September 2005

Greetings to all,

This is our last Wanderings for the 2005 season. The adventures we had in September were many and varied but the whole season was that way. With all we have done, seen, and experienced, the season seemed to have just flown.

September saw us completing our work in Oregon's Winema and Fremont National Forests and starting Deschutes National Forest. The Winema is the second National Forest we visited named for a Native American woman (Angelina in Texas was the first). Kaitchkona Winema (translation "Strong Hearted Woman") was the heroine of the Modoc War of 1872 where she served as an interpreter and peacemaker between U.S. Troops and the Modoc Indians. (She was a heck of a tomboy, too.) The Winema National Forest has another unique feature - it is the only forest we know of that was formed by absorbing portions of the Klamath Indian Reservation and adjacent forests.

The Fremont National Forest was named for explorer Captain John C. Fremont who traveled through the area with Kit Carson in 1843. The story goes, Capt Fremont and his group were exploring a high ridge (elevation 7,100 feet) when they looked down and saw a huge lake about 3000 feet below them. Since it was freezing cold and snowing on the ridge, it was dubbed "Winter Ridge" and the lake, bathed in bright sunshine and gentle winds, was named "Summer Lake." (Capt. Fremont left other imprints on the land but that's our favorite story.)

The Fremont National Forest is, by itself, rather small but has some interesting features. The state of Oregon nicknamed the area containing the Fremont National Forest, which is southeast of Bend, "The Outback." The literature says, "The Outback is an experience where the self reliant recreationist has the opportunity to discover nature in a rustic environment." The campgrounds in Fremont adhere to this philosophy. Most campgrounds have no potable water and are a long way from civilization. But, honestly, with few people and fewer communities, the whole area appears to subscribe to the above claim. We stayed in one of the area's "larger" communities, Paisley. Paisley is basically a bend in the road with a gas station, a store, and an assortment of buildings, both occupied and abandoned. Their charter K-12 school has a total student body of 80, including 12 international exchange students. Paisley's one store is also a grocery/hardware/variety/drug and convenience store. The town's only tavern is closed on Monday (much to Suzi's disappointment since the Redskins were playing) or when the owner decides to "go fishin."

North of Paisley is the tiny community of Silver Lake with maybe a dozen structures, if you count out-buildings and state highway maintenance facilities. Here, we had a super experience - dinner at the Cowboy Dinner Tree Cafe. Located about five miles south of town, the Cafe‚ is where the grassland is dotted with juniper trees and before the Ponderosa pine forest begins. The story goes, during 19th century cattle drives, chuck wagons would prepare meals for the cowboys under the giant juniper tree out back of the Cafe. As time went by, chuck wagons were replaced by the Cafe and a most delightful dining experience for us non-cowboy folks. The Cafe's exterior looks primitive and the inside only slightly more substantial. The tables are slabs of Lodgepole pines balanced on a pipe set on top of welded circles of horseshoes. Two bare bulbs, powered by batteries, provide some illumination. (The rule is: the first person to complain about deficient lighting is required to use their car's battery to supplement the Cafe's fading supply.) The menu (you make your selection when placing a reservation) has two choices: steak or chicken. Both are prepared on huge grills outside and served with a softball size baked potato and a pie pan of fresh baked pull-a-part rolls - after communal bowls of salad and soup have been consumed. By the way, it's a whole chicken or 26 to 30 ounce steak! The meal is washed down with either ice tea, lemonade, or honest and true campfire coffee, complete with a layer of sludge-like grounds on the bottom. The owner/greeter/butcher is a "tall-drink-of-water" cowboy, complete with bowed legs and missing teeth, while his wife is the cook, and what a cook she is! It was one of the best meals we had this season and was overall a great time. (And we got four more meals from our "doggie bags"!)

After completing about a third of Deschutes National Forest's campgrounds, our appetite has been whetted and we look forward to returning next year. We'll also make time to explore as many of the sights in the Forest as possible. We'll tell about all of them next season.

After completing all the forest work we had planned, we headed for Montana and a visit with Suzi's daughter, Dolly, and her family in Ennis, MT. Our route took us up the west side of Abert Rim, between the Rim's towering 2000 foot face and the placid, approximately 30 mile long, Abert Lake to a plain as flat as a billiard table. Then, for more than 20 miles, the road was billiard table flat and as straight as an arrow's flight path. It was an awesome and desolate area, with few man-made structures and even less traffic. After spending a day traveling through such lonesome, open countryside, Idaho seemed almost congested. But the traffic thinned out considerably when we hit Montana and turned north for Ennis and Dolly, John, and Tyler.

We must tell you, with pride, the "Reel Decoy Cafe" that Dolly and John opened in July, is a true success. They decided to cater to the locales with good food, reasonable pricing, and a family-friendly and a clean environment and the locales have supported them completely. Their Cafe is busy all day and those two have every reason to be proud of their accomplishments. And Tyler is as cute as a bug's bellybutton and smart as can be.

As you can see, our last month out here "on the ground" was like all the others - busy, interesting, and full of adventures. And like the past year, until our departure next Spring, we will focus on updating the web site, improving the sales of our books and CDs, and having a good time in our little corner of Arizona. Hope to see ya there.

Suzi and Fred