Farewell Bend: A Place to Rest

When I read about the grinding hardships the pioneers endured, I marvel that the American West was settled at all. There are still plenty of wild, open spaces in eastern Oregon–it’s not hard to imagine their arduous journey across this arid country.

In 1843, 1,000 people left Missouri to travel to Oregon, to the “Garden of the World.” During the next two decades, 50,000 more would follow the Oregon Trail, 2,000 miles of what in 1848 emigrant Riley Root called “Landscape without soil.” In many places, the land produced barely enough to sustain the teams, and the fragile landscape eroded even more as the numbers of emigrants increased.

The little water they encountered was often tainted and caused sickness among people and animals. The weary travelers often had to make a choice whether to press on and lose oxen teams to fatigue or to give them rest and have them die of thirst.

By the time the travelers reached the Snake River, they found relief in clean water and fish, but also hardships in crossings, where drownings were not uncommon. After following the Snake River for 330 miles, the pioneers rested above a bend in the river, at a place they called “Farewell Bend” where they found respite to fortify them for the travel inland to Oregon City.

Today Farewell Bend State Recreation Area, a state park in Baker County, is still a lovely respite, a place to camp and enjoy the refreshing coolness of the Snake River. An Oregon Trail exhibit commemorates the site where pioneers rested and viewed the river for one last time before continuing westward.

Wagon ruts can still be seen north of the park. A small iron cross, visible from U.S. 30, marks the location where Snake River Shoshone Indians battled with pioneer travelers in 1860. Restored covered wagons rest at the park entrance and next to the Oregon Trail kiosk.

Farewell Bend: A place to remember, a place to reflect, a place to rest.

We Found Heaven in Hells Canyon

Remote and wild, Hells Canyon is ruggedly striking. Skimming over the water on a jet boat river tour, we were awed with the canyon’s beauty and unbroken wilderness as the Snake River slices through steep canyon walls in broad, bending curves. I loved knowing that it looks much the same today as it did when Lewis and Clark made their way 100 miles up river during their expedition of 1806.

Nearly surrounded by national forests, Hells Canyon is bordered by three states: Idaho on its eastern rim, Oregon on the western border and Washington to the north.

Hells Canyon covers a 74-mile portion of the Snake River as it flows from Hells Canyon Dam to Cache Creek on the Oregon-Washington border. The Snake River’s 1,038-mile passage originates in northwest Wyoming and ends when it meets the Columbia River in southeast Washington.

Several outfits offer river tours of Hells Canyon and we chose a three-hour jet boat tour. After briefing us on the boat—a 26-passenger, 33-foot welded aluminum boat with twin inboard jet drives—the captain instructed us on safety procedures and we began our tour, entering on the Washington side. We first drew in close to Hells Canyon Dam which, as we fought the turbulent waters, proved what a powerful boat we rode. Then, with Idaho on our right and Oregon on our left, we began our journey down the Snake River.

Almost immediately on a bluff high above us, we saw a mother brown bear and her cub, rummaging for food. Around a bend, a bighorn sheep stood so still it looked as though he were posing to have his picture taken. Other wildlife commonly seen in the canyon are elk, cougar, mule deer and mountain goat. The area is a bird watchers’ favorite with many species of owls, hawks, eagles, falcons and songbirds of every description. The habitat is varied in Hells Canyon because of the extreme differences in elevation within a short distance, from 7,000 feet at Hat Point in Oregon, down to 1,500 feet on the Snake River, and back up to 9,393 feet in the Seven Devils Mountains in Idaho—all within a 10-mile horizontal distance.

Hells Canyon, the deepest river gorge in North America, has history dating back to prehistoric times. Geologists claim millions of years ago, lava or basalt formed bold cliffs, then later Hells Canyon was created by erosion as the Snake River cut its way through rocks of a rising mountain range. It is still being cut and is probably deeper and more rugged today than at any other time in its history. At the present time, the gorge measures up to a mile and a half from mountain top to river bottom.

Traces of human existence in Hells Canyon date back as far as 8,000 years, from prehistoric Native American tribes, to Chief Joseph’s band of the Nez Perce Indians, to the 1860s gold miners and late1800s homesteaders.

We stopped at one clearing on the Idaho side that was at one time a transient Native American camp. We viewed Indian pictographs with painted scenes, now a faded red but still visible, a cave believed to have sacred spirits, and the remains of a pithouse, a structure used before teepees.

In places along the river, traces of gold mining operations are evident where the miners sluiced water from the river over the ore.

Early homesteaders were as rugged as the surrounding terrain. Due to the difficulty in travel, most families left the homestead to make the journey back to civilization for supplies only every one to three years. Supplies reached them via floating river rafts. Mostly, they caught or grew everything they needed and traded with neighbors.

Jagged cliffs go straight up on either side. Some cliffs are basalt, many shiny with manganese, others, made of pillow lava, are lumpy. Where trees could grow, we saw sumac, a few pines and low-growing brush. At times the cliff flattened out to patches of meadow grass. The Forest Service maintains the Oregon side and some of the Idaho side; other parts on the Idaho side are private land. The Snake is the deepest river in North America and is popular for fishing sturgeon, small-mouth bass, steelhead, trout and catfish.

Hells Canyon—there’s nothing like it to get back to the basics of nature and unmatched scenic adventure.

The Coast is Clear: Oregon Lighthouses Shine Through

"Danger! Keep away!" For decades, ship captains have heeded warnings from lighthouses along Oregon's rugged coastline.

Lighthouses carry an image of by-gone days when ship captains depended on lighthouse guidance and trusted them for safety. Today, automated lighthouses still play an important part in coastal navigation, but with far less effort than in the past when safe shipping depended on an unerring light keeper and his light.

On a recent trip to Oregon's coast, we were "enlightened" with the stories behind these lighthouses that played such an important role in the state's history. While catching our breath after climbing the Yaquina Head Lighthouse tower's 114 steps, a volunteer guide explained the old-time light keeper's difficult job.

During the day, the keeper's main tasks were to trim the lamp wicks and clean soot, fuel and drippings from the lens. Keepers wore linen aprons so that they wouldn't scratch the lenses. Often times the keeper had an assistant, possibly a member of his family, and together they cleaned, polished and maintained the facilities.

When the light was lit at night and during foggy days, keepers made sure the lamp had sufficient fuel. This meant hauling fuel up the stairs to the top floor. Fuel varied ─ some lamps required lard, others whale or coal oil. The keeper’s duties also included winding the clock mechanism every four hours to ensure the light emitted its signature signal. On the occasions when the clockworks malfunctioned, the keeper on duty turned the lens by hand until dawn when repairs could be made.

The arrival of electricity in the 1930s marked the end of the need for many of the lighthouse keepers. Then, with automation in the 1960s, there was no longer a place, except in history, for the old-time light keeper.

The responsibility of Oregon's lighthouses eventually passed to the U.S. Coast Guard who became the caretaker of the properties and keeper of the lights. In the 1960s, after the installation of automated beacons, the Coast Guard began transferring their lighthouse holdings to other government agencies.

Today’s mariners still depend on these beacons for coastal navigation. The lighthouse serves more than just a warning of approaching land or rocks—each lighthouse's unique sequence of flashing lights is noted on navigation charts to enable the captain to determine the ship's position.

Oregon’s lighthouses provide unique destinations. Following are lighthouses open to the public, listed from north to south. Many are still in active use, others deactivated but worth a visit:

Cape Meares: Deactivated. A pretty little lighthouse with an unusual lens design.
Yaquina Head: Active. Tallest lighthouse on the Oregon Coast. Original Fresnel lens still in use.
Yaquina Bay: Deactivated. In service only 3 years. An unusual structure that combined lighthouse and living quarters.
Heceta Head: Active. Strongest light on Oregon coast. The keeper’s quarters is now a bed and breakfast.
Umpqua River: Active, with lens that emits distinctive red and white automated flashes. The first lighthouse in Oregon territory.
Coquille River: Deactivated. Last lighthouse built in Oregon.
Cape Blanco: Active. Has the longest continuously-operated beacon

Bridging Oregon's Coast

I began to think we were traveling in circles. Driving south on our way to Coos Bay, Oregon, we passed over an attractive bridge in Newport. It’s graceful arches spanned more than half a mile across the bay and, in the middle of the bridge, spires pointed to the sky, like miniature castles. Now, as we approached Waldport, we drove over another familiar-looking bridge. “Didn’t we just do this?”

What we were to discover is that along Highway 101, a stretch sometimes called the Oregon Coast Highway, a series of bridges look similar, and for very good reason. The same man, Conde B. McCullough (1887 - 1946) built most of the bridges linking the coastal highway. In the waterfront town of Waldport, we visited the historic Alsea Bay Bridge Interpretive Center to learn more about these fascinating structures.

Though McCullough designed hundreds of bridges in Oregon, it was not the quantity of bridges that made him famous, it was the quality and innovative graceful arches, pylons and spires.

Using the most advanced techniques of the day, McCullough built bridges with a combination of function, form and grace. He served Oregon’s State Highway Department from 1919 to 1946. Remember, in those days there were no design tools like computers or even calculators. Everything was done by hand. A display at the interpretive center shows a replica of McCullough’s office with its drafting table, wooden file drawers, a clunky typewriter and surveyor hand tools.

After World War I, the United States’ military encouraged the completion of the highway as a means of national security. With the popularity of automobile travel, the tourism industry added impetus to completing the highway. Up until that time, channels along the coast had to be crossed by ferry.

Many of McCullough’s bridges are eligible or have been listed on the National Register.

If you have a chance to visit Oregon’s spectacular coastline, be sure to take special notice of these inspiring structures.

BARNS: SYMBOLS OF OLD AMERICANA

Image by Bruce Trimble: OK Quarter Circle Barn, Built in 1933

America’s barns provide a nostalgic link to yesteryear. Before the advent of gasoline powered tractors, when teams of horses provided the necessary energy to produce our country’s food, the barn was the hub of American farms.

It was in the barn where the farmer sheltered horses, stored hay and grain, fed livestock, milked cows, stored and mended harnesses and other tack. The barn provided warmth and protection needed for birthing farm animals. Our agricultural ancestors conducted much of their daily business in the family barn–it often provided space for dances, weddings, church services, community meetings and a spacious, exciting play arena for farm children.

In Eastern Oregon’s Wallowa Valley, a tour of America’s past is offered in the form of a self-guided barn tour. Following an excellent guide book, The Wallowa Valley Barn Tour II (see details at the end of this blog) visitors are given driving directions to several area barns.

The nostalgic barn tour involves barns of all sizes and shapes, many of which are being used today though rarely for the purpose for which they were originally built. The snow-capped peaks of the Wallowa Mountains tower over rolling fields of hay, peas, wheat and other crops, accenting the area’s spectacular variety of barns.

The flavors of country are bountiful here. In the early summer, fields of brilliant wildflowers--purple, yellow, white and orange--provide excellent photographic opportunities. Meadowlarks, barn swallows, magpies and owls are in generous supply and the air is filled with their melodious songs. Deer graze with little fear, as long as visitors keep their distance. Stock–horses, cattle and sheep–view newcomers with curiosity and it’s not unusual for horses to crane their necks over the fence to get a better look.

You can drive for miles before encountering another vehicle, and then it’s inevitably the locals’ vehicle of choice, a diesel, 4-wheel drive, flat-bed pick-up, sporting one or two border collies (the obvious dog of choice) scrambling to balance themselves on a tool box in the back. These are working dogs, by the way, not your fluffy city pooch. These no-nonsense dogs have real work to do in gathering, cutting, and generally keeping stock in line. Many of the dogs looked as though they would neither appreciate nor tolerate a pat on the head by a stranger.

Especially in the early days, many farm families lived in sub-standard housing while investing their money and labor in erecting a sturdy barn. The barn was the core of their existence, a necessary element from which their livelihood stemmed.

Barns often reflected builders’ ancestry with design characteristics of German, English and Scandinavian influences. Later, barn designs of New England, Pennsylvania and Kansas were transplanted and adapted to America’s West and built with materials at hand. Roof slopes, barn construction, the shape of windows, rain hoods, ventilating cupolas, lightning balls and weathervanes often indicate a barn’s cultural history. The sides of Pennsylvania Dutch barns often sport colorful geometric decorations known as hex signs, occasionally seen in western barns today.

Connected farm buildings, called rambling barns, evolved so that the farmer could avoid trips outdoors in harsh weather. At the same time, the configuration of a rambling barn blocks winter winds, providing a protected barnyard for the animals.

The color red is a common color for a barn and is traditionally the result of old-time farmers preserving their weatherboards with a mixture of materials at hand–red oxide from their soil, linseed oil from their flax crop and casein from cows’ milk. Or, to cut expenses, a farmer could sometimes get a free paint job by allowing a company to paint an advertisement on his barn.

Barns connect us to our past but the need for them has become functionally obsolete. Work horses once used for plowing, planting and harvesting have been largely replaced with high-powered machines. Today, specialty buildings have largely taken the place of the all-purpose barn.

Preserving barns is a noble endeavor which provides a link to our past. Caring for these structures is expensive and time-consuming. Even so, replacing or repairing a roof, painting, shoring up the side of a barn, buys communities time to cling to our country’s agricultural past, a chance to recognize and appreciate our heritage.

In some parts of the country efforts to preserve barns have gained popularity. While the individual family farm is slowly disappearing, there are still families whose livelihood depend on their land and what it can produce. Many of these families are investing time and money to preserve their barns. In some cases, community organizations have chipped in to save barns from their inevitable demise.

Touring Eastern Oregon’s Wallowa Valley barns, whether to photograph, sketch, paint or simply appreciate, is immensely rewarding. Viewing yesteryear’s barns gives us a rich appreciation of our rural heritage and of those people who today are preserving that heritage by lovingly caring for these relics of the past.

Acknowledgment: An excellent guide book, The Wallowa Valley Barn Tour II, provides pictures and historic information on the area’s barns. The book is available through The Bookloft, 107 East Main Street, Enterprise, OR 97828, or call (541) 426-3351.