Day 4 - Baker City to Boise

We set out this morning from Baker City, but did not get too far.  Too many interesting sights along the way:

The Baker City Heritage Museum is located in a building built in 1920 and was originally a natorium.  There was a large paper near the front door where the “nators” signed in.  The indoor pool has been covered and is now a large exhibit area and the balcony around the pool is also an exhibit area.  The exhibits include artifacts from various aspects of the life of the city – including gold mining artifacts, fire fighting equipment, farm equipment, various cars buggies and a 1900 era horse drawn, open air school bus.

Among the more interesting artifacts are a portable dental chair that fold up like the sports chairs we use today.  You can gargle and spit, have your teeth pulled, and whatever other dental procedures were in vogue in the day done right in the comfort of your living room. There was also a 2-stamp stamp mill and associated equipment from the gold mining boom that occurred in Eastern Oregon after 1860. Another interesting part of the museum was several historical rooms installed in an upstairs ballroom.  A series of kitchens ranging from about 1850 through the early 20^th century, Mark Hatfield’s office desk, a dining room with a vey nice China set, an organ like the one at home, and a few other rooms.

Another interesting exhibit was about Wally Byam, a resident of Baker City, who developed the Airstream trailer.  That was a coincidence because on Wednesday in Oregon City at the Interpretive Center there we saw a young man with the tricycle equivalent of the Airstream trailer.  This pedal-powered motor home, a tricycle, has something like 5 derailleurs and weighs 1000 pounds fully loaded.  It was build from scratch and the man who now owns it takes it on rides throughout Oregon. He was cooking his breakfast on the table at the rear when we arrived.

Oregon Trail Interpretive Center

The Oregon Trail interpretive center in Baker City is very similar to the one I saw in Elko Nevada along the California Trail – lots of constructed dioramas, a few artifacts and a lot of narrative signage.  I think the dioramas are particularly information and actually give the visitors, including a busload of school kids, a reasonable idea of what life was like on the trails.  From the observation deck looking southwest, the old wagon wheel swales are visible.  The trains headed from the Hells Canyon area over the mountains and into the Powder River valley.  Today that valley is filled with lush green fields, cattle hers, and some ranch house.  In 1850, as one of the signs said, all of the bunch grass had been destroyed and sage brush proliferated. It is hard to know whether the current proliferation of sage brush is more or less than existed 150 or so years ago.

Farewell Bend State Park and Oregon Trail Interpretive Center

Farewell Bend on the Snake Rive s the point at which the travelers diverted from the Snake River to head northwest towards the Columbia River. By this point on their trip food is scarce, shoes are worn out, many of the people are depressed and/or sick, the animals are weak and starving, and optimism is wearing then.  But surprisingly, some to the people record in their diaries the beauty of the landscape, the great adventure that was drawing to a close, and their optimism for the future. The promoters were active in the east, exhorting the people to move to the land of opportunity – Oregon.  One man was so enthusiastic about going to Oregon he traveled to Washington, DC, in an effort to procure government assistance for a group of families to move to Oregon,  One sign said that in the spring of 1832 there were 1000 people gather ready to embark on a trip – it is not clear if any of those people actually did, but some others certainly did.

But the lure of Gold was greater. In 1849 the direction of emigration was changed so that more people went to California than to Oregon.  Then, in 1860, gold was discovered in Eastern Idaho so a reverse gold rush began. That caused a new ferry service across the Snake to be developed.  The new ferry Service established east of Farewell Bend at the allowed the Argonauts of 1860 to avoid the ferry at Fort Boise and get to the Idaho gold fields a little more quickly.  The new ferry was also an improvement for the westward bound travelers.

We visited a rail crossing site a couple of miles west of Farewell Bend where the swale was worn into the landscape as the wagons made there way across the Powder River valley to the Blue Mountains and then the Columbia River.  One can easily imagine the children running back and forth along the trail, the men yelling “gee” the “haw” as they prodded their oxen to go either up hill or down hill – not around the hills. The top-heavy covered wagons were always in danger of tipping over causing loss of supplies, damage to the wagon, a broken wheel, an injured traveler and, most importantly, a delay for the whole group.

We have finally landed in Boise. During the day we found the various maps and directions that we had, printed and electronic, somewhat confusing. For example, the brochure we picked up about the Baker city interpretive Center states that the Center was 5 miles east of Baker City off Highway something-or other.  Exit 302 from IS84.  So, since we were in Baker City, we proceeded to the IS84 freeway, and got on in the eastbound direction.  We travelled for about 15 miles where there were three exits – 304, 306, and 308.  We were finally smart enough to call and confirm exit 302, and we deduced that exit 302 came before 308, even thought the Center, and exit 308, are both east of Baker City.

The confusion was solved when we realized that the brochure meant the Center was actually east of Baker City, but the freeway runs north and south through Baker City, ultimately turning to the east in Idaho. So w backtracked a bit to the center and had an interesting tour there. 

Here are some pictures.

Day 3 - Columbia River to Baker City

Somehow, this day got away from me as I was in the process of catching up.  But here are Some pictures.
These were taken as we traveled along the scenic route above the Columbia River.  More details later.

Day 2 - Arriving at the end of the trail, and continuing east

After a very pleasant night under the stars, so to speak, in Cottage Grove, we drove the rest of the way to the end of the Oregon Trail in Oregon City.  There to begin our trek to the east.  Oregon City, one of the oldest cities in the west, was established kin 1842 by John McLaughlin who had come tot he area as a representative of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1829.

 In Oregon City there is a nice visitor’s center, which was only partially open after a years worth of renovation. They did have some interesting displays demonstrating the trials and tribulations of those who came to Oregon along the Oregon Trail. We inquired of the young woman who was at the desk if we should begin our trip along the Branch of the Oregon Trail that follows the route of the Columbia River, or the alternative that is somewhat south and which goes along the base of Mt. Hood.  She advised the former, saying that there was still snow along the southern road, known as the Barlow trail.

The Barlow trail was developed by the Barlow family which had had come to Oregon in one of the first emigrant trains in the early 1840s.  They traveled along the Columbia River and when they arrived at the rapids located where the river begins is rapid descent to the Pacific they traded their wagons for some boats = probably, like many others, converting the beds of the wagons into makeshift boats – not the most seaworthy craft. Unfortunately, the boats were not up to the violence of the Columbia and several of the party were thrown from the boats and died. The Barlow party survivors were so distraught by this sad turn of events they vowed to find a better route to the Pacific, or at least the Willamette valley where they settled - a route that avoided the Columbia River.  They developed their alternative route, but still the Columbia River Route was referred because it was shorter.

After spending some time at the end of the trail at the visitor’s center we followed the advice of a very friendly and loquacious man from the local Parks department who directed us to an overlook a mile or two down the road where we could get a good view of Willamette Falls on the Willamette River.  These falls, according to our informant, are the U.S. by volume.  They are not very high, at least now, but the do seem to have a lot of water flowing over them.  From the falls we followed more advice from the informant and went to the Pioneer Cemetery which was up on the hillside above the river.  Located at the end of what literally appears to be a modern wagon road, just one vehicle wide with the tire groove well developed and the median plants seeming to flourish.  Rather than straight rows of grave markers on a well-manicure lawn, the Pioneer Cemetery consists of numerous grave scattered among the pristine forest.  There were a few family groups an we spend some time trying to figure out relationships between the people who were buried their, and some who had grave markers but apparently were still alive.

    

Ultimately a second road was developed along the cliffs on the south side of the Columbia.  This route is approximately the same route as current Oregon Route 30, we followed that road from the point that it diverged from IS84 which runs right long the river, to the point where it rejoins IS84. We did not get that far, but only to the town of Cascade Locks. Since there were no camp grounds in the vicinity we spent the night at a local motel.  

Here are some pictures.

Day 1 - Oakland, Jefferson, and to Oregon (Tuesday May 28, 2013)

As we drove north on Interstate 5 the sky was high, the the rice fields were just breaking through the surface of the flooded fields, and mile after mile of orchards and vineyards in various stages of growth were full of leaves but not yet fruit.  As we passed Redding and Lake Shasta and into the mountains between Jefferson (AKA North California) and Oregon the green valleys made me thing of what Lassen and Peter Ogden saw as they traveled through this country in the 1840s and a little before.  Lassen would not recognize the expansive meadow he observed as Lake Almanor, the site of a recent rather strong earthquake that rattled shelves, broke glasses and frayed nerves, but apparently injured no one..
As we approached Yreka we saw only one sign, pained on the roof of a barn, reminding us that we were in foreign territory. The State of Jefferson, so declared in 1940 by some of the leading citizens of far Northern California and far Southern Oregon.  The State seal, consisting of a gold pan with two Xs in the bottom, were meant to remind us of gold mining in  the area. Gold mining continued into the twentieth century as dredges worked its way along the Trinity River leaving behind mile after mile of tailings. I recall seeing those as I travelled along Highway 3 in 2008.  On that trip I discovered the beautiful Scott Valley and the small town of Fort Jones.
Fort Jones was a US Army post established in 1853.  One of the commandants at the Fort, in 1856, was then Major Crook.  this was his first frontier post, and other famous military characters, including Sheridan, Grant, and others served there.  Well, according to the story Grant was assigned their but never managed to show up.  He was, as they say, AWOL.   But Crook's stay there was uneventful even though he wrote that he woke up suddenly one evening and thought that he was being scalped by an Indian who had crept silently into the camp  It turned out that an Indian had snuck into the fort and startled an owl that was sleeping. The frightened owl swooped down and landed on Crook's head, grabbing ahold with his sharp talons.  That was what Crook imagined  being scalped would feel like.
As we proceeded north out of Yreka we began to see signs of the Applegate Trail.  The Applegate trail parallels IS5 and is very close to former US 99 which is still marked at least in Oregon, although the maps tend to show it ending in  Red Bluff where it merges with IS5.  We stopped in a few of the road side places that were marked as part of the Applegate trail. That trail is not part of the National Trails Project. At least not part of the "politically designated National Historic Trails Project as determined by Congress" in the words of the NPS representative who responded to my inquiry abut the trail from Yreka north to Oregon City.  But that lack of "political" designation has not deterred the residents of small towns along that route who continue recognize, document, explore, and mark the Applegate Trail in Southern Oregon.rail.
Her is a link to some photos taken at a spot along the Applegate trail.
We proceeded north on IS5 until we got to the small town of Cottage Grove.  Since there were some camp sites nearby we decided to go into the town of a little over 9000 and buy some food for dinner. We searched high and low but found noting but the Bi-Rite, Ken's Super Mart, a Dollar Store, and a store that looked like a gas station snack shop without the gas station.
We decided to head back to the freeway and continue on to the next town. As we drove out of town we ran across a large shopping center on the edge of town, obviously fairly new, with a Safeway, Wells Fargo Bank, and a couple of other large stores. So we bought some veggies and tortillas to go with some canned chicken I had brought and headed out to the campground.  Schwarz campground is a facility sponsored by the Army Corp of Engineers who is busy building a dam on the Row River at the outlet of Dorena Lake.  And who, I wondered, is the famous American after whom the Corp named this very nice and spacious campground.  He campground host had no idea - "a famous person" was his reply to my question. I could not bring myself to inquire who Dorena was.
We spent a lovely night in the Schwarz, even though it rained all night and I was sleeping on a cot under the RV awning.