Event 28 in the 50@50 Project brought us to the northeast corner of Oregon. And - WOW - is about all I can say! It's been a week and I'm still kicking myself for never visiting this area before. It is absolutely beautiful. If you haven't been - get thee to there post haste.
As you know, we had just done the ORRC '4 on the 4th' run in the morning. We got home, showered and packed the SUV, loaded the mountain bikes and hit the road for the drive east. We were excited for this trip because, really, this was our honeymoon. We got hitched in September but never got away to celebrate. So, yeah, we were pumped up for this little getaway. Of course, we never seem to go anywhere that doesn't have a race of some sort attached to it! I think we got into this 'habit' back in 2008 when we ran the Whidbey Island Marathon. "Let's go check out Whidbey Island - oh and run 26.2 miles while we're there." We did the same thing in February 2009 when we celebrated Valentine's Day in Austin, TX by again running a full marathon.
What the hell is wrong with us?! Haha!
Running four miles then jumping in the car for a six hour drive may not be the best idea but it wasn't too bad. Okay, I'm lying a little. The last hour or so was pretty rough. I was tired and had a headache. No coffee and not enough water did me in. This was a part of Oregon I had never seen before so once we got off the freeway at Pendleton it was all new territory. The one lane road with lots of twists and turns kept my attention, to be sure.
We arrived at the Rim Rock Inn, which is in... nowhere. Really. It's a fantastic little place that sits off Highway 3, about 35 miles due north of Enterprise, OR in the middle of nowhere. The inn sits on the edge of Joseph Canyon near the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. I cannot stress enough: if you are looking for a unique getaway at a place that is as gorgeous as they come that is run by the most awesome couple ever, book a stay at the Rim Rock Inn. www.rimrockinnor.com You will thank me.
We were met at the front desk/bar by Lindsay (one half of the caretaker couple) who said "You must be checking in for a stay in the tepee." Yes, tepees. I said it was unique, right? They have three tepees - we were in the smallest, the 16 footer, and it gave us plenty of room. They have two others that are even bigger. They also have a more traditional room on the main floor as well as a 'suite' above the restaurant which has (I believe) two bedrooms and a full kitchen. Then there is the Mustang Sally Bunkhouse, which is a... mmmm, best to click the link and check it out for yourself. Throw in the Looking Glass Platform Tent room (read up on that one, too), add some tent sites, and you have a very cool, quirky place to spend a few days.
Don't get the idea that staying here means you're 'roughing it'. The ground inside our tepee was covered with a wicker mat and had a small area rug; we had a futon mattress on the ground, with sheets and Pendleton wool blankets; they provide towels, shampoo, conditioner, etc. plus locally handmade soaps and chocolates; a lantern and flashlight; a chiminea with all the firewood you could ever burn; adirondack chairs. Inside the main house are two shared bathrooms and two shower rooms. The inn has a bar (wine and beer only) and a restaurant. Lindsay's husband, Mike, does the cooking. The two of them do pretty much everything around the place, in fact. Their three year old son, Sebastian, supervises them to keep them on task. And Simon runs herd on Sebastian. Simon is their dog.
After getting settled in, we broke out some wine and food, lit up the chiminea and got comfortable in the chairs. The shadows spread across the canyon as the sun set, then the stars began appearing a few at a time, it seemed. Having lived in the city for so long, I always forget just how breathtaking the night sky can be when you lose the ambient city light. Camera Crew recalled some of her astronomy from years gone by and pointed out different constellations. It was a pretty magical night.
The next morning, we thoroughly enjoyed the breakfast spread put out by Mike and Lindsay. So wonderful - and included in your room cost! Scratch made biscuits and gravy, cheeses, charcuterie, fruits, breads, great coffee, tea, juice. Our plan for the day was to eat then go mountain biking, early before it got too hot. But, surprisingly, Camera Crew just wanted to languish for a bit so we finished eating but stayed up on the deck enjoying more coffee (me) and tea (her). We read and relaxed. For me, this comes easily. But for CC, I was a little shocked. She is the one who is usually more like: "Okay, breakfast is done. Let's load up the bikes and hit the road." I have to admit the roles were reversed this time! I was getting a little antsy to get going while she was "I think I'll have a little more tea and maybe some more blueberries." Freaked me out, man!
Eventually, we got moving and drove south to Enterprise, then six miles SE to Joseph, OR. We stopped at the local bike shop to ask about cool spots to mountain bike. Now, when I say 'bike shop' I mean the local hardware store. Cool story: Joseph Hardware is a family owned business in this small town. It's your typical hardware store - everything you need is probably in there somewhere! If not, they can find it for you. But the cool thing is that when road and mountain biking took off in the area as a tourist 'thing' the owners saw a golden opportunity. There is no bike shop in town, so they sent some of their employees to the United Bicycle Institute in Ashland, OR to take the Bike Maintenance courses. UBI is a renowned school that teaches (in addition to maintenance courses) frame building, wheel building, and bike shop management. www.bikeschool.com To me, this was a genius move by Joseph Hardware!! So, now they ARE the local bike shop and they run it out of the hardware store. Brilliant!
The guy in the store directed us to Salt Creek Summit, about 30 minutes outside of town. It was a great spot, with some nice gentle rolling hills and enough whoop-de-doos to make it interesting. Camera Crew is still pretty new to mountain biking so there are nerves. After reiterating the deal we have - that if she gets hurt mountain biking it's not my fault even though I'm the one who got her into it - we took off and rode for a while. Had a blast and she did great, even tackling some of the fun parts! Afterwards, we drove back to Joesph and hit Mutiny Brewing for lunch and brews. The brewery is pretty cool, sits right on the main street in town - as does most everything else. The food was good and the beers were refreshing. The name of the place comes from the fact that it was started up by a former Terminal Gravity employee. FYI - TG is a very popular microbrewery that is located in nearby Enterprise. Oh, the drama! www.mutinybrewing.com
Back to our tepee and a light snack, plus more fire and more stars. We went to bed (kinda) early because we had the run the next morning! Yeah, see, I had you so enamored with this beautiful little area that you completely forgot about the Lostine River Run 10k. It's okay - we pretty much did the same thing, reminding ourselves "Oh, crap - we have a run tomorrow!" We are nuts.
We got up around 6 AM, got ready, then made the 50 minute drive to Lostine. When we arrived, people were already there and there was a genuine excitement. Lostine is a small town - estimated population of 208 people in 2012. It was a very cool vibe for sure. I think most of the town was either running or volunteering for this event. The course was pretty neat. The Lostine River runs about 31 miles from up in the mountains down to town, then eventually dumps into the Wallowa River. The river was a primary source of Coho and Chinook salmon for the Nez Perce people indigenous to this area. Unfortunately, due to irrigation and water diversion by the settlers over the years, by the '60's the salmon run was all but extinct. However, in the 1990's the Nez Perce tribe began restoring the river habitat and in 2005 signed an agreement with the farmers and the Oregon Water Trust. I am happy to say that in 2009 the Chinook salmon run in the Lostine River was counted at over 2,000 fishies and is improving each year.
The route for our run was a bit unusual. Usually a run will either go in a loop or be an 'out and back' - both with the start and finish being the same place. This run was a 'back'. We loaded on buses and they took us upriver 6.2 miles along the road that parallels the river, then dropped us off. About 60 runners and one race official. We waited til 8:59:50 AM, the guy counted down, then fired his starter pistol and we were off. Not much to say about the run itself other than it was very nice country. Mountains all around, big fields, nice ranches, forest, and the river. This was a bit of a distance push for us - we haven't done a run this long since the Mt. Hood Scramble and that's not really a run, technically. But we were up for the task and finished in very respectable times.
We hung around for the awards to be handed out. With a 1 mike run, a 5k and our 10k, there were quite a few categories to get through. The organizers did a great job of recognizing the kids who participated, giving out ribbons for places 1st-5th. Only the top two adults got stuff. Nothing for this fat kid. But Camera Crew's name was drawn for one of the raffle prizes! So that was exciting. The guy pulled the ticket out and said "Crew, Camera?" and she jumped up a winner!
After the run we wandered the main street of Lostine. As it happened, this was also the week of their annual Flea Market Days, a three day event. The street was lined with 20-25 vendors from all over the area selling antiques, tools, handmade crafts, junk, etc. Oddly, there were at least three different folks selling wooden handles for hammers, sledges, axes, and the like. It was a lot of fun. And because Lindsay seemed bummed about not being able to go, we found a couple of super-kitschy knickknacks for her and Mike - totally tongue-in-cheek items: a butter dish with cows wearing rubber galoshes and a plastic peacock with full plumage. We even found a cool little toy truck for Sebastian.
On the drive back we stopped in at Terminal Gravity for lunch. Cool brewery in Enterprise but truthfully I preferred Mutiny, at least the food anyway. TG is certainly worth a stop, though. Check 'em out at www.terminalgravitybrewing.com We drove back 'home' and got showered up. It was nice to relax knowing we had finished a race and had an amazing dinner to look forward to this evening.
You'll be pleased to know that Lindsay and Mike enjoyed our flea market treasures and that, unbeknownst to us, they really dig peacocks! We (mock)insisted that the butter dish be used for breakfast the next morning. And it was! Sebastian really liked his new truck, too.
The Rim Rock Inn does dinner Tuesday-Saturday. The menu is pre-set - one entree per evening, reservations required so Mike knows how much food to make. We were seated on the deck overlooking the canyon, a little placard with our names marked our table. The meal started with a signature bread made for them by Liberty Bakery in Joseph. No website but you can find them on Facebook. The specialty bread is made with lavender and sea salt, and served with olive oil for dipping. Next came a fantastic green salad with a strawberry vinaigrette. Lindsay and Mike maintain a garden on site so some of the produce is from 20 feet away and the rest is sourced locally as is all the meat and poultry. Saturday's main course: tenderloin steak skewers, served with fire roasted vegetables and scratch made mashers. We had choices for dessert - lava cake, chocolate brownie, or peach hand pies. The dinner portions were quite large but we justified ordering dessert because we had run that morning, right? Riiiight! I had the peach hand pie and Camera Crew had the brownie; we both added 'a la mode' of course. Neither of us finished dessert. We were stuffed. The food was amazing as was the bottle of Walla Walla-area wine we enjoyed with our meal.
One last plug: Take some time for yourself, go to the Rim Rock Inn, sleep in a tepee and enjoy the caretakers, the amazing food, views, stars and atmosphere. Plus you can go visit the creepy old buildings only three+ miles away in the ghost town - Flora, OR.
The next morning (Sunday) we had breakfast - again, amazing - then reluctantly packed the SUV and headed for home. Never satisfied with traveling the same routes, we cut off the highway we came in just a few days before and drove over some crazy twisty mountain highway before hooking back up with the interstate for the holiday weekend traffic drive back to Portland.
A great honeymoon, another event in the 50@50 books and some new friends in Mike and Lindsay.
Yep, that made it a pretty spectacular weekend.
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