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| Wagon Tracks on the Oregon Trail |
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| Dimples Ancestor The Covered Wagon |
The major attraction that brings us here is the Oregon Trail Interpretive Museum. Although neither of
our families came west in covered wagons, this is a large part of the history
of the western United States. We spend a
whole day, studying the exhibits and hiking the grounds. We even walk along
some of the wagon tracks that still mar the landscape.
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| Sumpter Valley RR |
Back in Baker City we walk around the historic downtown
district photographing the incredible architecture in the late afternoon
sun. While downtown we decide to treat
ourselves to an upscale dinner at the Geiser Grand Hotel. After falling into disrepair in the 1960’s
the hotel sat vacant until 1993 when it was restored to it’s current
glory. The restaurant’s main dining room
sits in the center of the building. It is actually an atrium with a beautiful stained
glass ceiling suspended two stories above.
The ambiance is elegant yet comfortable, paying homage to the bygone era
of gold fever and early twentieth century elegance. The menu however, honors the current trend of
local, fresh and organic. We dine on a Crab Cake appetizer, Mesquite Smoked
Prime Rib, Wild Mushrooms in Marsala Sauce Over Grilled Polenta, and finish off
the meal with a House Special Bread Pudding in Whiskey Sauce with Marionberry
Ice Cream. The Crab Cake is a bit too
“blackened” and bitter. The Smoke on the Prime Rib is a tad heavy handed along
the edges, but the center is flavorful and tender. The Wild Mushrooms are exquisite and deliver
explosions of flavor and the Bread Pudding a wonderful finale for a pleasant
meal in spectacular surroundings.
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| Geiser Grand Hotel |
While waiting for our table we see that the hotel is hosting
a ghost-hunting event later that night with members of a local paranormal investigation group. We discuss this and
decide mid meal that we would like to participate if there are still spots
available. There are and we finish our
meal shortly before the 9:00PM start.
We’re not really sure what to expect.
There are television shows featuring these types of events, but since we
don’t watch a lot of television we are only aware that they exist and only have
a small preconception of what can happen.
At the start we are divided into three groups. Each group is headed by an experienced hunter and supplied with gizmos and gadgets to record any findings. Our group starts in the basement where supposedly there have been paranormal readings and ghost sightings. The basement houses the washers and dryers for the hotel, all of which are running when we arrive. Additionally all of the plumbing in the hotel runs along the ceiling and we hear the constant gush, dribble and stop of water as guests above shower and flush their toilets. We sit in the dark and wait. The hunter asks questions that would irritate any adult let alone a dead one. She also continually turns about the room and takes pictures with her flash camera, blinding us and causing spots before our eyes. (No wonder folks see and hear things that are more imagination than reality.) This continues on the third and second floor and the kitchen and adjoining rooms. Occupied hotels are busy and ambient noise is everywhere. After each group visits the three specified locations, we all meet together and once more sit in the dark in the basement. The finale is a post mortem where everyone reports their findings. Our take on this is that the human imagination will fill in the dots and create what we want to believe, and if there really are ghosts or spirits in the Geiser Grand, they are probably just sick and tired of being prodded and poked to perform for a bunch of wannabe ghost busters. Regardless, we left laughing and feeling that this was one of the funniest adventures we have participated in.
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| Hunting Ghosts |
At the start we are divided into three groups. Each group is headed by an experienced hunter and supplied with gizmos and gadgets to record any findings. Our group starts in the basement where supposedly there have been paranormal readings and ghost sightings. The basement houses the washers and dryers for the hotel, all of which are running when we arrive. Additionally all of the plumbing in the hotel runs along the ceiling and we hear the constant gush, dribble and stop of water as guests above shower and flush their toilets. We sit in the dark and wait. The hunter asks questions that would irritate any adult let alone a dead one. She also continually turns about the room and takes pictures with her flash camera, blinding us and causing spots before our eyes. (No wonder folks see and hear things that are more imagination than reality.) This continues on the third and second floor and the kitchen and adjoining rooms. Occupied hotels are busy and ambient noise is everywhere. After each group visits the three specified locations, we all meet together and once more sit in the dark in the basement. The finale is a post mortem where everyone reports their findings. Our take on this is that the human imagination will fill in the dots and create what we want to believe, and if there really are ghosts or spirits in the Geiser Grand, they are probably just sick and tired of being prodded and poked to perform for a bunch of wannabe ghost busters. Regardless, we left laughing and feeling that this was one of the funniest adventures we have participated in.
With nothing else to keep us here, we head out to work our
way further east…
k
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