“USA 🇺🇸 Enjoying Oregon, Family and Friends”

• August 2, 2021
• By Pen
• 4 Comments

Today, we left Prineville and drove to Woodburn, by way of the Santiam Pass.

 Most of the drive was beautiful, but some of this route included going through the Detroit Lake area. Seeing the fire devastation from last year was heartbreaking and obvious; though we could see rebuilding has now begun.
As long as I have been alive, no forest fires ever gutted Detroit like this one.
I spent many years camping, hiking and fishing in these parts, growing up.

McKenzie River
Mount Jefferson ⬆️ is a stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc; part of the Cascade Range in the U.S. 🇺🇸state of Oregon.
At 10,495 feet, Jefferson is the second highest mountain in Oregon. (Mt Hood being the tallest). It also has not erupted in over 10,000 years.

Three Fingers Jack, ⬆️ rising between Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Washington, is one of the oldest high volcanoes in the Cascades.
At 7,844 feet, it has some very poor, rotten, friable rock. It is characterized by a high ridge above a base of scree.
On a clear day, the summit has excellent views up and down the line of peaks from Mount Hood in the north, down to Southern Oregon. 

Detroit Lake (some parts of the forest were spared)

Some Campgrounds are still closed since last year’s fire, but many are open.
Detroit burn, today
Detroit Lake
Detroit area burn and clean-up
Expect delays going through Detroit Lake. It was only a three-hour drive from Prineville to Woodburn, but it took us an extra hour with delays.
Cleanup in Detroit area is to continue through 2022.

Detroit before the fire ⬆️

Detroit Lake area burning in 2020 ⬆️
⬆️ A fire engine from the Idanha-Detroit Rural Fire Protection District sits on Detroit Avenue, from Friday, September 11, 2020, in Detroit, Oregon.
The engine was destroyed when the Lionshead Fire over-ran the resort community of Detroit, merging with the Beachie Creek Fire.
Only the post office and a market survived the fire in the town’s business district.
The burned out fire truck is still there, today; since that 2020 fire

Only the Cedars Restaurant sign survived the fire.
The restaurant used to be a fixture right off Highway 22, but it is now gone.
I ate at that restaurant many times.
⬆️ This was a photo from when the family-owned restaurant was celebrating 60 years!
How very sad, right along with about a hundred homes and 12 other businesses in town, which are also gone. Quite randomly, about 27 homes were spared.
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⬆️ This is us, with Mount Washington in the background. Mount Washington, at 7,795 feet, is a deeply eroded volcano in the Cascade Range of Oregon. It lies within Deschutes and Linn counties and is surrounded by the Mount Washington Wilderness area. Prior to this most recent forest fires at Detroit Lake, there was another in 2003, called the B&B Complex Fire, which burned much of the Santiam area. This was a devastating blow to our forested lands, but great lessons were learned from this fire, and how hot it got, do quickly.
The ghostly remains of dead forests can still be seen to this day.
The silver color of the remaining snags dot the landscape, looking north towards Three Fingered Jack Mountain in the Santiam Pass, where scars are still visible from the area burned by the B&B Complex 18 years ago.

The more than 90,000 acre fire burned the area between Mount Jefferson and Mount Washington. 🥲

89% of the Spotted Owl habitat was destroyed in the B&B complex fire, alone! 360,000 total acres in Oregon, burned in 2020, pushing the Spotted Owl closer to extinction.
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Great read about changes in Forest Fires 🔥 ⬇️

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WOODBURN

We made it to our destination in Woodburn, from Prineville this afternoon, where we are checked into a hotel and will commute to Newberg over the next three days to spend time with family and friends. (Cheaper rates in Woodburn, than Newberg).

Later, in the afternoon, Debby drove over to meet us at the hotel, then off to dinner we went. It was so fun to see her and catch up! Debby is the best!
Debby has been part of our family since Jr High.

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NEWBERG

We had the most fun afternoon in Newberg, spending time with my mom, and then driving over to “Odd Moe’s” restaurant, to celebrate Ed Rood and eat Pizza.

Edward “Ed W. Rood
Sunrise: September 29, 1927
Sunset: July 8, 2021

Ed as a young man in Voltage, Oregon, where he had been hiking. That is a centuries old safe and a skull of some animal, randomly out in the desert.
It will be here, where his ashes will be spread

Ed and my mom were married for 23 happy years. He was a wonderful person and is missed very much! 

My mom was so delighted to have all her kids together in one place, for the first time in five years; Since my grandmothers memorial gathering (she passed away at 101).

My siblings and my Mom; left to right: Dean, Cheryl, DeEtte (my mom) Me, and Debby

Debby and her husband, Vern 

Josh (Nichelle’s Hubs)

My niece; Nichelle (Dean’s Daughter) 

My Sister-in-law, Rebecca (Dean’s wife) 

My bro, Dean, who I was so happy to hug and tell; I loved him. He had a massive heart attack this year, and it’s a miracle he is still here!

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The next day, on Sunday, we drove back to Newberg and attended church with my mom. After church, we went for a good old fashioned Sunday drive all around. It was very enjoyable, with a sunny day with clear skies!

CHAMPOEG STATE PARK ⬇️

Champoeg State Heritage Area features a rare combination of history, nature, and recreation. Situated south of Newberg along the scenic Willamette River, Champoeg’s forests, fields, and wetlands recreate the landscape of a bygone era.
The ecologically rich landscape is home to more than 130 bird species, including seasonally nesting western bluebirds and acorn woodpeckers.
This is also the site where Oregon’s first provisional government was formed, by a historical vote in 1843.
A thriving town of 200 was established, only to be washed away during a great flood in 1861. This rich history earns the park’s placement on the National Register of Historic Places.

⬆️ Newell Pioneer Village ⬇️
is just outside of Champoeg park, and has a museum, and a restored log cabin of prominent settler; Robert Newell.
Operated by Daughters of the American Revolution, the museum includes a mid-19^th century school and jail.

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WILSONVILLE HIGHWAY SCENIC DRIVE ⬇️

The drive between Newberg and Wilsonville has always been a favorite of mine. Since it’s curvy and twisty, it’s not easy to get photos of the million dollar homes and horse farms, but the drive was wonderful.
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ROGERS LANDING  ⬇️

Any city which has a river running through it, is a great place to live. I spent many, many hour over the years, boating, skiing and picnicking  on the Willamette River.
Good times. Good times.  ⬇️

From land or water, Rogers Landing is one of Yamhill County’s top recreational resources.
Many enjoy strolling the docks at sunset or scanning the skies for blue heron, osprey, kingfishers, or migrating geese.
Located in Newberg, it’s a popular with water skiers.

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ST PAUL ⬇️

Driving back and forth from Woodburn to Newberg, is very scenic; through farmland and the old Pioneer town of St Paul.
Over the years many towns change, but not St Paul. It’s still small, charming and quaint. 

St. Paul is located about one and a half miles north-northwest of the spot where the Yamhill River empties into the Willamette River.
In 1813, the Northwest Fur Company established the Willamette Trading Post about three miles north of present-day St. Paul, and in 1821 it became part of the larger Hudson’s Bay Company. (HBC)
In 1826, the HBC established a ferry, crossing the Willamette River at a nearby point the Native Americans had also used as a crossing point. At this crossing, the river was narrow during the summertime, and there was a wide gravel bench.
In 1829, some of the retired French Canadian employees of the HBC settled their families in the present-day St. Paul area. Etienne Lucier is generally considered to be the first farmer on the Prairie, and in Oregon. His farm was about three and a half miles north of St. Paul.
The French Canadians, with their native wives and mixed-blood children, were Catholic. The settlers petitioned the Bishop Provencher in Quebec for a priest several times. When Fathers F. N. Blanchet and Modeste Demers arrived in the territory, in late 1838, a log church was ready for them in St. Paul. The first mass was offered on January 6, 1839. The log church was replaced by a brick building in 1846, and became the oldest brick church in Oregon.
The agricultural community and town of St. Paul continued to grow and thrive into the 20th century.
It was in this setting in 1935 that eight local farmers and businessmen conceived the idea for the St. Paul Rodeo. They began with the City Park, which was a baseball diamond surrounded by scotch broom and littered with tin cans. It was all cleaned-up and a pole fence was built around a short quarter mile track. Four bucking chutes and a roping chute were added, and the locals went looking for stock for their first rodeo to be held on July 4, 1936.
The St. Paul Rodeo is highly respected in the world of rodeo. In 1991, the PRCA cowboys gave the St. Paul Rodeo a plaque proclaiming it the finest rodeo in the Northwest.
The St. Paul Rodeo continues to bring a slice of the old West to the north Willamette Valley, each 4th of July.

The St. Paul Roman Catholic Church was built in 1846, and is the oldest brick church in Oregon.

The old Cemetery 

The US Bank

⬆️ Being a real cowgirl, back in the day. (I did team roping), I participated in the “kickoff” trail ride several times during the St Paul Rodeo in July.
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After our Sunday drive, we dropped my mom back home at her retirement community. Then, Daryl and I went to Abbys Pizza to meet up with a few friends. Great conversations and even better hugs! Thank you! Thank you!

Sharon M. and Ken J.

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Tomorrow morning, we have to find a place to get PCR testing done, so we can fly to Hawaii on Tuesday.
Also, hoping to meet up with a friend and former neighbor from Amity, for lunch. A neighbor I have not seen for about 28 years!

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We did get together with my friend from Amity and visited at Elmers for four hours! Most enjoyable. I did forget to get a photo of two! Ugh 😩 

It ended up that we had to travel from Woodburn to the Portland Airport to get our PCR tests. Unlike overseas, where we have paid $30 a piece on average, here in the states, we paid $165 each! We got our negative results the same day.

PORTLAND

By Monday night, we were at a Ramada Airport hotel in Portland. I’ve always done the Park-Sleep-Fly hotel deals in Portland. We stayed one night before flying out to Hawaii, and we get to park our car for free at hotel, while we are gone. They provide the shuttle, or our case, and Uber for transfer.

I was born in Portland, but in this trip we only drove through, as a means to get our PCR test, get to the airport hotel, so we could get to PDX, and go to Hawaii!

Portland, is Oregon’s largest city, and sits on the Columbia and Willamette rivers, in the shadow of snow-capped Mount Hood.
It’s known for its parks, bridges and bicycle paths, as well as for its eco-friendliness and its microbreweries and coffeehouses.
Iconic Washington Park encompasses sites from the formal Japanese Garden to Oregon Zoo and its railway.
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Next Stop, Hawaii. It’s been way TOO long!

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