Eugene, Oregon

Eugene is the second-largest city in the state and has a population of 156,185.  It is home to the University of Oregon (Go Ducks). The city is noted for its natural beauty, recreational opportunities and focus on the arts. Eugene's slogan is "A Great City for the Arts and Outdoors". It is also referred to as the "Emerald City", and as "Track Town, USA. The Nike corporation had its beginnings in Eugene.

It is named after its founder, Eugene Franklin Skinner.  Until 1889, it was named Eugene City.  In 1846, Skinner erected the first cabin in the area.  It was used as a trading post and was registered as an official post office on January 8, 1850. At this time the settlement was known as Skinner's Mud Hole. It was relocated in 1853, but was not formally incorporated as a city until 1862.

The purpose of our visit was to meet Karen Buntman, a doctor that Judy had babysat for  when she was young (and her sister Lynne) in Chicago many, many years ago.  In fact, Judy was also the flower girl at her parents’ wedding along with her brother Larry being ring-bearer.  We met her house-mate, Trey, who seems very nice and cordial. 

The big surprise was meeting her ‘girls’; four adult egg-laying chickens and three babies.  After feeding them grapes from her yard we saw there are oodles and oodles of grapes, both red and green.  She also has quite a few apple trees and two Italian Plum trees.





For dinner we all went to a fabulous Thai restaurant.  We had a thoroughly enjoyable evening with two people we really didn’t know prior to tonight!!!

Wednesday we headed to the Owen Rose Garden where there were thousands of different roses planted and labeled so you knew what you were looking at.  We then stopped at Karen’s favorite bagel place, Humble Bagel, and made a purchase to be put in the refrigerator and freezer.  Our next stop was Delta Ponds where we saw quite a few ducks in the water.  Then it was off to Karen’s for dinner.  She was starting to make a soup with many fresh veggies, and Trey was starting the fire to bbq the lamb.  We enjoyed talking and had grape leaves, a tofu dish that tasted like egg salad on yummy crackers, spicy land jaeger and some
cheeses. Their next door neighbors Kate and Zeke came a little later bringing a freshly baked apple pie with vanilla ice cream.  Karen also made a green salad with a yummy dressing.  She’s a good cook!  Trey grilled the lamb and the zucchini we brought.  Everything was delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday Karen was off work so we took off to eat our way through Eugene.  What a foodie town it is, and we loved every place they took us.  It’s wonderful to see the city with locals taking you to their favorite places.  Our first stop was Off the Waffle where they serve savory, sweet Liège waffles.  The word is pronounced Lee-age and the waffles are richer, sweeter waffles than the typical Belgian waffle.  They were invented by the chef of the prince-bishop of Liège, Belgium in the 18^th century as an adaptation of brioche bread dough.  Chunks of pearl sugar are folded into the dough.  They melt during the rising process and form a crispy, caramelized exterior when baked in a cast iron waffle press.  One of the owners tested these waffled before they opened the restaurant at a pot-luck at Karen’s house a number of years ago.  We even were lucky enough to meet one of the owners who was in from Portland where they just opened their third location (two in Eugene!) .  

We toured a little of the downtown area, on foot and then in Karen’s car.  While driving around Karen pointed out various points of interest, including the University of Oregon, home of the Ducks!  

Then to Growler Guys where they had fifty beers on tap.  Trey and Mike enjoyed sampling their wares. 

Barry’s Café was our next stop.  They are the only place in town where you can purchase bialys, and we did!  Across the street was Long’s Meat Market, where Danny (Trey’s lady friend) works.  We bought the last of their regular land jaeger and some of their ‘spicy’ land jaeger.  Can hardly wait for them to dry a little bit!  We’ll have to use some willpower!

Our next stop was Café Yumm where we were able to sample some of their sauces that ‘taste good on anything’ according to Karen and Trey.  We bought the original and garlic.  

Sweet Life was our next stop where they have a very, very long case filled with all sorts of sweets.  Choices were difficult with so much to choose from…..cakes, cheesecakes, tortes, silks, pies, tarts, cupcakes, cookies, biscotti, petit fours, baklava, peanut butter cups, brownies, éclairs, buns, croissants, muffins, turnovers, etc. etc. etc.  Mike and I shared an éclair and some kind of a chocolate cake.  Again, delicious!  

What a wonderful time we had with people we really didn’t know.  They are fun people and we would love to visit with them again sometime.  Great company, great food, great weather just not enough time!

Salem, Oregon

Salem is the capital of Oregon.  It was founded in 1842, became the capital of the Oregon Territory in 1851, was incorporated in 1857and has a population of 154,637.  It is the third largest city in the state after Portland and Eugene. 

Trip Advisor came through for us again with their recommendation of “Word of Mouth, Neighborhood Bistro.”  It was rated #1 of 421 restaurants in Salem.  We were told we would have to wait, and we did, but it was worth the 55-minute wait.  The restaurant’s home was a small home and has been open about 5 years.  We decided to split two breakfasts so we could taste more than just one item.  We weren’t sorry!

:Hops Growing

After breakfast we spent seven hours taking a scenic loop through the Willamette Valley.  Driving through the country side we saw hops, grapes and orchards.

Our first stop was Premium Outlet stores in Woodburn.  Judy thought she would find more winter items than at home but guess who made a purchase?  Mike bought a pair of Eddie Bauer jeans for $15 and Judy left empty-handed!  Next was the Mt. Angel Sausage Company where they didn’t have samples but we bought two packages of their homemade German sausage anyways.  We’ll be trying it tomorrow night for dinner.

Gallon House Road covered bridge

We went to the Gallon House Road covered bridge in Silverton, and even drove through it!  It was named for its use as a drop-off at the north entrance for gallons of prohibited whiskey to the neighboring dry-town of Silverton.  It was constructed in 1917 going over an 84’ span of the Abiqua Creek.  

  

Ride Across The Bridge With Us

We also drove through Silverton to look at the many murals.  There are 22 murals, one being the Four Freedoms, copies of Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms.  This one was done by David McDonald, muralist.  Another one we took a picture of is The Old Oak by Lori Lee Webb, muralist. 

Stayton-Jordon covered bridge

Then on to Sublimity to check out the Stayton-Jordon covered bridge.  It is a 90’ partially-open truss bridge built in 1937.  It was in a very nice city park with many huge trees and a walking bridge going over the stream also.  We are impressed with the parks we have seen in this area.

Stayton-Jordon covered bridge

The next morning we quickly showered so we could go to the Willamette Pie Company since they have a ‘happy hour’ where you can buy a slice of pie for $1.50 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.  If you want it alamode it only costs $2.

 Willamette Pie Company 

South Falls

Silver Falls State Park was our next destination.  It is a beautiful park.  It is Oregon’s largest state park, having 9,000 acres which includes a lodge and a conference center.  The park is known for its ten waterfalls and features more than 30 miles of trails.    We were planning on hiking to the South Falls where you can walk behind the 177’ high falls, but when Judy saw how far down the falls were she backed out and Mike walked there and back.  

South Falls

We drove around a little bit and then headed to hike the North Falls which drops 136’.  When we arrived where you walk behind those falls, we realized we had been there on one of our prior trips.  Mike said that hike was more difficult than the one Judy passed up.  Oh well, you can’t win ‘em all!  

 North Falls

 North Falls

 North Falls

Several Steps To Climb Returning From North Falls

There is an 8.7-mile trail passing by and under some of the stunning waterfalls of the north and south forks of the Silver Creek.  It takes you by all 10 waterfalls in the park, but we decided to leave it for younger hikers.  Another enjoyable seven hour day.

Prosser, Washington

Prosser is a city along the Yakima River with a population of 5,700.  Colonel William Prosser first surveyed the area in 1879, then claimed homestead in 1882.  A flour mill was built at Prosser falls in 1887, encouraging further settlement of the area.  Throughout the 1910s and 1920s various companies drilled in this area for oil and natural gas. There were no large findings and the Great Depression put an end to exploration.  In more recent years, Prosser's prime location on the Yakima River and easy highway access has encouraged a growing wine business and associated tourist industry. Several wineries call Prosser home.

The names of the streets in our campground are The Grapevine, Cabernet, Lemberger, Petite Sirah, Concord, Riesling, and Muscat.  Some of the streets in town are named Merlot, Port, Wine Country, and Cabernet. 

They call this area “Napa North”!  The RV park has wine-tasting Thursday and Friday nights in their lobby/office from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.  They charge $5 for the glass and if you come the second night it is half price.  A different local winery does the ‘sampling’.   Thursday night the ‘bartender’ was a young lady who had gone to West High in Bakersfield for her freshman year.

After lunch Thursday, we left to find the ‘two’ breweries in town!  Our first brewery stop was at the Whitstran Brewing Company where the bartender had sad news for Mike…. the Porter wasn’t on tap.  He tried a few dark beers and settled on purchasing two Porters that were bottled. The bartender told him about a brewery close by that we didn’t know existed.  Since it was very close, that was our second stop.  At Jeremy’s Mike tried Irish Death, which he really enjoyed, but they didn’t have it bottled and the other dark beer they had he didn’t care for. Then on to a grocery store and they only had the Irish Death in 22 ounce bottles, too large for the refrigerator in the trailer AND too much for Mike to consume at one sitting!  I guess you can’t win ‘em all!

Friday was a day of sleeping-in (isn’t that what retirement is all about for some!) and reading.  Then Mike decided to walk to the winery that he sampled last night since it was only a half a mile away and he had eight free samplings.  

Walla Walla, Washington

Again, we were able to sleep with the windows open.  Today’s drive took us through many, many, miles of wheat being grown on both sides of the highway, up and down the hills.
It was a pretty drab drive going by all the yellow fields of grain.  A good thing was that sometimes it was somewhat dark and sometimes we saw green growing in between the rows.  We felt like singing “America”, especially the line: "Amber waves of grain."

Walla Walla is a Native American name that means "Place of Many Waters". 

It's origins at its present site began with the establishment of Fort Walla Walla by the United States Army in 1856.  Walla Walla was incorporated on January 11, 1862.  As a result of a gold rush in Idaho, during this decade the city became the largest community in the territory of Washington, at one point slated to be the new state's capital. It is famous for its sweet onions, and, more recently, wine. There are more than 100 wineries in or near Walla Walla.  Following the wine boom, the town has developed several top-tier restaurants and hotels.  It has a population of approximately 31, 000 and is extremely clean.  Proud residents of the town often brag about it as "the town so nice they named it "twice."

We arrived in Walla Walla, Washington at the Four Seasons RV Resort in time to have lunch.  We then took off to see Main Street downtown. The stores on Main Street are quaint, selling clothing (both new and used) and home décor items, restaurants, jewelers and real estate offices.  They had some vacant spots also, just like at home.  Some of the buildings dated back to the 1890s.  

The next morning we were  rudely awakened by the alarm.  We set off to have breakfast at the Maple Counter Café.  This was recommended by Trip Advisor as the #1 restaurant in Walla Walla, and we have decided if they recommend it, it HAS TO BE GREAT!   This is the third place they have suggested to us and we have loved each of them, including this one.  In fact, this one is probably our favorite.  The young waitresses wear long skirts and our waiter, being a young man, wore a bow tie.  They have old items on the walls but not overdone!  When they bring your bill to the table it is on a rectangular wooden tray with a lip on the edges and an old post card is clipped to the bill  The pen you sign with has two artificial flowers attached which is a nice touch.  We decided to split a French Baked Florentine Omelette and an Apple Pancake. 

The French Baked Omelettes are made in the French style, whipped eggs with folded-in ingredients, then going in to a hot oven where they rise beyond the standard of your typical breakfast entrée.  Our choice included mushrooms, spinach, and diced onion, combined with Swiss cheese.  It was DELICIOUS and had generous amounts of ingredients.  It was lightly browned and we both decided it was a great choice!  It was served with three buttermilk pancakes, or we could have chosen potatoes!)

The House Specialty we ordered was to-die-for!!!!  The Apple Pancake is made in the tradition of a soufflé, baked in the oven until at least 3 inches high, filled with fresh apples (peeled and cut in-house) and covered with a pure cinnamon glaze.  They state ‘you’ll talk about it forever’ and we probably will.  It is the pride of the kitchen and we now know why!

We each took some of the pancake home to be enjoyed at a later time.

Lewiston, Idaho & Clarkston, Washington

We are holing up for five days in Clarkston, WA, just across the Snake River from Lewiston, ID.  We never like to be on the road driving during holiday weekends.  This will give us a chance to sleep in, read, rest and recharge our batteries.

Looking towards Clarkston, across the Snake River 

Our home for the holiday weekend is Hillview RV Park in Clarkston, WA   Their sites have something we have never seen before.  The site is a pull-through and is entirely gravel except for a small grassy area by ‘the front door’.  What a great idea, no mud since the grass is very thick!

The name Clarkston is a reference to William Clark, of Lewis and Clark fame. 

Lewiston, across the Idaho state line from Clarkston, is named for Meriwether Lewis, and is the larger and older of the two cities.  Ironically Lewis and Clark never even set foot on the Clarkston side of the river.  It was first settled in 1862 and was officially incorporated on August 14, 1902.

Lewiston was founded in 1861 in the wake of a gold rush which began the previous year near Pierce, northeast of Lewiston. In 1863, Lewiston became the first capital of the newly created Idaho Territory. Its stint as seat of the new territory's government was short-lived, as a resolution to have the capital moved south to Boise was passed by the Idaho Territorial Legislature on December 7, 1864.



Our second day we visited a  list of adventures Mike made for the area.  Our first stop in Lewiston was the Hellsgate State Park where we went through the visitor center.  The center was completed in commemoration of the 100^th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  It has educational displays, sculptures by artist Rip Caswell, a 32-minute documentary film, “Lewis and Clark:  From the Mountains to the Sea”, which we watched, and is on a two acre piece of land along the banks of the Snake River.

Then up the road a little bit farther to the Jack O’Connor Hunting Heritage and Education Center.  We learned Mr. O’Connor (1902-1978) was the undisputed dean of outdoor writers and his articles were featured for many decades in Outdoor Life magazine.  He was a big game hunter, wildlife conservation pioneer and influential gun editor.  He also did a brief stint as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune. 

Another stop was Pioneer Park where we saw the Sacajawea Fountain, band-shell and playground. 

Snake River Pedestrian Bridge

Canoe Sculpture

The next morning we each enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at Waffles & More which Mike found out about on Trip Advisor.com.  The parking lot was full and lots of people were outside waiting in line, so we figured it must be good!  We put our name on the waiting list and were told it would be a 20 minute wait, so we went outside in the fresh air.

Then, on to the Lewis & Clark  Interpretive Center. It was a small, informative open-air display of ‘billboards’ giving information about the explorers.  There was supposed to be a dug-out canoe, which wasn’t there.  There was a sculpture done by Nancy Dreher called “Tsceminicum which shows Nez Perce lore.    We walked off some of our breakfast on the walking/bike path, which we were happy about.

  

   

Back at the trailer Mike worked on the blog and Judy took a nap.  Then Judy worked on the diary and Mike took a nap.

It was a nice sunny comfortable day spent in Idaho and Washington.

Philipsburg, Montana

About 50 miles north of Butte we found the quaint little town of Philipsburg,  which is an old mining town.  In 1894 in the Gem Peak area on Rock Creek, the first load of sapphires was shipped from placer mines to as far away as Switzerland.  Before that only North Carolina was a source of sapphires in North America. 

Broadway Hotel

We walked the main street where there were stores selling merchandise, restaurants, and a candy store where we made a purchase.  They had the largest inventory we have ever seen, from what is being sold today all over, and a lot of ‘oldies but goodies’!  They also carried (or made) delicious fudge in all flavors imaginable, salt water taffy, plus hand-dipped chocolates, taffy and truffles.  The first Sweet Palace started in 1934.  The owner and proprietor, Pete Winninghoff learned to make candy while living in Missoula and brought his craft back home to Philipsburg.  He put a genuine sapphire in each of his famed boxes of Sapphire Chocolates!  What a gift!

Visiting here you see the historic Opera House Theatre, restaurants, The Broadway Hotel, The Granite County Museum and Cultural Center which has mining exhibits, real estate offices, gift stores gem and jewelry stores, and more.


Off of the main drag we spotted quite a few church tops so we took a walk upward on the streets.  The town is quite hilly and you develop muscles you didn’t know you had.  We passed the courthouse, the jail, a lot of churches of many denominations.  We saw a young man mowing the lawn in front of the jail who was wearing black and white striped pants. They all were within a very small area.  

Episcopal Church

Formerly 1st Pres Church

Court House

Jail

Not an NFL Referee

Kaiser House

Morse Hall

Opera House

Passing a billboard, Judy started laughing and shared with Mike what it said.  It was for an Italian restaurant and said in big letters, “Legalize Marinara”.  We thought it was very funny AND clever.