, an overgrown cemetery, and an endless supply of photo opportunities. The church and school with its striking bell tower stand next to each other on the north side of town, dominating the landscape. The school has recently been restored with the idea of converting it to a center for pioneer arts and crafts.

Flora School

Back on Oregon 3, just beyond Buford Ridge Road, look for a pull-off on the left side of the road.  Here is the first, and probably the best, glimpse of the road ahead and explains why it is so popular with motorcyclists. Layer after layer of barren canyon opens up exposing the highway as it snakes its way down to the Grande Ronde River. About half way down, a sign proclaims, Welcome to Washington, The Evergreen State. Of course, in the late summer and early fall the scenery is shades of brown without a tree in sight. At the bridge over the river is a welcome token of civilization, Boggan’s Oasis.  Along the banks of the river, it promises the world’s best milk shakes, tasty burgers, overnight cabins, good fishing, and a swimming hole. It’s an excellent place to freshen up before tackling the next challenge, the ten mile, twisty ascent to the top of Rattlesnake Pass. This is a workout for a car and it seems almost unbelievable that several thousand participants in the 2010 Cycle Oregon tour made this trek on bicycles!

Beyond the pass, the route opens up into a broad plateau, skirts the small farming community of Anatone before one last thrilling corkscrew descent into the town of Asotin on the banks of the mighty Snake River. If the drive was not sufficiently thrilling, consider continuing on across the river to Clarkston. Here, several outfitters offer trips down the scenic Snake River through Hell’s Canyon, the deepest gorge in North America. A smorgasbord of options including full day trips, half days, overnight stays deep in the canyon, and wine and dinner cruises. 

More photos:

Boggan's Oasis, a popular stop for cyclists

 

Walla Walla: Well Worth the Drive

Vineyards south of Walla Walla

In Walla Walla, visitors can discover how a sun-bleached, arid corner of Eastern Washington developed into a world-class wine growing region, and learn the unlikely connection between measles and the establishment of the state of Oregon.

Whitman Historic Park

The town, one of the oldest in Washington, had long been on the trade route of a number of Indian tribes who gave it the name, Walla Walla, meaning “many waters.”  In 1836, Dr. Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa arrived to establish a missionary and convert the Cayuse to Christianity. While they were not entirely successful in creating farmers out of traditionally nomadic tribesmen, the mission thrived and became an important rest stop on the Oregon Trail. One of the wagon trains brought with it an epidemic of measles.  Dr. Whitman worked tirelessly to treat his patients and was successful with the white settlers, but the natives, who had no prior exposure or immunity to the disease, were decimated.  Nearly one-half the tribe died during the epidemic and the Cayuse could only assume the disease was a ploy to rid the area of the tribe and take over their land. With that in mind, a group attacked the mission killing Whitman, his wife, and twelve others. When word of the massacre reached Washington, DC, Congress acted quickly to create the Oregon Territory, the first in the West.

Seven Hills Tasting Room

Walla Walla went on to become a thriving, regional agriculture center best known for wheat, sweet onions, frozen peas, and the state penitentiary. It can boast of the West’s oldest college (Whitman College), first commercial bank in the Northwest, and oldest, continuous symphony west of the Mississippi River. With its attractive downtown, historical buildings, tree-shaded streets, and college campus, Walla Walla seemed more like a small town transplanted from New England. But, in the 1970s, things changed for this sleepy college town as it transformed itself into an important food and wine destination.

Gary Figgins was an avid home winemaker with local roots going back to 1905 when his Italian grandparents settled in the area. In 1974, he planted Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling grapes and created Leonetti Cellar. His wines were so successful that it soon became apparent to others that Walla Walla just might be the next Napa Valley. Today, there are nearly 100 wineries in the region and over 1800 acres of land planted in vineyards.

At first glance, the landscape of the Walla Walla Valley looks like an unlikely place for grapes to thrive; even a cactus would look more at home here. However, a number of combining factors make it a prime grape-growing region. The soil, deposited by the Ice Age Floods of 10,000 years ago, consists of loam, silt, loess and small rocks, providing excellent drainage for the vines.  Long sunny days and cool nights create perfect growing conditions, and the arid climate requires irrigation for controllable water management of the vines.

L'Ecole 41 Tasting Room

With so many wineries and tasting rooms to choose from, a visit can seem a bit overwhelming. The first step is to check out the comprehensive Winery Guide produced by the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance. It can be viewed online, picked up in local hotels and shops, or ordered at 509-526-3117.  Offering detailed maps and winery descriptions and hours, it makes planning a wine tasting route much easier. Most of the wineries are concentrated in several areas: west of town along U.S. 12, in the downtown area, near the airport, and south of town towards the Oregon border.

The burgeoning wine industry and increase in tourists have created a demand for fine restaurants with exciting menus and extensive wine lists. Several imaginative, young chefs from the Seattle area have migrated to Walla Walla and opened restaurants to fill that need. What other small town in Eastern Washington has wood-grilled octopus and wild boar lasagna on the menu?

Whitman Monument

Beyond wine and food, the town offers some pleasant shopping, art galleries, and walking tours of the downtown, college campus, and historic neighborhoods. A few miles west of town is the Whitman Mission Historic Site with a short film and museum telling the sad tale of the Whitmans. While the original buildings are long gone, a marked trail meanders through the mission site. On a small knoll, stands a monument to the Whitmans with an expansive view of the Walla Walla Valley.  One wonders what Marcus and Narcissa would have thought about the grilled octopus and $40 bottles of Syrah now available in their little mission town.

Bellingham's Byways

In 1992, the US Department of Transportation began a program of designating National Scenic Byways, those American roads noted for their outstanding scenic, historic or cultural qualities. The town of Bellingham, about 90 miles north of Seattle on I-5, is unique in having two such byways at its doorstep. More interesting is how completely different the two roads are with one offering stunning alpine scenery and the other a peaceful panorama of water and islands.

Downtown Fairhaven

The Mt. Baker Scenic Byway (State Route 542) heads due east from Bellingham and travels 58 miles to dead-end at Artist Point.  Ideally, the journey should be undertaken on a clear, sunny day (yes, they do exist) because it’s all about the view. According to the WSDOT the road is now open for the season. An earlier blog (January 2010) covers this spectacular drive.

Bellingham’s other National Scenic Byway begins at the southern part of town, in an area known as Fairhaven. This historic district, filled with restored brick buildings, is loaded with galleries, unique shops, cafes, and an excellent indie bookstore. The area is also an important transportation hub served by Amtrak and the Alaska Ferry System. From Fairhaven, the Chuckanut Drive (State Route 11) travels south along Samish Bay. Its funny sounding name is a Native American term meaning “beach on a bay with a small entrance.” The narrow and winding road hugs the bluffs and cliff sides of Chuckanut Mountain, providing expansive views of Samish Bay and the San Juan Islands. Things get really exciting when there are cars in both directions and a team of bicyclists all sharing the same spot! Fortunately, several pull-overs along the route allow the driver to enjoy the vista as well. Oyster lovers will want to stop near the south end of the drive at the Oyster Bar which has been serving local oysters since the 1920s. Fried, fresh on the half shell, or baked, the oysters are accompanied by a beautiful view overlooking the water. The drive ends after 21 miles in the flat farmlands and potato fields of Skagit County where it’s only a short drive east to I-5.

Along the Chuckanut

 Bellingham, as the hub for these drives, is worth a visit as well. It hosts a number of museums and a good-sized farmers market on Saturdays in the summer and fall months.

Following the Columbia Southern Railroad

Once upon a time, the central Oregon town of Shaniko billed itself “The Wool Capital of the World,” but today, its slogan is, “Oregon’s Best Known Ghost Town.” The intervening one-hundred years tell a tale of the drop in demand for wool after WWI, the rise of competition from other wool growing areas such as Australia and New Zealand, the development of new synthetic fibers, and, most importantly, the demise of the Columbia Southern Railroad.

This branch of the Union Pacific began in 1897 with the goal of connecting Biggs Junction on the Columbia River with central Oregon. Eventually, it reached the town of Shaniko, about 60 miles south of Biggs, but the terrain beyond was too rugged to continue construction to Prineville as originally planned. The trains moved people, wool, wheat, and heavy farm equipment to and from the vast expanse of central Oregon until a rival railway through the Deschutes River canyon to Bend ultimately put the line out of business.

Today, U.S.Highway 97 follows the approximate abandoned train route from Biggs Junction, about 20 miles east of The Dalles, south to Shaniko. The road climbs steeply from the Columbia River to a wide, rolling plateau dominated by wheat fields, wind turbines, and views of Mount Hood looming on the western horizon. The first town after Biggs is Wasco, where the train depot on the south side is about all that remains of the Columbia Southern Railroad. The building, with its mileage sign and name intact, is listed on the National Historic Register and is home to a retired, restored caboose.

Shaniko Hotel

Next on the train’s scheduled stops was Moro, the largest city (today’s population 340) and the county seat of Sherman County. In addition to a charming 1899 courthouse, the town is home to the national award-winning Sherman County Historical Museum, an outstanding regional museum. Its 16,000 artifacts tell the story of rural life in central Oregon, dry land wheat farming, Oregon Trail migration, Native Americans, and wartime patriotism. Especially interesting and touching, are a series of large, flip-through panels assigned to Sherman County families. Like scrapbook pages, longtime residents share their old and new family photos, mementos, news clippings, and other personal memorabilia. In a county with a population of only1800, over 100 folks volunteer at this museum and 400 belong to the historical society.

The road continues through the farming communities of Grass Valley and Kent to Shaniko. The town’s unusual name is a mispronunciation of the original postmaster’s German name, August Scherneckau. As the terminus of the railroad, Shaniko became the transportation and economic hub for an area of 20,000 square miles of Oregon outback dedicated to sheep, cattle, and wheat production.

In its heyday between 1900 when the first passenger train arrived and 1911, Shaniko shipped millions of bushels of wheat. In 1903 alone, wool sales exceeded $5 million and the town could briefly brag about being the busiest wool shipping center in the world. Population soared to over 300 and there was a bank, blacksmith shops, city hall and several hotels.

Restored Shaniko School

While the town was enjoying its new prosperity, a rival line, the Oregon Trunk Railroad, was built connecting the Columbia River to Bend and, from there, on to southern Oregon and California. When it was completed in 1911, most of the through traffic was diverted to the new railroad, leaving Shaniko as the terminus of a dead-end track. The town fell on hard times and languished for years. The 2000 census reported a population of only 26.

Around this time, wealthy Portland business man, Robert Pamplin, Jr., took an active interest in reviving the community and purchased a number of buildings including the century-old hotel and café whose striking brick façade and wrap-around porch are the focal points of the center of town. After spending thousands of dollars in renovations and digging a new well, Mr. Pamplin became embroiled in a dispute with the City Council over water rights  and responded by closing the hotel and café, capping the well, and putting up “for sale” signs. Now, for a reported $3.1 million, anyone can buy a slice of Oregon history.

The Aurora colony: Oregon's First Commune

 A few years ago, the little town of Aurora, a crossroad on highway 99E between Canby and Hubbard, celebrated its 150^th birthday. It was back in 1856 that Dr. William Keil, a charismatic evangelist and self-taught doctor, brought some of his followers across the Oregon Trail from their communal colony in Bethel, Missouri, in search of good farming land.
What an odd procession this band of believers must have made as they headed west across the prairies with a pickled corpse leading the train of 35 covered wagons. Before departing Missouri, Keil promised his oldest son that he could lead the wagons; unfortunately, the lad died of malaria before departure. True to his word, Keil had the body placed in a tin-lined coffin filled with Golden Rule Whiskey to keep it preserved until burial in the new colony.

The group, mostly German immigrants, purchased land with an established sawmill and grist mill on the banks of the Pudding River, a day’s ride south of Oregon City. Keil named the town Aurora after his daughter. They were soon joined by other colony members and, through hard work and communal efficiencies, they eventually owned 15,000 acres, and the town soared to 600 residents.

The guiding principle of the Aurora Colony was Christian communal living: members contributed products from their efforts in the fields and shops and took what they needed. Several such communal colonies were scattered throughout New England and the Midwest, but Aurora was the only such settlement in the Pacific Northwest.

The colonists soon became well known throughout the Willamette Valley for their brass band, extensive orchards, high-quality quilts, and bountiful ham and sausage dinners served at the local hotel. In 1877, Keil died suddenly, and with no heir apparent or strong successor, the community dissolved, spreading the communal property among the individual members. The town continued to exist as a prosperous farming community. Sadly, many of the original colony structures including Keil’s home, the church, and hotel were destroyed over the years. In 1974, Aurora was listed as a National Historic District, Oregon’s first.

Today, Aurora bills itself as Oregon’s antique capital and with one antique shop for every 20 residents, who could dispute that claim? On weekends, the town swells with shoppers looking for that perfect, must-have doodad or piece of furniture for their homes. Even though busy highway 99E bisects the town, Aurora still retains much of its historical character.

The story of the utopian past is well-preserved and interpreted at the Old Aurora Colony Museum at the corner of 2^nd and Liberty. Located in an original colony building, the ox barn, the museum offers an informative video about the colony and features old photos of the town and displays of band instruments, woven goods, furniture, and spinning wheels. Behind the barn are several other buildings including a communal wash house, shed, one of the original houses, and a log cabin relocated to the site.