We’re at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Redmond, Oregon. I need to catch up on the activities of the last couple of days.
On Saturday evening, dinner was provided by the Alpine Coach Association (ACA). In addition to more pizza than we could possibly eat, ACA attendees brought salad or dessert to share. We had been given some big, ripe Oregon peaches as a welcome gift that Donna used to make a peach and wild blackberry galette (an unstructured pie). Shade was precious – we had another hot day with the temperature reaching 97 degrees by 5:30pm.
Dave Hobden brought a growler of Belgian Witbier to our table, of which I helped myself to a couple of glasses. It went well with the pizza.
On Sunday morning, Donna and I left the park on the scooter a little past 8am. We headed east through Troutdale on the Old Historic Columbia River Highway. It was a beautiful road, winding along the Sandy River at first. The surface was recently paved and very smooth.
The road took us through the town of Corbett and past the Vista House. We didn’t make any stops as we were bound for Multnomah Falls. The ACA was treating us to brunch at the Multnomah Falls Lodge. Brunch was scheduled for 9am and we wanted to arrive early so we could hike up to the bridge at the falls before brunch.
Multnomah Falls view from the parking area
We walked to the lower pavilion and took a few photos. We lingered there too long and decided to hike to the bridge after brunch.
Upper and lower falls from the pavilion
I was there
The bridge spanning the nine-foot drop between the upper and lower falls was financed by Simon Benson and completed in 1914. It’s called the Benson Bridge. Earlier this year, a large rock fell from the cliffs above and damaged the west end of the bridge. Engineers determined that the damage was cosmetic. The hole was repaired and the bridge re-opened. There have been a few mishaps on the bridge in the 100 years it’s been standing, but it’s still the original structure.
View from Benson Bridge, looking down the lower falls
Brunch was served in the Multnomah Lodge restaurant. The lodge was built in 1925. The brunch was an all-you-can-eat, buffet-style meal. It was outstanding! There was a huge variety of food, including eggs benedict and poached Copper River salmon, all of it tastefully prepared.
By the time we made it up to the Benson Bridge around 10:30am, it was crowded with tourists.
Donna and I rode the same route back, but this time we stopped at the Vista House Observatory. The Vista House is on Crown Point and offers a scenic view of the Columbia River to the east and west. The Vista house is a domed rotunda on an octagonal base. The base is about 64 feet in diameter and the dome stands 55 feet high. It was completed in 1918. Crown Point stands about 700 feet above the Columbia River.
Columbia Gorge to the east from the Vista House
After we returned, Donna went out for a bike ride, back down the Old Historic Columbia River Highway and across the Sandy River on Stark Street, eventually hitting the Springwater Trail. While she was out, I made a run to the store to replenish my beer supply. Then I organized the trailer and loaded the scooter. After Donna returned from a 30-mile loop in the heat of the day, concluding with a jump in Blue Lake, I loaded her bike in the trailer.
We planned to hit the road by 8:45am Monday morning. We were up early and made our final preparations. I filled the fresh water tank and dumped the holding tanks. We won’t have fresh water or sewer hook-ups for the week while we’re in Redmond.
I hooked up the trailer at 8:30am. Dave and Stilla Hobden were ready to roll and we followed them out of the park. Our plan was to caravan for the 135-mile trip to Redmond. Dave had walkie-talkies. He gave one to Donna so we could communicate if necessary. We were rolling down the road by 8:45am.
We followed US26 from Gresham past Mt. Hood. US26 is mostly a two-lane highway with a few climbs. We were able to maintain the speed limit most of the time. Near Warm Springs, we drove in the right lane where there was a section of highway with a passing lane. Some cars passed us there. The last car to pass was slowly overtaking as the passing lane ended. He crossed the double yellow line to get around Dave’s coach. An Oregon State Trooper was sitting in his car on the opposite shoulder. His lights lit up and he whipped a quick U-turn. Bad decision by the driver of the car. I’m sure it cost him.
The ACA members coming to the Family Motor Coach Association Convention in Redmond staged at the school grounds on the north side of Redmond. We split into three groups to stagger our arrival at the fairgrounds. This way, we could have our group parked together without overwhelming the parking staff.
I was in the last group, since I had to drop our trailer. The guys organizing our parking area found a great spot for my trailer. It’s fairly close to our site. It was an easy pull through to drop it and it should be easy to hook up when we leave.
After setting up, I took the scooter to reconnoiter the area. After getting wrong directions a few times, I finally found the will-call area and picked up our packet. At 3pm, I attended the volunteer cart drivers’ meeting. I will drive a golf cart to transport people to and from the handicapped area. We expect more than 3,000 people here by tomorrow and through the weekend. My golf cart shift starts tomorrow, from 6:30am to 9:30am. I have the same shift on Friday. Other than that, I’m free to enjoy the show.
The heat wave continued. The thermometer hit 95 degrees here yesterday. Around dinner time, a thunderstorm blew in. The wind was swirling as the raindrops fell. We stayed indoors and watched Good Will Hunting in remembrance of Robin Williams. RIP Robin.
Between the golf-cart duty and the seminars I want to attend, I’m not sure when I’ll write my next post.