OREGON 2

First stop in Eugene was the market to get some supplies and check out the local sports store. It is still a novelty for us to see the guns, camo gear etc that is sold so prolifically over here. The market too is very different to our supermarkets - much bigger and much more variety.

The market at Eugene.

Then it was off to the laundromat and then to Steve and Lisa’s house, which is a lovely little timber cottage on the side of a hill.



John, Lisa and Steve



Baxter, who thinks he runs the house.

Sherman - who DOES run the house!

The Jerry Seinfeld show started at 7 so we had dinner out and then headed to the Hult Centre, a beautiful theatre complex. Apparently they flew into Portland and had to drive down to Eugene so they would have encountered the same conditions as John and I had. Anyway they were a bit late starting but it was really a great show. We had some doubts as to whether we would relate to his humour but we laughed right through.

Before the show

Inside the main theatre at the Hult Centre, Eugene

Next morning we packed up and headed east to McKenzie Bridge where Steve and Lisa have a part share in a very rustic little cabin in the woods beside Horse Creek. The cabin is basic but very cosy. It took a while to thaw out the water pipes etc but Steve got the fire going straight away and it was lovely and cosy, with plenty of room. We took a short walk up to the bridge (Baxter got as far as the neighbouring cabin and declined to go any further – he prefers to lounge in front of the fire) and then spent the evening tasting some of the local and Aussie wines and playing cribbage.

McKenzie River on the way to McKenzie Bridge

 


Two snow ploughs in action



Covered bridge - McKenzie Bridge

We're there!



Don't use the toilet yet!

View from the back door overlooking Horse Creek

Horse Creek meets the McKenzie River at top of picture.

Are the drinks cold yet?

Next morning it was off up to Santiam Pass and Hoodoo Ski Area to try out some snow shoeing. Steve and Lisa had their cross country skis and so after we got rigged up we drove to the trail head to set off. There had been a lot of snow overnight and it was almost up to the top of our legs so the going was very tough. The snow on the eastern side of the range is very wet so if you don’t have water-proof pants forget it. After about 100 metres trudging I decided it was not fun, so we headed back to the “warming cabin” where there was NO fire to warm us. I managed to fall over on the way and could not for the life of me get up. Snow shoes are not easy to manipulate in 3 feet of snow. Anyway I felt like a turtle on its back and John had to come to the rescue. Suffice to say the best part of the venture was the beautiful Irish coffee Lisa bought me when we got back to the ski lodge.



Anyone seen my car?



We found ours!

Sorry that was NOT fun!

We had another lovely night back at the cabin with Steve entertaining us on guitar. It was a sad farewell next morning as Steve and Lisa headed back to Eugene and John and I crossed over Santiam Pass for the third time, back through Sisters and turned south toward Crater Lake. We spent the next night at La Pine. Here we got an e-mail from Steve with a photo of the tree we had been parked under at their house. It had snapped off with the weight of the snow while we had been away.

Steve & Lisa returned home to this scene.
Our car was parked at left, right under the tree.

The weather at Santiam was much nicer next morning.

Main street of Sisters.

Next day we travelled on to Union Creek. On the way we visited the High Desert Museum just east of Bend. It is a privately run museum which showcases the natural and human history of the area and was well worth the visit. We were given a history tour covering the Indians and the coming of the white population, then saw some beautiful birds and animals. 



Lynx



We learned that beaver were hunted extensively in this region in the earliest years of white habitation so that their pelts could be used to make felt beaver hats. The process of making the felt involved the use of mercury, and hence the term "as mad as a hatter".



Golden eagle.



Gyrfalcon - the largest falcon in the world.

She is distinguished from other falcons not just by her size
but by the second "barb" on the upper beak.

Great horned owl - this photo of the stuffed one turned
out better than the ones of the real one outside.

Bald eagle



Tarantula



Bobcat

Rattle snake



Snow covered lava fields just east of Bend.

Union Creek is a lovely tiny little resort which was apparently popular with the likes of Zane Grey as a lodging place to explore the Crater Lake area. It is situated right on Rogue Gorge, which is part of the Rogue River and the scenery is quite spectacular. We had a nice dinner at Beckie’s, a little restaurant where we had stopped for coffee on our ‘08 trip.



Rogue Gorge - Rogue River, Union Creek, Oregon



Union Creek Resort - our cabin and car are at rear left

We drove up to Crater Lake next morning, hoping to see the beautiful lake we had visited in the summer of '08. Alas the weather was not on our side and we saw very little through the heavy mist that hung over the area. The scenery on the way up was spectacular though and the sight of the visitor centre almost buried in snow was interesting.



Crater Lake - summer '08



Winter - The lake is down there!

The scenery through to Chiloquin continued to change and by the time we got to Lakeview, it was more high desert plains than forest. There were some interesting sights along the way though.

We stopped for a quick lunch here in Bly, Oregon

At Lakeview we turned north past Abert and Alkali Lakes. The country is rugged and arid despite the snow but still interesting. The lakes are salt lakes and reminded us a lot of Lake Alexandrina in South Australia.

The road runs between this escarpment and the lake. The upper parts of this escarpment are covered in bright green and yellow mosses or lichens? which are clearly seen from the road although a bit hard to make out in the photo.



Abert Lake



We thought this might be good bighorn sheep country and we were really stoked to see these guys roaming across the road as they were one of the few species of native fauna that we had not seen in '08.

This young male hasn't developed the really big horns yet
butt he's working on them!

We found a reasonable motel at Burns and settled in to do the ever essential laundry. Next morning before we headed north again we visited a couple of the local second hand shops - at the first, John found a spittoon which he had to have and although we didn't find anything to buy at the second, Joe's, we met a lovely old guy of 85 who was peddling away on a fairly ancient exercise bike. As with any old folks, it was great to have a conversation with him.

Joe's place seemed to be a drop off point for
all the locals to deposit their pre-loved treasures.

We also visited the local Ford dealer where we discovered that a brand new F350 pickup was only $US52 000. They also had a small collection of old Fords which our mate Neil would have loved. These pics are just for you Drogs!

 

 

Old Studebaker

This collection included a Model A and Model T Ford





Next it as off to Vale through an amazing landscape which the locals told us was "just desert" but to us it was amazing. It looked just like the Hamersley Ranges but with lots of snow.

 



Heading up over Stinkingwater Pass. The structures on top
of the embankment we think are to hold back the snow.



The cattle all looked fat - there was hay spread out for the all over.

The road followed the Malheur River for many miles.

The ranchers obviously grow lots of fodder crops during the summer.

Even when overcast the snow caused a lot of glare. It would be really hard on the eyes on a bright, sunny day.

We crossed over Snake River near Homedale and into Idaho and the next part of our journey.



OREGON

Crossing the Columbia River at Biggs Junction, we decided to head south on Highway 97 before turning east. However, by the time we got to Moro, it was snowing quite heavily and the road had become rather slippery so we decided to head back and take the 84 west to Hood River. We spent the night at Dallesport then set off next morning to Mt Hood. The scenery along the road was absolutely beautiful. It was hard to focus on the road as there was something breathtaking around almost every corner. We just kept saying to each other “Isn’t it beautiful?” I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Colombia River

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were thinking of staying up at Timberline Lodge, an historic old ski lodge right on the timberline at Mt Hood. But a phone call revealed that the $130 a night rate was for a bunk with shared bathroom. Double rooms started at $250 with a dinner package thrown in. We decided to investigate options at Government Camp where John managed to do a deal with the Best Western for $109 (including tax). You really need to ask over here if rates include tax because usually they don’t. That means add about 10%. Anyway it was a great decision. The hotel was nice and comfy. All the prices here are US dollars so you can add another 10% or so for Aussie dollars. We have discovered that the AARP is pretty well accepted but there are still places that don’t give AARP discounts.

Icicles on the roof of our hotel.

 

Main street, Government Camp

 

The snow on this bush outside the Information Centre
looked just like bath bubbles.

First up at Government Camp we went to the local museum and information centre and grabbed our $5 parking permit for Timberline and off we went. The signs at the start of the road all said chains required but when we saw that none of the cars going up there had chains, we headed up, after picking up a local who was hitching a ride with his snowboard. Obviously didn’t want to pay for a lift pass. It was interesting talking to him as he worked in the dining room at Timberline and lived in Gov. Camp. He finishes work at 11 pm then has to get back down to Gov. Camp. As you can see by the photos the road can get a bit hairy and is also closed from 12 midnight until 6 am for snow ploughing etc.

The road up to Timberline Lodge.

Timberline Lodge is a beautiful old building made mostly of huge rough sawn logs and local stone. If you were a skier or were into snow sports, it would be a beautiful spot to spend a weekend if you wanted to treat yourself. There are three ski lifts, one of which goes right up Mount Hood. The atmosphere is warm and very old worldly, with all the comforts of home. It reminded us a lot of the beautiful old lodge at Paradise on Mount Rainier which we had visited in 2008.

Entrance to Timberline Lodge

 


The foyer.

One of the original rams head timber carvings from the exterior of the lodge.

View from a second floor window.

Looking down to the second floor - note the snow at the window top left.

 

We had a lovely night at Gov. Camp, doing a bit of a pub crawl and meeting a lot of the locals who are really friendly. We were lucky really to be there on a Tuesday night as it is quiet so we got to meet a few of them. At around 6.30 all of us in the Ratskellar Inn had to go out and move our cars across the street because the grader was scraping the street. Apparently he usually does one side each night and we were on the wrong side although he did both sides that night because there had been a fair bit of snow. After spending just one day up here, it is easy to see why people fall in love with the skiing scene. The scenery is awesome and skiing must be a real adrenalin rush.

Grading the main street, Government Camp

John standing in the snow at the front of our hotel.
Note the shimmering snowflakes.

Next morning it was beautiful and sunny so after a few more photos around town we took another quick run up to Timberline. It was worth it!

Mt Hood from Government Camp.



We're not going anywhere 'til someone finds me a shovel!!



Road to Timberline.

Mt Hood from Timberline carpark. Note the ski lift at left.

 

Then we headed south again through Indian land (home of the Warm Springs tribes) and past one of the many indian casinos which are usually found on the indian reservations.

The countryside changes quickly once you get over the mountains.

At Madras, we discovered the Black Bear Diner, a chain of diners common here in the west, but one we had not encountered before. If you ever get the chance, pay them a visit. The food is lovely and the prices are very reasonable. They have a lot of character as well.

Patrons at Black Bear Diner

Oriental chicken salad - yum!

Next it was on through Redmond and Sisters then over Santiam and Tombstone Passes. We had ridden the road from Redmond to Sisters in 08 and it was interesting to see the difference between summer and winter for example here at Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint on the Crooked River near Redmond.

 

 

Highway 20 over Tombstone Pass was quite spectacular and would be a fantastic bike ride in the summer. The wind had picked up and as we drove along it was blowing the snow off the trees. As it fell it was being hit by sunlight. At times it looked just like we were being showered with tinsel. Beautiful!!

 

Lava fields on Highway 20.

Spectacular!

 

We have discovered why there is pea gravel on the roads here. It is laid down to help with traction. It’s amazing how the traction tyres they use here can get so much grip on snowy roads. You do have to lower your tyre pressures however, just like when driving in soft sand. Driving through Foster on the banks of Foster Reservoir was quite an experience. We were looking for accommodation by this time but the place was just one trailer park after another, interspersed with lots of “homely” residences. We also came across a strange little stretch of shopfronts that looked like they had been built for a movie set. It was totally deserted, really weird and worth a look.

 

Eventually we arrived at Sweet Home, which looks like it might not be so sweet these days, and found a reasonably priced motel.

Wow how the weather can change! It looked like we were going to have great weather for our weekend at Steve & Lisa’s cabin. However, we woke up to a constant fall of snow and about 3 inches on the ground. Decided it would probably be better to stick to the more travelled roads than to take the byways so we headed north through Lebanon and jumped onto the I 5 south of Albany.

Well it was quite a drive and something we hope not to do again any time soon. We were fine because we just took it slowly. There must have been 12 – 18 inches of snow in some parts and the snow came down so heavy in places we could only see about 30 metres ahead of us. We did think that maybe we should have put the chains on but the little Hyundai all-wheel drive we had was amazing. Others did not fare so well though. At one place there were 4 semi-trailers jack-knifed off the highway, one with another smashed into its rear end. There were at least 6 other vehicles which had run off the road along the way. We were obviously pretty relieved to make it to Eugene safely and thankfully the snow had eased off there.

Driving on the I 5.

Visibility was pretty poor in places.

Our mate Steve sent us a text just as we were driving into town to tell us there had been a pile-up southbound on the I 5 so we were even more pleased to have made it. John has become quite adept at driving in the snow. It is amazing where you can actually drive. Deep snow doesn’t seem to be a problem it you take it easy. Wouldn’t want to be driving in it if it got icy though. We have learnt quite a lot about how they keep the roads passable here. First, of course there are the snow ploughs, but then there is also the pea gravel made from volcanic rock that they spread over the roads. We noticed its presence in '08 when it was scattered across the road on some of the higher passes. Also, when it is likely that there will be ice on the roads, they spread salt - and lots of it, which explains where all the salt we produce in Australia goes.