May 4 Oregon on Oregon Trail

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May 4th, 2011 Wildhorse RV Park, Umatillo Indian Reservation—a few miles outside of Pendleton, Oregon. Clear and cold 59 degrees. 9:30 am. 5785 mileage

Went into town of Pendleton and saw where they hold the Pendleton Round-up every year. Really nice bronze bucking horse in front. Stopped at Safeway for gas as they were the cheapest we saw and learned that by state law you cannot pump your own gas. Paid $3.899 per gal. mileage 5794. As we left town and went to get on the freeway, there was an extremely well done life size diorama of two cowboys herding a small herd of Herefords.

About 50 miles north-west of Pendleton, came to the Columbia River and was surprised at how desolate the area was with that much water right there. No trees except those that had been planted. Further along west we went the more desolate the land became with just sage brush growing. There was just barely enough flat land along the river for the 4 lanes of highway and the railroad tracks. At some points, the outside lanes that we were in, swung out into the river as there was not enough flat land to accommodate the 4 lanes and railroad between the side of the cliff and the river.

Saw several dams along the way and finally after 50 miles or more the land changed back into the pretty Oregon type vegetation. The Oregon Trail didn’t go down along the river but instead followed the bluffs or they built rafts and floated down the treacherous Columbia. In 1846, a road/pass was built but, it required a steep climb to the pass before going down into the Willamette Valley.

About 30 miles east of Portland the scenery got very pretty with waterfalls and the Hood River fruit trees in bloom. We skirted Portland on a by-pass freeway and made our way to Oregon City on the Willamette River which was the final destination of the Oregon pioneers. We had a bit more to travel to get to our cousin’s home as they live in Beaver Creek a very rural community nearby. We arrived about 4:30 at mileage 6022.

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