Sat, Oct 9, 2010

Saturday, October 10, 2010

We awoke this morning to clouds and a light rain as we anticipated.  So it made a good day to just relax for a while and have an extra cup of coffee.  Charles read all of the papers he had collected and I finished another Shutterbug magazine.  Then it was time to get some breakfast and see what interesting things we could find in the area around us.  We went ahead and reserved our same motel room before we left since we don’t want to head toward the coast until this rain moves out. 

Charles had picked out a few scenic roads in the area and we headed out to the north side (Washington side) of the Columbia River Gorge.  Our first stop was at the Maryhill Museum of Art.  A totally poured concrete structure with no wood, it was built in the early 1900s by Samuel Hill.  The museum has a very interesting and extensive history but I’ll try to condense it. He originally planned to live in the house but because of irrigation problems in this remote area he never moved into it.  Mr Hill was very interested in building highways and roads in the northwest and was instrumental in the building of the highway along the Columbia River Gorge.  He wanted to be sure people could enjoy the beauty of this scenic area.  He was friends with Loie Fuller, a pioneer of modern dance in Paris, and she convinced Mr. Hill to turn the unused structure into an art museum.  Thru her association with many French artists she helped him obtain an impressive collection.  The museum has over 80 pieces by the famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin. Another of Mr Hill’s friends, the Queen of Romania (who was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria) came to the US and dedicated the museum.  But the museum was not ready to be opened and a short time later Mr Hill became ill on a trip and died.  Tied up with problems in his estate the museum was finished finally by another friend and has was officially opened on Mr Hills birthday in 1940. 

Unfortunately, we were too early to tour the interior and see the great art works but we were able to tour the grounds and the exterior of the structure.  It sits high on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River Gorge and is impressive.  We hope to visit the museum itself on a return trip.  We did walk around the small town of Maryhill and found the beautiful old Advent Christian Church (now a community church) that was built in 1888 and an interesting old gas station.   

The next road we took was back across the gorge on the Oregon side.  Hwy 74 ran along the Willow Creek. At the small community of Cecil we crossed a section of the Oregon Trail Route. We stopped and read about the route that the pioneers took thru this community and some of the comments they wrote in their journals when they camped in this area. This particular spot was a favorite part of the trail due to the abundant water and grass.   

Further down the road, in the small town of Heppner we stopped at a local tire shop to get a rock out that had gotten wedged behind the brake rotor and had begun to squeal.  The guy at the tire shop, who was extremely friendly, asked where we were going and then suggested we take the Blue Mountain Scenic Byway just south of town.  It was a beautiful drive and we ended up in Pendleton, OR.  After a visit to the historic Hamley’s Western store in downtown Pendleton we headed back to The Dalles and our comfortable room. 

Although we were in and out of the rain again today and we never got any sunshine, it was a very relaxing and interesting day. The forecast for tomorrow is still rain so we will take a look at how much rain we might encounter tomorrow and make a decision about our route then.  We are well tonight and hope that yall are too.

Peace, Hope & Love,

Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger