Explore Oregon, 2016
July 14th to 18th, 2016
Tour Leader Rolly Grimm
Photos: Rolly Grimm, Sharon Andres, Kathryn Kemp, Len McFarlane, Bev Rich
Five cars and ten people from OVMC went through the border crossing at Oroville around 11 am on July 13, 2016 with no problems. After a quick stop in Omak for picnic lunches and fuel, we continued on to Lake Chelan for a lunch stop. We continued on through to Wenatchee and Cashmere and up and over to the Dairy Queen in Ellensburg. It seems like most of our Miata runs include an ice cream stop at some point. A short hop on Interstate 90 took us to our desired exit and highway alongside the Yakima River to our evening's destination at the Oxford Inn and Suites in Yakima.
The next day, we took a few backroads, US 142 from Goldendale to the Columbia gorge being a delight as we had it all to ourselves, and ended up at Cousins Restaurant in The Dalles where a sixth car and two people were waiting for a lunch stop. We also did the annual celebration of Sharon’s 29th Birthday. We did a scenic run along the old Oregon highway through the Rowena Loops where we stopped for a photo moment. Back onto Interstate 84 for a short time and then off onto more backroads before ending up at our destination - The Oregon Garden Resort in Silverton, OR. We met up with our final car and member there. That brought our attendance numbers to 7 cars and 13 people.
During the weekend, we enjoyed a number of incredible guided runs by the ever efficient Willamette Valley Miata Club crew. Included were runs to a number of covered bridges, the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, OR, a trip for a hike under waterfalls and, of course, a visit to some local wineries. Spirited drives became the phrase of the weekend.
On one of the routes, the lunch stop was at a quaint little cafe in Turner, OR. The Turnaround Cafe had custom made some menus just for the occasion. That was a bit of a treat. Our banquet on Saturday night offered us quite the variety of edibles. Pete and Dot provides the Canadian theme for our two tables as well as models of our Miata’s in correct colors with name tags. I should be noted they also had for our host Chris and his Wife as well. No one went away hungry.
Chris McCarty, the illustrious leader for the Oregon Club and major organizer for the event had Rolly come up and offer up his cowboy poetry recital. He changed the wording a bit in one poem to include Chris as one of the characters. All three of the cowboy poems and the one "not a cowboy" poem were presented. Chris requested a new one to be memorized for next year's Explore Oregon as it will be held in Pendleton, OR, the heart of cowboy country in Oregon! Rolly has said he is working on it. As you can see from the photos below, Rolly has also been working on his collection of custom plates!
On Sunday, we left Silverton like dandelion parachutes on a windy day. Each car headed off in a different direction with a number of destinations in mind. Luckily, everyone eventually returned home safely. Another very successful travelling experience for us all.
July 14th to 18th, 2016
Tour Leader Rolly Grimm
Photos: Rolly Grimm, Sharon Andres, Kathryn Kemp, Len McFarlane, Bev Rich
Five cars and ten people from OVMC went through the border crossing at Oroville around 11 am on July 13, 2016 with no problems. After a quick stop in Omak for picnic lunches and fuel, we continued on to Lake Chelan for a lunch stop. We continued on through to Wenatchee and Cashmere and up and over to the Dairy Queen in Ellensburg. It seems like most of our Miata runs include an ice cream stop at some point. A short hop on Interstate 90 took us to our desired exit and highway alongside the Yakima River to our evening's destination at the Oxford Inn and Suites in Yakima.
The next day, we took a few backroads, US 142 from Goldendale to the Columbia gorge being a delight as we had it all to ourselves, and ended up at Cousins Restaurant in The Dalles where a sixth car and two people were waiting for a lunch stop. We also did the annual celebration of Sharon’s 29th Birthday. We did a scenic run along the old Oregon highway through the Rowena Loops where we stopped for a photo moment. Back onto Interstate 84 for a short time and then off onto more backroads before ending up at our destination - The Oregon Garden Resort in Silverton, OR. We met up with our final car and member there. That brought our attendance numbers to 7 cars and 13 people.
During the weekend, we enjoyed a number of incredible guided runs by the ever efficient Willamette Valley Miata Club crew. Included were runs to a number of covered bridges, the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, OR, a trip for a hike under waterfalls and, of course, a visit to some local wineries. Spirited drives became the phrase of the weekend.
On one of the routes, the lunch stop was at a quaint little cafe in Turner, OR. The Turnaround Cafe had custom made some menus just for the occasion. That was a bit of a treat. Our banquet on Saturday night offered us quite the variety of edibles. Pete and Dot provides the Canadian theme for our two tables as well as models of our Miata’s in correct colors with name tags. I should be noted they also had for our host Chris and his Wife as well. No one went away hungry.
Chris McCarty, the illustrious leader for the Oregon Club and major organizer for the event had Rolly come up and offer up his cowboy poetry recital. He changed the wording a bit in one poem to include Chris as one of the characters. All three of the cowboy poems and the one "not a cowboy" poem were presented. Chris requested a new one to be memorized for next year's Explore Oregon as it will be held in Pendleton, OR, the heart of cowboy country in Oregon! Rolly has said he is working on it. As you can see from the photos below, Rolly has also been working on his collection of custom plates!
On Sunday, we left Silverton like dandelion parachutes on a windy day. Each car headed off in a different direction with a number of destinations in mind. Luckily, everyone eventually returned home safely. Another very successful travelling experience for us all.
