Yamhill County

Once upon a time I worked as a field scout for a now-defunct cannery, Agripac, doing menial tasks for the field representatives, like measuring corn and bean field acreage, pulling corn samples that are measured for sugar, and sweeping plants with a big net for 12-spotted cucumber beetles in bean fields.  The field rep I worked with covered mostly Yamhill County and it was then that I got to know and love traveling around the county.  I especially loved downtown McMinnville, with it's old brick buildings and tree-lined streets.  And just outside of town for many years the Howard Hughes giant seaplane, the Spruce Goose, was stored in a greenhouse building.  The wings were stored next to the fuselage.  Eventually and currently there is a classy aviation museum to house the enormous spruce goose and other planes through history.       

We took a spring break trip on a very rainy Thursday in March to Evergreen Aviation Museum.  We drove to McMinnville to meet the in-laws for a day at the museum.  The question I pondered wandering through there: "Is it worth the effort and expense to preserve this huge plane?" After all, the plane flew once about 75 feet off the ground and was then mothballed by Hughes for a long time before it eventually wound it’s way to Oregon.  I decided that regardless of whether there is historical value, I have been wanting to see it together after seeing it in pieces for so many years. 

Also in the museum, there was a red Corvette of a non-special vintage (like 1985) that was parked out on the museum floor.  It had no labels, real labels.  Taking a rest, I watched several people try the handle, like I did.  It was locked.  I think the museum visionary owned the car before he died.     

We closed the day with a visit to McMenimins (Hotel Oregon) for dinner and a few wines, which is an Oregon-based micro-brewery art-infused chain of restaurants that are often in historic buildings.  They have been crafting whisky and over-priced wines for several years that aren't bad.  This one is in a historic hotel, that they operate, too.  We tried to get in to the rooftop bar, but that was full so we ate dinner in the restaurant on the 1st floor.        

Klamath County

Klamath County fun facts:

• County seat is Klamath Falls (population 42,000 and home of Oregon Institute of Technology or OIT).  
• Home of Crater Lake, which is the only National Park in Oregon.
• Willamette Pass ski area (background in the photo above) is a ski area.  In Klamath County.  Fun!
• It touches, and almost fondles, California!  Fun!

I visited Odell Lake on several occasions in 2010, specifically Shelter Cove Resort, and most recently in May with my brother, Kenny.  We were on a fishing junket up in the mountains and had been wrestling with windy conditions.  The resort staff were friendly, helpful and the rental rates were great and it was mid-week so there weren't too many people on the lake.  We had bald eagles fishing there, too.  They (not the bald eagles) told us what to fish kokanee (landlocked salmon) with, where they were biting and technique to use.  We rented an old motor boat that looked really nice.  From 200 yards.  The wind started picking up as soon as we got on the lake and was still brisk, 50 degrees or so.

The first 90 minutes were as disappointing as the prior day, when we got skunked. I ate plenty of Cheez Its to help keep my spirits up.  Our luck changed when we adjusted our jigging technique. Combined we caught about 10 kokanee, which I understand is delicious. However, we were equipped for catch and release only.  One them came off the hook in the boat and flopped around and got behind the gas cans and trying to grab that little guy was not my finest hour.  I got it back in the lake and I haven't heard that it didn't make it.

Grant County

Grant County is one of the most rural counties in Oregon.  There are about 8,000 residents which equates to about 2 people/square mile.  The photo above is from a bike trip through Grant County in 2009 around the Ochoco Mountains. On that trip, there were lots of beer cans on the side of the road, primarily Keystone and Keystone Light. It was disconcerting to think that we shared the road with mostly drunk drivers, though any drivers at all were few and far between.     

This year, our intent was to pass through on a return trip from the far eastern part of the state.  However, we passed through Mt Vernon at a somewhat late hour and found Clyde Holliday State Park. As luck would have it, there was a 'teepee' available for one night only. This park is situated along the John Day River and was a lot smaller and less of a destination than Wallowa Lake State Park (where we stayed the night before).  The two teepees at the park had a canvas 'skin' on a wooden pole frame over a round concrete slab with sleeping mats. We were advised to put the mats along the edge of the teepee as there's a small hole in the center where the poles come together. It rained a little that night, and the teepee stayed dry; perhaps the cottonwood trees overhead caught a lot of the rain.

We had a dinner at the Silver Spur, which was about the only restaurant in Mt Vernon.  The menu was what you'd expect in a small town; chicken-fried steak, burgers, and the like.  They served breakfast ALL DAY so I had to have eggs, hash browns and kielbasa.  It was a big salt lick; but righteously good! We ended the day with a walk on the riverside trail and a fire until the rain drove us in for the night.



As we left Grant County the following morning, I instructed my daughter to toss out a few of those empty Old German beer cans as a tip of my hat to the Grant County custom. I have never done that before, nor will I do that outside of Grant County.  Probably.  

Benton County

I am a New England transplant who in 1992 moved to Oregon to attend to Oregon State University, located in Benton County.  My plan was to major in Crop Science; people need to eat so that's built-in job security.  Except all my fellow crop science students grew up on farms and I did not.  That put me at a decided disadvantage for crop and weed identification; which is maybe important for a successful farm.  So I went into a major with fewer job prospects: Soil Science.

     

      Corvallis is a very nice city and I loved living there.  However, my job being an hour drive away led me to make the hard the decision to move.  That was 13 years ago.  I rarely visit Corvallis these days and when I do it is always a very deliberate act.  I have been several times this year to enjoy a meal at Nearly Normal's and American Dream Pizza and got my bike tuned up at Cyclotopia.  And I absolutely try to walk through the Oregon State campus to see what has changes since I graduated. 

      

    One of these trips was back in February, when I went to Corvallis on my birthday.  The reason for driving there was it was my day off, the kids were in school and I needed to pick up a backpack that I left at a meeting in Albany, which could be considered Corvallis' Springfield. 

     I hopped in my wife's 1964 VW Bug with the dog and made a day of it. The Bug is a vehicle that takes some concentration to drive and at highway speeds it is quite loud.  But it is a kick to drive in town when the weather is good, as it was that day.  Backpack retrieved from the Linn County Courthouse, I went downtown Corvallis and hit the Starbucks.  Visiting downtown is a treat.  Unlike where I live, downtown Corvallis has thriving businesses and it is fun to amble around.        

Baker County

Baker County is on the Idaho border and a hell of a long ways away.  What is famous in Baker County?  Baker City is THE most famous place in the county.  In most circles.  Like the circles not in Baker County.  And what sticks with me is Baker City changed its name to Baker and then back to Baker City.  And once upon a time there was a job I briefly considered applying for there so I looked at real estate on the web for about a week before deciding that was a step I don't need to make.       

I visited the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center on a rainy cool day in June. The prior night we got pretty wet from camping in the rain. While that was an unpleasant experience on the whole, being cold and damp sure put the trials and tribulations of those pioneer travelers into perspective. They traveled in all sorts of weather for 6 months with all of their worldly possessions for a land claim in Oregon. Initially the settlers got land in the Portland area but each year they had to travel further south to get to their claim. Crossing rivers with oxen and carriages was a major risk. Carriages overturning, children crushed under the wheels, diseases to take you down were rampant. Kind of puts driving behind a slowpoke in a different category of bad day, don’t it?

The most interesting fact from the interpretive center was very few New Englanders made the trek.  They were content at home, I guess.

Jospehine County

The 4^th of July weekend in Josephine County.  A holiday weekend in a campground...I wish I thought 10 seconds about that before.  But there I was on Friday afternoon driving south down to Lake Selmac outside of Selma.  The weather called for scattered showers through most of the state.  Most of the state does not include southern Oregon and as we drove over the Siskyous down through Grants Pass the clouds disappeared and it was a beautiful sunny day.  

    On our way towards our camp site, we laughed about the first thing you see getting off the freeway is a Caveman.  The high school mascot is the Caveman, and it is in reference to the Oregon Caves.  The city was a big booster of the Caves.  Then driving through town there is a sign across the road stating “It’s the Climate.”  Whatever ‘it’ is, was pretty good.  

    I was warned by a co-worker who grew up in the area that the locals called Lake Selmac “Smellmac”  and was full of whacko hillbillies.  Whatever.  I'm committed to the cause.  We were there to visit the Oregon Caves anyways.  And once at the lake, we swam, kayaked and fished and had a good time messing around.  Several people there said bluegill were good eating. I don't recall ever hearing that before, and I heard it multiple times here.    

    

We were glad to be leaving on the 4th of July as the insanity in the campground was hitting a fever pitch.  We left to visit the Oregon Caves National Monument.  I was struck with fear that it’s a federal holiday and it might be closed.  Thankfully, when we called, it was open and not a bad drive to get there.  


The caves are not dog-friendly, which is ironic as the caves were allegedly discovered by a guy chasing after his dog who ran into a cave.  My wife opted to stay with the dog while I went with the kids into the cave (she visited there a few years earlier).  It is not for the very young or the very old.  One has to be 42” and able to navigate difficult cave terrain.  An elderly woman had to bail from the trip.  The cave is a great place to keep your beer 44 degrees and you go in tours of 16 people, leaving every 15 minutes in peak season.  


It was worthwhile and I am glad I finally visited this natural wonder.  This was a site I had in mind when I decided to visit all 36 counties (along with the Timberline Lodge, Steens Mountains and Astoria).