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June 30, 2004

And on we go...

From Ogden we travelled to our next waypoint - Pendleton, Oregon. We had some interesting stops planned along the way.

First, we hit Three Island Crossing State Park in Idaho:

Approaching Three Island Crossing (of the Snake River) meant the emigrants had a difficult choice. They could make a dangerous river crossing here for a direct route to Ft. Boise or stay on the south side of the Snake and follow the river around the bend. About half made the decision to cross using the three islands in the Snake as stepping stones. It would not be easy.

This is one of the famous points along the long, harrowing, Oregon Trail. The stories surrounding it alone are abundant - as we found plenty of books to choose from on the topic in the Interpretive Center Gift Shop.

Three Island Crossing is a general term for the place where travelers on the Oregon Trail crossed the Snake River. Two Island Crossing was the second crossing located one mile upstream from Three Island Ford. At this point, crossing was more difficult because the wagons had to be floated across the river. Men would swim to the opposite bank of the river. Then by the use of ropes, they would pull the wagons across.

Gus Glenn was the business man who finally installed and operated a ferry service. Glenn's Ferry, OR eventually incorporated and is still there today.

A lot of history to be found in this part of the country, and in some cases not much else (this state park was fairly remote, and really the only thing around).

Following our lunch and stay here, we made our way into Pendleton, Oregon for a nights stay.

The next day our travels took us toward the Oregon coast, and for a few solid hours we drove the Oregon/Washington state border, on Interstate 84, along the Columbia River.

I wish I had my photos ready for blogging, but I don't. The Columbia is an extremely impressive river, I'll let the photos speak for themselves once I have them posted.

We lunched and lounged this time at The Dalles, Oregon. The Dalles is another important Oregon Trail point. Here, the Columbia narrowed distinctly:

At The Dalles, the Columbia River rumbled through a narrow chasm. It was here that Jason Lee set up a Methodist mission in 1838. History does not tell us how many were converted at Lee's tiny outpost, but The Dalles did become a critical stop for the emigrants. That's because it was here that the trail ruts came to a complete stop--blocked by the Cascade Mountains. Unfortunately, the Willamette Valley--the emigrant's destination--was still 100 miles further on. In the Trails first years, there was only one solution--float the wagons down the Columbia River.

Ultimately, in more recent times, hydro-electric power was harnessed by damming the Columbia here. We toured the information center - which demonstrated in various ways what a feat of human engineering this was (much like any other dam in the US or around the world I suppose).

Then, back on the road and on to the coast. We've been here now for two or three days, but that'll be the next blog. I'm enjoying the beach!

Posted by gcrgcr at June 30, 2004 7:39 PM

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Comments

I saw your post when I was looking for some Snake River Conspiracy stuff... the stop you made in Ogden. I lived 11 yrs there! hearing you talk about it made me miss it! lol yes, it is nestled right there next to the wasatch front.. very nice town. Loved it. I am 34, a single mom, have two kids 9 and 6, and I am now living in Arizona.

Posted by: Cari at October 18, 2004 8:25 PM

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