Central Oregon: Photos and Stories, Part 1

 

Anne and I planned a four-day trip to central Oregon with a stay at Eagle Crest Resort (Worldmark timeshare) in Redmond and, Glory Be, nothing got in the way of the trip—although the Bomb Cyclone almost did. The purpose of the trip was to get out of the house and do some photography. Both goals were met and I’ll share the results in this and the next post with vignettes and photos. As always, comments and notes are appreciated.

At Starbucks in Sandy, OR

Two Early Trip Photo Stops

Our first stop after a windy and rainy drive over Mount Hood was at Peter Skene Ogden State Park and the bridges over the Crooked River Gorge. 

Bob grabbing a bridge picture.

It was nice that it was dry after the Bomb Cyclone flooding the Willamette Valley. This gave me a nice opportunity to try out my new Nikon Zfc mirrorless camera and my new lens, Nikon Z 24-200mm zoom.

The next stop was at Smith Rock State Park at Terrabonne. This is a prime rock climber location with more than a hundred climbing routes—

it was late in the day and we didn’t see any climbers this time. There are numerous hiking trails that start in the park’s main parking area. The rocks, river, and visiting deer gave me plenty of subjects on which to practice.

The Shoe Adventure

Mountains to the west of Sisters--The Sisters are shrouded in clouds.

Old farm between Redmond and Sisters.

We hit snow about ten miles from Sisters on Three Creeks Lake Road.

On our first full day on the east side of the mountains (Cascades) we drove the 18 miles to Sisters, OR, and visited one of our favorite coffee shops, Sisters Coffee, as well as the rest of town. 

No mountain views, but still plenty to photograph.

At a photo stop on the way to Sisters Anne had put on her boots when we got back to the car. From there we went to coffee and Anne’s first walk in her new boots. 

The walk from the car to the shop was about fifty yards after which Anne complained mightily about how badly one boot hurt. At our table, once we'd ordered our coffee and delicious scones, Anne untied her boot, took it off, and pulled out of the boot a medium-sized plastic shoehorn. A man at the next table said, “You walked with that in your shoe?!” To which Anne replied, “It feels much better now.”

Sisters Meat and Smokehouse where we bought sauces and smoked turkey.

Oliver Lemon's Market where we bought specialty olives.

Paying for Stories

We had a great breakfast on our second day in Redmond at Christie’s Kitchen, a restaurant in an older house near downtown. 

We then started our drive to Mitchell fifty miles east on Hwy 126 looking for fall color photos. The hour drive was nice, but the photos didn’t show up. 

We got some views on the way to Mitchell.

The better mountain photos would have been between Mitchell and John Day (another 60 miles)—we weren’t going that far. Instead, we made do with photos in Old Mitchell.

Two experiences in Old Mitchell were interesting—in different ways we endied up paying for stories. First, we visited Little Pine Gift Shop at the end of town. 

As I approached the shop I saw a sign which read, “Restroom for Customer Only.” We decided we’d become customers by buying something—I really need to use the facilities. When we walked in I asked, if we buy something could we use the restroom? The owner and clerk both smiled and the owner chuckled, “Of course, you’re a customer.” There’s the first story: the restroom story. Anne did find out that the shop had been a hardware-grocery-cafe and had recently changed to a gift shop with local products. We did become customers and owners of a winter scent candle and a Christmas decoration. 

The second shop was in the middle of the block that is Old Mitchell. We dropped in to Judy’s Place, an antique/odd-and-ends shop where owner Judy is the star of the show supported by Patches the dog. 

The story we got here was the story of how Mitchell is surviving in troubled times—old homes being redone, new businesses opening (brewery), how the local cafe closed because the most recent owner was just “not right for the town.” [Interpret that as you will.] We didn’t find anything to buy, but I left a fiver for the stories and the picture I took of Patches.

Next: The trip continues with Painted Hills, a museum, and a new auto.