From about 1840, to the mid 1860's, several hundred thousand pioneers, followed the Oregon Trail, during the westward expansion. When the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, the trail became less important. We left our parking spot in John Day, and drove about 100 miles east on Hwy 26, and Hwy 7, to Baker City, where we stopped at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, about mid day. This is another one of those attractions, that we've driven by on several occasions, but never took the time to stop. Well, I'm glad we did this time, because we spent a couple of hours, learning the history of the Oregon Trail, and more importantly, many of the personal stories associated with the hardships along this almost 2,000 mile, early pioneer route to the west. It took these hardy souls on average, about 6 months to complete the journey. The center sits on the top of a hill, overlooking the original Oregon Trail, and despite the narrow entrance road, there's plenty of room for large RV's to park at the top. The best part of enjoying this very well done museum, is that it's under BLM management, and our Senior Passport allowed us to enter for free!
The weather yesterday was a bit chilly, as it has been for most of our time in Oregon. We had a pretty good wind, and the temps never got out of the 50's. After leaving the center, we drove less than an hour north to LaGrande, where we stopped at the Wal-Mart Super center, primarily to stock up on some groceries. By the time we finished shopping, it was dinner time, so we just stayed put for the night. We carry a Wal-Mart Locator book, and a small publication called "Wal-Mart Stores that do not allow overnight RV Parking",
FreeCampgrounds.com. This second book lists the LaGrande Wal-Mart as one that does NOT allow RV's to park overnight. The fact of the matter is, they DO allow RV parking, which I confirmed, inside the store, for the second year in a row. This morning, we will be driving a little over an hour, to Bob & Diana Rush's beautiful home in Enterprise, OR., and will be parked there through Sunday. We haven't seen Bob & Diana in about a year, so it will be fun to catch up with all that's been happening.
From about 1840, to the mid 1860's, several hundred thousand pioneers, followed the Oregon Trail, during the westward expansion. When the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, the trail became less important. We left our parking spot in John Day, and drove about 100 miles east on Hwy 26, and Hwy 7, to Baker City, where we stopped at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, about mid day. This is another one of those attractions, that we've driven by on several occasions, but never took the time to stop. Well, I'm glad we did this time, because we spent a couple of hours, learning the history of the Oregon Trail, and more importantly, many of the personal stories associated with the hardships along this almost 2,000 mile, early pioneer route to the west. It took these hardy souls on average, about 6 months to complete the journey. The center sits on the top of a hill, overlooking the original Oregon Trail, and despite the narrow entrance road, there's plenty of room for large RV's to park at the top. The best part of enjoying this very well done museum, is that it's under BLM management, and our Senior Passport allowed us to enter for free! 
The weather yesterday was a bit chilly, as it has been for most of our time in Oregon. We had a pretty good wind, and the temps never got out of the 50's. After leaving the center, we drove less than an hour north to LaGrande, where we stopped at the Wal-Mart Super center, primarily to stock up on some groceries. By the time we finished shopping, it was dinner time, so we just stayed put for the night. We carry a Wal-Mart Locator book, and a small publication called "Wal-Mart Stores that do not allow overnight RV Parking", FreeCampgrounds.com. This second book lists the LaGrande Wal-Mart as one that does NOT allow RV's to park overnight. The fact of the matter is, they DO allow RV parking, which I confirmed, inside the store, for the second year in a row. This morning, we will be driving a little over an hour, to Bob & Diana Rush's beautiful home in Enterprise, OR., and will be parked there through Sunday. We haven't seen Bob & Diana in about a year, so it will be fun to catch up with all that's been happening.
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