Travel: A road trip with a difference along the Oregon Trail

I’m standing on the cusp of the same hill as the first pioneers who trekked from Missouri to Portland on the Oregon Trail. Beside me, six wagons stand as they would have when passing through this land 175 years ago – below the remainders of the original ruts still survive. The Oregon Trail Interpretive Centre behind me pays homage to the 500,000 people who made that journey and the 10% of those lost to death and disease before reaching their destination. Unlike other trails, this one carried families who kept detailed logs of the journey and their stories can be heard at the centre.

I’m with my father Jim, who has read every Zane Grey novel and watched every western ever made. At 77 years of age, he’s the perfect travelling companion to enjoy this road trip. We spent the night before at the Geiser Grand Hotel in Baker City – once regarded as the Paris of the west. Opened in 1889, this hotel was about to be pulled down in the 1990s, when Barbara Sidway carefully and lovingly restored it to its former glory.

Full of pioneer spirit, you will feel like you have travelled back in time if you stay here. Across the road is the US Bank where one of the largest nuggets found during the Oregon gold rush sits in a glass case, a similar size and shape to a goat’s skull.

Back in time

Travelling through eastern Oregon is a chance to step back in time, which we do as we check in at The Working Girls Hotel in Pendleton. A town once famous for bootlegging and bordellos, Pendleton was considered by cowboys of the time to be the entertainment capital of the northwest.

Among the 32 saloons and 18 brothels that called Pendleton home, the most notorious of these was Madame Darby’s Cozy Rooms. A bronze statue of Stella Darby stands proudly at the entrance to her risqué establishment.

Pendleton is home today to the Pendleton Round-up, one of the biggest rodeo events in the US. It’s also home to the Pendleton Woollen Mills, famed for its blankets, and the underground tours – which take dad and I through the tunnels running under the buildings on main street. During prohibition they came alive with laundries, saloons and bars.

As the Oregon Trail moved pioneers into the Pacific North West, Native American tribes were moved off their lands. The next day we met with Bobby Connor at the Tamastslikt centre on the Umatilla Reservation, who shared his in-depth knowledge about the effects of the Oregon Trail on the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla tribes. We were fascinated to hear about the Irish and Scottish trappers who had made it to this part of the States before the Trail and many had settled and married into the local tribes; though this was frowned upon when the clergy arrived, with their strict conformist traditions.

Farm life

A couple of hours’ drive through the stunning hills brings us to the town of Enterprise and a novel stay at the Barking Mad Farm. Having grown up on a farm, my father is delighted to meet the animals. Proprietors Emily and her husband, Rob, tend to their New Zealand piglets with the care of children and they live in a truly beautiful part of the world – with the Wallowa Mountains enticing visitors, especially during the balmy summer months.

Crisp, bright days with little rain are most common year-round, even when the snows start to fall in November. A B&B stay is a great way to relax and at the Barking Mad Farm, every modern convenience is laid on. Close by, the town of Joseph has a spectacular display of sculptures that include Chief Joseph of the Nez Pierce tribe, whose words of wisdom can be widely found in literature.

But our next stay is what my dad has been waiting for, as we check in to The Wilson Ranch. Kara, her dad, Phil, and husband, Rob, tend to their guests’ needs and offer terrific trail rides over the mountains. Brett, their ranch hand, stops along the trail to show us interesting features – such as an Indian corn grinding stone, which would have been used for thousands of years.

The ranch is in the town of Fossil and home to a paleontology centre. It’s also a short drive from the Painted Hills. The coloured stratifications in the soil and the yellows, golds, blacks and reds of the Painted Hills are best seen in the late afternoon and one of the seven wonders of Oregon, along with Crater Lake, Wallowa Lake and Mount Hood.

The next day we continue along the trail and pass Mount Hood after spending the night at the Balch Hotel in Dufur, another gem preserved in the style of the 19th century, as we make our way along the Columbia River, where the pioneers made one of the many hazardous crossings over the gorge.

Our road trip brings us through some of the most spectacular scenery I have come across in the US and the pretty towns of Sisters and Bend are among the most beautiful in mid-Oregon. Sisters is named after the mountain range of three peaks, known locally as Faith, Hope and Charity. In June it hosts the rodeo with the largest purse in the state, in July the quilt-makers descend on the town and the Harvest Festival calls in a beautiful season filled with colour and fresh produce that sells in the local stores. There is a feeling of abundance and community in this corner of America that is quite different to any other state that I’ve visited.

Ranch

We stay just outside Sisters at Long Hollow Ranch, where Dick and Shirley Blumfelt have made this 1905 Sears-catalogue house a haven of peace and tranquillity for anyone seeking a taste of ranch life. Their land stretches for thousands of acres, with some on lease to local farmers.

The horse trails take us through juniper trees and gentle hills where the coyotes howl at night. Our guide, Tori, originally from California, hasn’t been working long for the Blumfelts, but loves this part of the country. I can tell dad loves it here too, because he hasn’t stopped smiling since mounting his horse, Dude.

Tori takes us to the lake, where guests can fish and we get to see some of the cows. The land is tiled with corn and hay and a golden hue kisses the fields. I wonder how I’m ever going to get dad home because he’s assured me that he feels he already is home.

For all you need to know about Oregon, visit www.traveloregon.com

Aer Lingus operates Ireland’s first direct service to Seattle, Washington State. Flying from Dublin four times weekly, fares start from €219 each way – including taxes and charges, when booked as a return trip. Visit aerlingus.com for further info.

While Michelle organised her own accommodation and itinerary, there are similar packages available, such as the Oregon Odyssey, which includes all flights, fully inclusive car rental, nine nights of accommodation, checked bags and all flight taxes from €1499pp. Visit www.flydriveusa.ie/fly-drive/oregon-trail.html

For ranch information, see https://www.lhranch.com/horseback-riding/ or https://wilsonranchesretreat.com/