Sumpter Valley Railroad's Newest Engineer!!! ME!!!!!

This was the first run of the year for the Sumpter Valley Railroad's 1915 Heisler geared wood-fired steam engine, probably the only one left running in the world!!!  It was a chartered run for thirty of the local townsfolk ... it just happened that Dan received an email the morning before saying we could join in for a measly $14.00 each.  After spending the night in their huge parking lot, we headed to the station at McEwen.

 Here she is ... a real beauty!!!  After filling the tank with water and the tinder box with wood ... REAL wood ... we climbed aboard for a cinder-filled ride in an open car.  They had two enclosed passenger cars, but we chose to ride outside!!

She was built for the W. H. Eccles Lumber Company and used in this area for many years.  This entire 6 mile railroad line is run by volunteers.  They get some grant money for restoration of cars, but the actual operations are all voluntary man hours.  They need every passenger they can get to stay in business ... so PLEASE come ride this beauty, and maybe make a donation so they can keep going!!!

I LOVE the deer horns on the front!!

 Ready to roll ...

 Just before we reached Sumpter, the train robbers showed up.  Actually we knew they were coming ... they parked in the same parking lot!!!  Wow!!  There were about 15 of them!!  A couple of Sheriff Deputies on the train tried to shoot back (scaring the heck out of the horses), but to no avail.
                                     

 Uh ... someone needs to tell them to pull the handkerchief up to cover their faces!!

 They got the Wells Fargo box and all the gold!!!  Divided between 15 of them won't amount to much ... hope they don't quit their day jobs!!!

The Brakeman, a young guy of about 30 something, said this robbery would bring Sumpter a little closer to receivership!!   He was very knowledgable about everything on this train ... seems he's been working here since he was 12 years old!!!

Once in Sumpter, we headed down the hill to the Gold Dredge.  This country is covered with rock piles left by this behemoth.  The huge buckets to the right, scraped up the sand and gravel, transferring it to the trommel that screened the material.  The fines were then sent through a sluice box and the collected sand and gold processed.    With the high water table in this valley, it floated on the pond it created as it moved, digging ahead and depositing the tailings behind.

 I'm pretty sure everyone who worked here, must have been deaf.  I can't imagine how noisy all this machinery must have been when running.

 Cable system to lower and raise the diggers.

The trommel was belt driven by these huge gears!!

Four whistle blows signaled it was time to leave.  Standing on the platform, I heard the Brakeman say "Jeremy, you can ride in the cab".  I said "OH ... thank you!!!  I would LOVE to ride in the cab!!"  To my shock and amazement, he said "sure ... climb on in!"  In two seconds I was up the ladder and parked in a corner.  Here's Jim, the Engineer ... he gave me instruction on braking ... how it worked, what lever to pull and how to watch the gauges for brake pressure ... and why we didn't have any brakes because they were giving them problems right now!!!  UH OH ... maybe I don't want to be here after all!!!  

We talked the entire way, me learning all I could about how to run this baby.  The Fireman, Brett, explained about adding water to the boiler and keeping the pressure at a constant rate to provide the steam to keep her rolling, all the while adding wood to the firebox.  

 The pressure gauge up close ...  we kept an eye on this the entire trip.

 We checked the water level, tweaked a couple of valves ....

and added more wood!!!!  Sitting up here, you can really feel the power.  Getting up a little speed downhill felt a little free wheeling out of control, until we applied the brakes, which were sort of working!!  

 Leaning out the Fireman's window, I caught Dan taking a picture of me taking a picture of him!!!

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end as we pulled into the McEwen station ... I got a big hug from Brett and a bigger hug from Jim.   I climbed down the ladder, jumping up and down with excitement!!!  I'll remember this once in a lifetime cab ride forever!!  

I'm sorry Dan ... I know you would have liked to be in my place.  I'm pretty sure it was the blond Nancy, sweet smile, eyelash batting, hip swivel that got me up there!!!  

Head 'Em Up!!

After a couple more quilt store stops for Patty and an Ace Hardware heater stop for me, we headed off to Baker City and the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center for a rush one hour tour.  Since I'm behind in blogging due to my internet connection (which after 2 hrs on the phone has been fixed ... sort of), I'll just show some images without much writing ...

Inside was a portrayal of a wagon train on the trail, which passed over this very area.

I was expecting plastic animals ... and was very surprised to find they were all taxidermy of the real thing.

 As you walked by each section, a recording would play of the conversation that might be taking place at that instant in time.

 Here's a pic of a real family crossing the Oregon Trail.

Being such a horse lover, this poor guy was a little disturbing .... 

 A look out the window gave us a first hand view of the trail ... we didn't have time to walk down to the  "actual" trail, so I took this image instead.  A beautiful country if you hadn't already lost several members of your family on this monumental trek.

They closed at 4:00 and were shooing us out ... I purchased a couple of books to read .. first hand accounts and diaries.

Back at the rigs in McEwen, we excitedly await the Heisler wood burning steam train we are riding tomorrow morning.  There will be no sleeping tonight!!!

A Quiet Rainy Day ...

MY weather station said it was going to be sunny for the next ten days, but they were wrong.  It started raining early yesterday and continued until this morning.  There wasn't much on the agenda today.  A trip to Costco for a few supplies ended in a $75.00 bill, mostly batteries!  Patty and I cruised the aisles for lunch like true "old" folks.  The energy bar was nasty ... dry and not very tasty.  The granola with soy milk was good, but high in calories (I can't believe I put soy milk in my mouth!!!).  The multi grain tortilla chips were awesome (I bought a bag big enough to last all summer).  Patty said she could make the dip that came with them cheaper, so we passed on that.  The cheese on a cracker was easily passed on ... then we came to the rigatoni with meat sauce.  We LOVED it ... but Dan turned up his nose, so that was a no too.  Tell the truth now ... I KNOW all of you have cruised the aisles.

There wasn't enough to satisfy Dan's appetite, so Jakes helped out with a bacon cheeseburger.  The soup I had tasted like Campbells, but was filling enough.  The cornbread was a little better.

Back home, we quickly dropped Dan off and headed out to the last quilt store.  It was Patty's time to buy ... you know there is no sales tax in Oregon!!  South in LaPine, we found food for my Jeep at $3.99 for regular.  Ouch!!  At the quilt store, we oohed and awwed at the amazing number of rainbow colored fabrics and  Patty found three flannel pieces for her rag quilt.  A quick stop at the bank to replenish my cash stash, and we headed back home.

BBQ'd ribs, squash and baked beans made a delicious dinner!   Hey Patty ... maybe we need to make just one more "quick" quilt store stop!!!

I Could Live Here ... Yup I Could!!

That's what you would have heard were you in Dan's jeep yesterday as we drove through the mountains.  Heading for Tumalo Falls, we drove a long loop around Mount Bachelor.  I like Dan's style of driving ... he's like a photographer.  If you see something that looks interesting, STOP!!  The first screeching of brakes brought us to Crane Prairie Dam on the Deschutes River.  We walked across the small earthen dam until we ran into a cabin with a nice hammock.  I could live here!!!

We drove about 50 miles around the Cascade Lakes Highway loop and stopped a couple of times along the way for photos.  Here was a beauty of Mt Bachelor ... or Broken Top ... or South Sister ... there are so many beautiful mountains, I never really knew which one we were looking at.  I can tell you they were  all gorgeous!!

There were lots of lakes, most of which we couldn't get to.  It's a little early in the season here and all the gates were locked.  Not that that would have stopped me, but it was VERY cold!!  Most of the meadows were swampy with lots of snow still on the ground.  I sure would like to live here!!

Devils Lake with crystal clear water, was surrounded by snow too.  Because of the clouds blocking the sunshine, we didn't stay outside very long!!!

Further around we found a sign showing a photographer (sorry, I can't remember his name) who stated he thought this was the most beautiful spot ever to photograph.  I agree.  I think I could live here!!

After a stop at Mount Bachelor Ski Resort to watch the skiers hitting the slopes at about 7,000 feet, we headed back to Bend to find Tumalo Falls.  A couple of miles on a dirt road brought us to this beauty.

It's only 89 feet high, but it's spectacular!!  If you look in the top left hand corner, you can see the viewpoint railing.  A short 1/4 mile walk up an easily accessible trail, gets you to the top where you can lean over and look down.

This huge dead tree is definitely in the way of a great photo, but doesn't look like it's moving any time soon.  The red at the bottom of the falls is a different layer of rock.

Yes ... I definitely think I could live here!!

While driving around, I received a call that my Jeep was ready at Smolich Motors.  Window motor fixed ... no charge ... and Patty and I were off and running.  We had three more quilt shops to hit!!

If you are a quilter, DEFINITELY come to Bend.  I've never seen so many quilt shops in one town.  There are three in Bend and eight within 20 miles.  I picked up a fairly easy pattern for a rag quilt and found several pieces of flannel.  Actually I found 13 pieces of flannel!!

And we still have ONE MORE SHOP!!!!

I could live here ... yup I could!!

Being Adventurous!!

We dropped my Jeep off at the dealership with an estimate of $.00.  Thank goodness it's still under warranty.  I jumped in with Patty and Dan and we headed North, but didn't get much further than Black  Bear Diner for breakfast.  In about an hour I received a phone call from the dealership that my Jeep window motor was broken.  A new motor from Portland would arrive in the morning and should be ready by 10:30.  Pretty cool!!

Dan had heard about a Crooked River Dinner Train, so he drove that general direction, through Redmond and Terrebonne.  Little did he know that Patty and I had a long list of quilt shops to visit in that area.  Past lots of horse country, we found the Crooked River Ranch RV Park.  We would never have found it without being adventurous and just taking off on side roads.  A big surprise at the RV park was the Hollywood Road.  It's not shown on any map, nor is it listed in the credits of the infamous movie that was filmed here.

The Way West, starring Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum and Richard Widmark was filmed in the 1960's.  The Hollywood road was built to haul cameras and stars to the bottom of the canyon.

Here the road continues to the bottom.  The dramatic finale of the film is when wagons, horses and people are lowered over the cliffs to the bottom as they conquer the last obstacle on their way west.

Dick Chandler, one of the original ranch hands on the property said he enjoyed working with everyone except Richard Widmark, who drank too much!!  The movie didn't win any oscars, it was a big flop.  I saw it many years ago on a "B" Western channel ... it wasn't memorable except for lowering the wagons.  I remember being pretty impressed by that!!

Next to the RV park is a beautiful golf course ... the Statewide Moose Tournament is being held here next week.  What a great place we found ... oh and they have full hookups with lots of room.

Unfortunately, I don't have many photos on this day's trip.  I left my camera in the rig and had to use my cell phone!!  Bad Nancy!!  

On the ride back Dan was nice enough to stop at several quilt shops where I scored big time.  When we pick up my car today, we will probably stop at a couple more!!  We cruised around the general neighborhood looking for the train tracks.  Dan was told at the RV park that it had gone out of business some time ago.  $100 for a dinner train was too expensive for the locals.  We did locate the tracks but no train cars were found.  

Back home, my puppies were glad to see me!!  Some excellent tri tip barbecued by Dan made the end of good day,  really great!!!

Oregon Volcanos ... Who Knew??

7000 years ago this area was covered with cinder cones, volcanos and lava tubes.  We headed out to  see Pilot Butte first.  Both Pilot and Lava buttes are very tall cones that stick up out of the valley.  The views were amazing, which is why the Indians who were here first, were able to see the trappers and pioneers heading their way.  The pioneer woman in this image didn't look any too happy!!

Today it seems to be used by people eager to stay in shape.  There were 15 or 20 hiking/running up the steep narrow road to the top.  Here's a view of Bend looking West.

After a couple failed attempts to find a quartz heater for my rig (the one I have has a fan that is VERY noisy), we headed to Lava Butte.  This volcano spewed out tons of lava over a large area which is still very visible today.  It looks like it just happened!!  The views from the top were spectacular at over 5000 feet.

The lava not only encircles the mountain, but the main flow actually went across the Deschutes River.

At the very top perched on the edge of the crater was a fire lookout station.

And local residents came out to greet the cars!!

There were even dragons in the crater ...

After a very cold, windy walk around the outside edge, we headed off to the Lava River Cave.

Upon arrival, the lady said we need light to see inside, which they conveniently had to rent for $5.00.  Dan led down into the cold dark damp cave!!  At 42 degrees, it felt pretty good for the first three minutes.  As we moved down the 150 stairs, it got VERY dark and I got VERY claustrophobic!!

As soon as we got around the corner, we couldn't see or hear anything!!  The lamp did provide enough light to see that the tube was huge at this point.  According to the handout, it eventually tapers down to a large sand plug closing it off.  We never got that far ... in fact, it's about a mile long and we made it in 1/5 of that distance.  Funny, all the school kids that passed us had flashlights!!  Along the way we discovered lavacicles ....

These are formed when water drips from the ceiling ...  You can see part of the walkway here, although most of the "hiking" was very slick and rocky.

This image shows where the lava ran through.  When the lava quit flowing, the tunnel emptied out.  First discovered by a farmer, he used it to keep his venison cold ... like a fridge!!

On the way out, we turned in our $5.00 lamp to discover we could have gotten flashlights for FREE!!  The nice lady forgot to mention that part.  One of these days I'd like to hike to the very end ... with my headlamps and flashlights in hand!!  But then Dan reminded me the last time I went in a cave with his group, I made it about 12 steps before I came out screaming and crying!!  Moaning Cavern entrance was only two feet wide and five foot tall when I discovered I was claustrophobic!!  In this one however, you don't have any idea how tall or wide the cave is because you can't see two feet in front of you.  Wear good tennis shoes and bring a coat ... along with your biggest flashlight!