for the next few days i stayed in central oregon and took a few days rest. one day i visited the williamette heritage center which was a very interesting and different experience from other historical sites. it is a collection of historical buildings from around the area that tell the regional history, but is also a place where local events are held and a venue for private events. the main entrance is also a gift shop and there are several booths with local sellers such as pendleton apparel, a dress maker, and even a hat maker.
some of the historic buildings.
when you buy an admission ticket, you get a key that allows you into most if the historical building that hold the exhibits. this is because the site is mixed use. such a weird detail, but it was a nice little addition to the experience. i had never been given a key. before & i have been to more museums around the world than the average person.
also on site is the mill. of course this was an original building to the property. also running through the site is an aqueduct or canal that helped generate the mill.
the thomas kay woolden mill (1895)
some of the machines were running, so that was cool.
the blacksmith / garage
i then went to downtown salem and had lunch (which included a delicious cheesy soup & cubano sandwhich) in a café and visited an antique store. for being a state capital it is not very busy and also being a rather small state it is quite a sprawling downtown area mostly full of mid rise historic buildings. i enjoyed walking around and seeing the little historical details of the architecture as many of the buildings are from the 1800s or early 1900s.
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a few days later, i only went out for only a few hours, but was a tourist. i started my day by first going to a café to get a snack and a coffee drink. it was very cute and housed in an old theater.
a latte & scone.
next i visited the oregon state hospital, an old mental asylum that is located on what is still a psychiatric hospital. this is a very interesting museum as there are not many out there that focus on the history of an asylum especially telling the history of the controversial methods used in the past (such as lobotomies, electroconvulsive therapy, & eugenics). the grounds is still a hospital but this part of the building is now a museum (the hospital is still in operation & was opened in 1862). inside is a small museum but talks about the people who stayed here & the different ways patients were treated within the span of over 100 years. one of the most interesting patients was courtney love.
c. 1883
here is where they also filmed one flew over the cuckoo's nest (when the building was still in service).
it was learned in the 2000s that the hospital had over 5,000 copper canisters of cremains. the hospital was stuck in a pickle because over the years when patients died, no relatives either knew, were located, or wanted to pick up the remains but the hospital could also not release the names to the public due to confidentiality. in 2007, the hospital had permission to release the names for decedents to collect the remains. there is now a memorial with all the copper canister cremains that have not been collected.
interestingly, the area is a campus that has several historic buildings nearby that appear to maybe where the workers lived. i tried researching what these buildings were because they are obviously original, but did not find any additional info. they are not a part of the museum.
my friend in the mall.
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a few days later i started my day by visiting my beloved cracker barrel. as everyone knows cracker barrel is one of my favorite places to eat. i just love it. i love the music. i love the vibes. i love the gift shop. i love the food. i love how affordable it is. unfortunately all three cracker barrel's in oregon have since closed. this is unfortunate as i visit the state quite a bit. the host even gave me a sample of the riesen candy, a nostalgic candy for me as my grandma used to have it on her all the time (accompanied with werthers).
my delicious meal: a latte, trout, brocolli, mashed potatoes (with country gravy of course), & biscuits.
i then made my way to the aurora, which was first established as the aurora colony in 1856. the town was an utopian christian colony. i am neither a christian nor utopian, but it is now a historic site & sounded interesting. i really do enjoy learning about communities' origins & local history. today the commercial part of the town is mostly antique stores & a national historic district, 2 of my favorite things. unfortunately i visited on a tuesday which is a day where most of the stores & sites are actually closed. there were enough antique stores to keep me busy & i did make a few purchases.
unfortunately the museum was closed :(
the old southern pacific railroad station
it was fall time, so the buildings were dressed in their finest harvest garb :)
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a few days later later, i packed up & continued my trip south to california. i did not visit much this day as it was mostly driving. the one stop was near the california and oregon border and was a last-minute addition, the siskiyou smokejumper museum.
i am glad I went as it was a very different historical site about some thing i did not know anything about but was a little troublesome to visit. once i arrived, i discovered i had to call a number to let the volunteer know i was there. i was then met by a middle aged history buff who also wanted a tour. a few minutes later a young shirtless man in a truck arrived to give us a tour; his father was one of the smokejumpers. most of the people involved with the site are volunteers that were either a smokejumper or knew someone. unfortunately to my surprise you can only take a guided tour (nothing against the site, it is just not my jam).
the us forestry has smokejumpers who are literally firefighters who jump out of planes with parachutes to land in trees to extinguish small firest fires before they get too big. they are really the first responders for forest fires. this location opened as a response to wwii & closed in 1981. an interesting facts is that men drafted in the war, but whose religious beliefs opposed war, could instead be a smokejumper; most of these folks were mennonites. this location is no longer open, but the occupation still exists at other stations. throughout the country, but are mostly in the western region.
we got to go inside the old office building & the garage. in the garage is where their suits and parachutes are. the men actually had to mend their own suits and parachutes. the sewing machines are still in there. the shortest smokejumper was 4'11 & i got to see his itty bitty suit compared to the others.
the garage
i drove over into california, which was quite the scenic drive. i made a quick stop in cresent city for some food & then made my way to the elk prairie campground. the campground is part of the state park system in the redwoods (a shared area that is both state & nps). it seemed to be the less popular campground, but when planning my trip, this was the only state campsite in the redwoods taking online reservations. it turned out to be one of my favorite campgrounds of the trip. as you approach, there is a big prairie, but the actual campsites are in the trees & there is a popular trail nearby where you can see some of the older & bigger redwoods.
behind the campground was a river. it was a very romantic spot to eat my cheeseburger.
lastly, the one downside. it is not that big of a deal, but there is absolutely no reception near the area (i always expect this because the point of camping is the isolation). the front gate & station has wifi, but it is a bit of a walk from the campsites. i am not one of those campers that care about reception, but it is nice as a solo traveler to have the ability to let other know i am ok. it did give me an excuse to take a twilight stroll (luckily with no elk around).
oh and of course the showers. i hate when a token is required.
