Harney County Part 1

Kiger Gorge in the Steens Mountains

Harney County is big.  You could probably 20 Rhode Islands in Harney County.  But why would you want to?  For the Naragansett Beer? 

We had 2 very good days in Harney so I will break it into 2 parts.

We arrived on a Friday night at a campground in the Steens Mountain.  The campground was at over 7,000 feet above sea level.  Coming from the west, it doesn't look like a mountain and it isn't looking like you are that high up.  It is sagebrush and juniper trees all over and then this campground, Fish Lake, is very lush and covered with aspen trees. 

Saturday we drove the Steens loop.  First stop is Kiger Gorge which is about 9,000 feet and pictured above.  It left us awestruck and maybe disappointed that we never came here before.  We hiked around and took some pictures of us on several overlooks that you wouldn't want to lose your balance or trip as it's a long way down.

Viewpoint looking east from the Steens with the Alvord Desert in the distance.

Next stop was an overlook that I understand is the highest road in Oregon.  Below were views of Mann Lake, a center pivot irrigated field and the impressive Alvord Desert.  To the west was Whitehorse Lake which is several thousand feet below and only accessible by hiking down.  We didn't but we'd like to next time.  Being that high does leave you short of breath without much effort.

The loop has a sketchy stretch that was a bit of a challenge and causes more than a few flats.  We felt lucky to get through unscathed.

Inside the round barn, that is round.  See?

Last stop was the Peter French Round Barn that was built in the 1800's to break wild horses.  The barn was round, as if you couldn't tell from the title.  Exterior was Juniper wood and the interior round wall was stone.  What a great design.  Interior room was a stable and the horses were broken in the exterior loop.  It was quite cool inside, so the stones made for a good heat sink.

 

Union County

Downtown Union.  

I like to pronounce Union like onion.  Pretty funny, huh?  Let's see if it stays funny.

My wife's Uncle Jack was from onion County’s namesake city, onion.  About 5 years ago, I did a bike trip that included passing through onion (and picking up some beer at the market to take to the nearby Catherine Creek Campground).  

     Since that time, I have yearned to stop in town and take it in again.  As mentioned in previous posts, we had a very wet stay in Wallowa Lake State Park.  Taking the tents and screen room down and loading got us soaked.

     I'm giving up on onion; my sides are killing me! Hahahahaha!

 

So we were wet and cold and when we drove into Union.  The town is off the interstate and aside from the Union Hotel and new cool looking bar, there is not much to draw tourists into town.  It is beautiful and very well preserved from what it used to be.  Unfortunately, we were still wet and cold.  And it was still raining when we pulled in.  So we jumped out and snapped a few pictures of downtown.  I look forward to visiting on a better day and poking around properly.

Oh and I got gas in La Grande that gave us better mileage than the gas we got in Eugene and coffee in the Safeway Starbucks that certainly lifted my spirits.  Prior to drinking the first cup of coffee I was thinking that racing home to Eugene was a better option than exploring the City of Union.  

The park in Union beckons.  Come play!

Ready?  Onion.  Hahahahahahaha!

 

Douglas County

Willy looking in on the viewing window on the North Umpqua Dam.

Douglas is a very big county, from the Pacific Ocean all the way to the Cascades.  We stopped by the North Umpqua Dam off Highway 99 to view the very large salmon and regular-large steelhead heading through the fish ladder.  The dog did not care for the metal stairs and metal grated landings that goes to the viewing window.  We were  really in awe of the monster fish that passed us by, as well as the teeny tiny fish that were hanging out with the big guys.

Kids being in awe of big fish.

      To top it off we drove through downtown Roseburg on Highway 99 (instead of the interstate) to take in the city.  I used to work in Roseburg and it is nice to pass through.  We regaled the kids with the story of half of Roseburg being leveled in the 1950’s due to a fertilizer truck exploding.  The county is beautiful and there are a lot of places worse to live, though many of the cities in the county are poor, now that timber is not the industry it once was.  Whether due to over-logging or Spotted Owl is debatable, and truly not worth debating with me.      

Coos County

The plan: visit Shore Acres State Park and hike to Cape Arago lighthouse.  We read up on how a lumber baron bought the Shore Acres property over 100 years ago, which overlooks the ocean.  It has a formal garden and in winter they have tons of Christmas lights.      

Cape Arago Lighthouse through the fog.

What really happened: we drove to Shore Acres and saw signs that animals were allowed in vehicles only.  The dog wanted out.  So we ran to the observation building at the ocean overlook and was impressed with the view and ran back to the van.  We then went to an un-named day use area and walked the dog to a view point where the above photo was taken of the lighthouse.  We ate brie on crackers at a Coos County park overlooking the ocean.  


The contrast in temperatures from where we live inland and Coos County was dramatic; upper 90's in Eugene and low 60's along the coast.  As we drove inland the oldest child was calling out the outside temp reading from the van as it went up driving home. 

Washington County

Polk County will not be seen at it's regularly scheduled time due to a Washington County special report.

We went north for a Polk County adventure.  Our destination was a company town that was abandoned around 1984.  A gate across the road (speculation was the fire danger level caused the road to be closed) set in motion my back-up plan: Head to Forest Grove to visit McMeniman's Grand Lodge.  It was originally built in 1922 to be a rest home/ retirement community for aged Masons and Eastern Star members.  It is "re-purposed" as a hotel, bar, restaurant and for weddings.

I was looking forward to walking the grounds with the dog and then enjoying dinner with a few beers. An employee notified us that pets are not allowed anywhere on the grounds.  We later saw the sign that also forbade picnics.  We took that to mean that having fun for free on the property was not allowed. Fair enough.

It's much smaller than Edgefield but it felt similar.  Friday night appeared to be bustling with several weddings in stages of production.  Dinner was pub-style mini-pizzas and burgers in the outside dining area.  Beer was a tasty seasonal Copper Moon ('it's in the IPA style but not as hoppy').

I used to drive around Forest Grove in the early 90's and haven't been back since.  It has grown a bunch, but the downtown is still worth a visit.  They had 2 old theaters that appeared to still be in operation: "The Forest" and "The Grove".

Driving back to Eugene down 99W was the cat's meow.  The setting sun's long shadows brought out long shadows of windrows of hay, clover fields, mountains and trees.  I do miss those old days of working for Agripac, when I spent a summer in this area.

Curry County

Low 50's and high winds on the Oregon Coast!

So far Curry County on Oregon's south coast ranks near the top of my list.  Why, you ask?  Consider the following:

• I visited the western most porta potty in Oregon and possibly the entire mainland west coast.  No other county can beat it, since Cape Blanco juts out 5-6 miles into the ocean.  
• Our stay near Port Orford at Humbug State Park was great.  We loved the beach and went on a nice hike up Humbug Mountain.
• It was great fun and Allison was very giggly and everything I said was funny. That made for a great campfire time. One night it came out that Evan told his sisters his inner-girl was coming out. He denied it and we were all laughing. In the morning we learned the backstory: the girls were teasing that Evan was a girl’s name and he finally said ‘fine my inner girl is coming out’. Belly laughs for breakfast!
• Campsite was pretty tight but neighbors were quiet and friendly.
• Eugene weather was in the 90’s and the it was 70’s at Humbug and low 60’s elsewhere on the coast. 
• Cape Blanco was fogged in and in the 50’s after 11 and the wind was blowing 30 mph. We ran to the gift shop and opted not to take the guided tour. The staff became less friendly when we didn’t buy anything and listened to the tour guide without paying. We took some pics of the lighthouse and ran laughing about the wind back to the van.

Wallowa County

Snake River Valley, as seen from Hat Point, Oregon.

 
Wallowa County, in the northeastern corner of the state, is not an easy place to get to. One does not happen upon this area unless one is intending to visit.  The Wallowa Mountains and associated lake and rivers are a 9 hour drive each way from Eugene.  We arrived late on a Friday to our campsite at Wallowa Lake State Park.  First impression? Our campsite was tiny and not in the most desirous location. The weather forecast called for a nice Friday and possible showers the next few days. We can handle a few showers.   

Saturday: Marla kayaked the lake in the morning while the kids and I went to the river and threw rocks in and tried to make a dam. The weather was holding so we headed for Hat Point. It was 30 miles to get to the dirt road. The dirt road was another 22 miles.  The first 7 miles or so were rough going, very steep, washboard roads and one lane that it for 2-way traffic. After that, the road conditions were much better. The payoff is the view from the fire tower was amazing. See the pic above.  You just had to earn the view by driving over 4 hours round trip for the pleasure. 


Evening came and the weather became a little less certain. I figured that most of the evening it looked like rain but since it didn’t, it won’t. I awoke to thunder and lightning at 1:30 am and a steady rain on the tent. It started far away. Marla & I held each other as the thunderstorm slowly came right over us.  The echoes ripping through the mountains and over the lake was so loud.  11 year old son slept right through it.

Sunday: It was still raining at dawn and seemed like a good time to get up. Our air mattress had a puddle underneath it, but we weren't floating yet. Letting the water out of the tent, packing up and leaving was the best option, especially when a park ranger said the weather was not going to change. On our way out, we stopped at the grave of Chief Joseph to pay our respects to the man whom the city of Joseph was named.

It turns out we couldn't handle a few showers.