The Andina Restaurant

We can always count on Kenneth and Melinda to find wonderful restaurants, and they did not disappoint.  It was rather coincidental that we were going to be in Portland on the same days, so we decided to have dinner with them on Friday night.

Peruvian food.  We have never had Peruvian food.  The restaurant received first-rate reviews on numerous sites that Melinda had visited, and so Peruvian food it was!

 First we ordered an appetizer of purple Peruvian potatoes with pulled chicken salad in between.  Hard to describe, but they were indeed purple potatoes.  It was an amazing looking dish.  We were also served a basket of bread with three different sauces.  The first was a mild peanut dip, the second a deliciously spicy and sweet yellow Peruvian pepper dip, and the third, a much hotter green pepper dip.  The yellow pepper one was the favorite, but all three disappeared.

For dinner, Don ordered a partial rack of lamb, Kenneth had a beef medallion dish, and Melinda and I split a Peruvian barbecue dish.  At restaurants such as the Andina, the presentation of the dish is as impressive as the food itself.  True, true, true.  Too bad we did not get a picture.

If we are ever in Portland again, this is a restaurant we would go to again!  Highly recommended!

The Road to Portland

The drive to Portland from Pendleton reminded us somewhat of Idaho, in that the hillsides we very brown.  Except for that big river just to the right of he road.  Wow!  It is huge.

Although we wanted to stop at the John Day Fossil Beds, the John Day Dam, and the Bonneville Dam, we only stopped at a rest area to look.  While there, however, we were privileged to talk with a member of the Yakima tribe who was taking his net out of the water after trying to do some netting.  He said he usually does better at night, but it did not matter to us.  It was just interesting to talk with him.

Coming down the Columbia River Gorge, we suddenly came upon this view.

Mount Hood stately sits right in the middle of the horizon, all by itself.  Because of numerous fires, the air was hazy and smoky, which dimmed the view.  Unfortunate, but still gorgeous.

After arriving at our camp and setting up, we went to the hotel to meet up with Kathleen and Betsy.  Kathy arrived not much later, and we talked and talked.  Before dinner, the five of us went to downtown Portland. We went to dinner with Kenneth and Melinda, while the three of them ate and wandered around the area.  

Portland downtown is a moving place.  We loved the trolley that is pedaled by those on board . . . while they are imbibing.  It was very funny, and it frankly looked like a lot of fun, even for the non-drinker.

By the time the evening was over, we were ready for bed.  It was a long, but fun, day!

Pendleton, Oregon

The drive to Pendleton, Oregon, was uneventful, though we did drive through some interesting country.  We didn't stop anywhere, but as we drove through different areas, I wrote down reminders to look them up in Google.  For example, the mesa orchards, which were an attempt to grow apples in the dry area of western Idaho; why sprinklers run in sawmills; and Camp Stover, a camp for the Church of the Brethren.

When we arrived at our RV park in Pendleton, we then headed to the Woolen Mills.  It was fun to see the machines and the huge spools of yarn, though they were not working when we were there.  We looked at their store, and Don bought a shirt, though it was not a wool one.

Then we went to eat at The Prodigal Son Brewery.  What a delightful place!

They serve only their own beers, one which was Huckleberry Wheat.  Don loved it so much he bought a growler of it to serve after the Columbia River Gorge trip.  We both had delicious hamburgers, but the homemade chips were particularly delicious.  The French Silk Cake with raspberry sauce topped a wonderful evening.  We would highly recommend the Prodigal Son brewery!

Don't Be a Guberif, Huckleberry Cheesecake and Ponderosa Pine State Park

After settling in at beautiful Ponderosa Pine State Park, we went to dinner with the Lohffs and Uncle John and Aunt Margaret.  It was so good to see them all again.

After a wonderful dinner, Jan pulled out her signature Huckleberry Cheesecake.  She had picked the huckleberries herself, which meant they were very fresh . . . and so delicious!  We could have eaten the whole pie.

We were lucky to get a spot in Ponderosa Pines State Park, but we did.  They had one pull-through spot left, and we took it.  The wooded park has a number of campsites, but they are far enough apart that it is very quiet.  In the morning when I took Babs out at 6:15, a small buck was standing twenty feet away.  He watched me for a few minutes and slowly walked away.

As we drove into the park the first time, we noticed on the road someone had written "Don't Be a Guberif."  A Guberif?  We had no idea what it meant.  The next day, Dr. Google told me that Guberif is Firebug, backwards.  Indeed it is.  In Idaho, Guberif is a happy-go-lucky creature who reminds Idahoans of their responsibilities with the forests.  Who knew?

Don and I walked around a bit, took a drive looking for huckleberries, and then it was time to leave.  This is a park to which we would return.  Lovely!

Bear Lake, Idaho

We spent one night with Katie in Eaton, and then we headed for McCall, Idaho via Bear Lake.  It was raining when we left Eaton (we seem to recall the last  time we left Eaton it was pouring, resulting in the largest rain in recent Colorado history), and Don commented that it was disheartening that he had spent so much time washing and waxing the RV and the car only to have it rain so much.

We drove in the rain much of the day.  Don had arranged for us to stay at Bear Lake, a large lake on the border of Idaho and Utah.  We have learned that State Parks have some great strengths, but signage is not one of them.  That held true at Webster Lake State Park in Kansas and again at Bear Lake.

The GPS system led us to the lake.  Unfortunately, about ten miles of the road was dirt, and red dirt at that.  What a mess!  By the time we got close, the vehicles were a mess.  Then, because of bad signage, we drove right past the campground and could not find a place to turn around.  Turning an RV with a tow vehicle is a trick.  You just don't do it anywhere.  Finally, we found a place wide enough, we turned around and parked at our spot.

Too bad it was cloudy and rainy.  The lake is a beautiful one, though it was very low.  A chokecherry bush next to our site was overrun with chokecherries.  Had I had the ability to do something with them, I would have picked a bunch to make jelly.

We left early the next morning, but our clean vehicles were officially filthy.  Oh well!

Nicodemus, Kansas

Second stop:  Nicodemus. 

As disturbing as Lucas was, Nicodemus was a breath of fresh air.

The people who founded Nicodemus must have been some of the bravest people around.  Freed slaves from Kentucky, they made their way to Kansas to start a new life.  It cannot have been easy.  Perseverance and sheer willpower helped them to build a viable community, complete with a hotel, church, town hall, and store.  They tried to become a stop on the railroad line, but that did not work out.

Slowly, the town began to die, but a few diehards stayed around.  Several plots of land still remain in the original family, and although times are tough, they are determined to retain their land.

Admiration best describes my emotions as we left Nicodemus.  Admiration for those who sought and made a new life for themselves, against numerous odds.  They were and are fine people just trying to make things better. 

Lucas, Kansas

We decided to explore a little of Kansas on our way to Oregon.  First stop, Lucas, Kansas, and the Garden of Eden.

It is as bizarre/interesting as billed.  I did not really know what a grassroot artist is, so the first thing we learned was that a grassroot artist is one who has not had any formal training.  Looking at the figures in the sculptures, I would agree with that assessment.  But that lack of training does not diminish the value of the artistry.

What intrigued me more than the art work was the political thought behind his work.  He was a man before his time.  One of the works puts men, women, and African Americans all on a level playing field, each deserving the right to vote.  Although that is a given now, when he built the sculpture, it was a very forward-thinking idea. 

He mixed a variety of religious motifs and ideas for his Biblical sculptures, and he included some of those in his political ones as well.  He was not a humble man, however.  His huge mausoleum, built for him and his wife, even has a glass pane in his casket so that anyone can see him. 

I found the Dunsmore home to be a combination of interesting, frightening, and maddening.  Amazing that one man could cause all of those emotions within a span of 30 minutes.