Lost Oregon

On the Road to Mt. Bachelor. This “dramatic resort hotel placed high on rimrock with breathtaking views of the mountain” featured “boldly beautiful rooms” and the “exciting Red Toe Restaurant and Lounge.” It’s still around and updated with a “Northwest design” look and feel.

I’m no architect expert [obviously, if you've read previous posts you should know this] but this looks more like:

a. A 1970s-era Soviet/communist “re-education” facility.

b. Something from a 1970s movie that’s set in “the future.”

Either way, double blech.

The type used on the back though? Aces!

Scenes of the dining room and and lobby of Willamette Lutheran Homes - which is still around.

Now a Holiday Inn, the hotel boasted air conditioning, electric heat, heated pool free coffee and and room phones.

Nothing too spectacular - but it should be noted that it was seven miles to Safariland. Which reminded me of Lion Country Safari in Irvine in Southern California. I remember that place well when I was a kid. You’d basically drive in with your car through areas where wild animals would roam. Visitors were always warned to keep their windows up, and yet…every once in a while some jack-ass would get mauled by a lion because they rolled the window down.

Frankly, I thought it’d been more challenging if they wrapped visitors in steak and had them walk through.

My wife and I were digging through a box of old photos she had collected throughout the years and she mentioned she had a set from a trip she took to Portland in 1991.

Thought I’d share a couple of snaps she took of the Church of Elvis during its second incarnation at 219 SW Ankeny. Click on the photos - it’s worth it for the details:

Look a bit closer. Yeah, I thought it was the Hawthorne Bridge when I picked this card up. It’s not. It’s the Carlton Bridge that spans the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine. Looks like a newer, modern bridge was built right next to it at some point. Bummer. Not sure if it’s in use.

From the back of the postcard:

One of Portland’s finer hotels. Contains 550 rentable rooms as well as many banquet rooms. Also home of the well known Stirrup Room.

Here are some exterior shots of the Stirrup Room and the hotel. If you look closely you can see the cowboys:

and:

Another postcard reveals that the Stirrup Room was “one of the 75 outstanding restaurants in North America” by Holiday magazine.

The colorful room is decorated in the finest traditions of the west, specializing in its famous “chuckwagon lunch” and distinctive hors d’oeuvres.

One table for two had their own pot of coffee! I guess Portlanders have always loved their coffee.

For more information on the wonderful Hotel Multnomah, check out PDX History. Go here for a look at the menu that was served for the Queen of Roumania’s visit in 1926.

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There’s more to the story here. Any ideas?

I’m not a hunter but I come from a family of duck hunters. When I was younger my older brother and father would religiously wake up very early on Sundays during duck season to go hunt. Sometimes they were successful and other times they’d come home in fowl moods.

I was always impressed with their dedication and would enjoy the yearly feast of duck - dark, greasy meat with a dash of buckshot.

I actually went on a hunting trip with them once and was bored to death. There was lots of sitting around in the camouflaged blind and being very quiet. One time my brother handed me his shotgun to get a feel for it. As the day progressed I started to get comfortable with it. And, since the boredom was excruciating, I thought I’d try the gun out - by shooting it into a large puddle. My brother took the gun back.

Anyhow, the following ads reminded me much of those days, when hunting and fishing seemed simpler before the merchandise gauntlet took over the industry and made it all “extreme.” I mean, c’mon, ESPN competitive fishing? What happened to getting a rod and reel and going to your nearest lake, river or pier and seeing what’s biting?