June 15: Pendleton Underground Excursion
We docked at Umatilla right after breakfast this morning and by 9:30 we were on the bus headed towards Pendleton - home of the famous Pendleton Round-Up, one of the biggest rodeos in the country. It was about a 45 minute drive and the first stop was at the Pendleton Underground Tours where Kim and I were photographed "in costume!" I DO have a picture of us in reverse roles, but the red dress is just not as becoming on me as it is on my lovely wife :) We were in the second group, which meant a delay of about fifteen minutes, and then we were underway. It was interesting to see the underground which had housed legitimate businesses, the Chinese immigrants, and many illegal activities. One statistic we found curious was that there were 12 saloons and 17 brothels - and those "establishments" lasted until the early 1950s; and one stayed open for business until 1967! What we saw was only a part of the underground city which was many blocks long and wide, so this is only a glimpse......
After the tour of the underground we had about half an hour to walk around the small town of Pendleton before meeting at Hamley's Steakhouse for lunch. We'd pre-ordered and the restaurant was open exclusively for guests of the Queen of the West! After lunch as we were finishing up Dan came back from the restrooms and said to me with a big smile, "You need to go to the men''s room.....and take your camera. I'm not sure if what you'll see can go into your journal, but it definitely needs to be documented!" I was curious so I did as directed. I walked in and saw the urinals, sink and mirror. Hmm, nothing of unique photographic quality here; check in the stall, nope. Then as I walked over nearer the urinals I saw what was on the wall.....oh my! You'll see a collage at the bottom of the journal in the "ADULTS ONLY" section of this journal writing ..... don't say you weren't warned. Apparently the women's facilities were similarly adorned :)
Once we boarded the bus we headed to the Native American reservation. We had an hour to visit their museum and while we typically would never need that much time, both Kim and I agreed it was truly interesting. It was enough to cause us to feel some embarassment as we walked through the exhibits portraying what had happened to the tribe. Most disturbing was the story of the Dalles Dam. Our driver had alluded to it on the return from Maryhill Winery the other day but it didn't sink in. For hundreds of years along the Columbia River there was a meeting place for all the tribes of the Pacific Northwest for trading and celebrating and most especially for fishing. This was at the Ceilio Falls. But when the dam was put in - without, as it was noted in one of the films, any environmental study or cultural impact study - the level of the river rose so high that it completely "buried" the falls and surrounding area. You can see the before and after photo below. In the "after" photo you note one of the "fishing stands" - we'd seen this as we cruised by the other day and I wondered what it was .....sad.
After the visit to the museum one had one final stop at a wool producing factory. The tour was interesting and after about 40 minutes we headed back. It was about an hour drive and the most interesting part of the return was that it rained the entire way.......that's of interest because this area typicall has over 300 days of sunshine and only receives EIGHT inches of rain, a YEAR! But the day we were visiting, it rained! After dinner we went through another lock that was so amazing......it was over 100 feet deep as we pulled in and then the water raised us up to the top. WOW. The day was capped with a spectacular sunset! Tomorrow is our final day on board - we sail up to Clarkston, Washington and have a Jet Boat Tour (all day) through scenic Hell's Canyon.
ADULTS ONLY SECTION!
Proceed at your own risk - photos from the uniquely styled men's restroom....
No comments:
Post a Comment