Around Echo

 "I grew up in this town, my poetry was born between the hill and the river, it took its voice from the rain, and like the timber, it steeped itself in the forests." Pablo Neruda



I wandered further east

lost looking at peaceful skies
floating atop blankets of green


From the town's homepage www.echo-oregon.com:

Echo is located in NE Oregon 8 miles south of Hermiston OR and 20 miles west of Pendleton OR.  The population is 715 within the city limits and a library service area of 1,200. While not visible from the freeway, the town is only a mile away from exit 188, where I- 84 and Hwy. 395 meet.  JH Koontz platted the town in 1880 and named it for his then 3 year old daughter, Echo.

Echo is known for its rich history and many historic sites. The Oregon Trail passes through Echo. Emigrants began leaving the trail and settling the Echo area c. 1860, making the Echo Meadows one of the first agricultural sites in Umatilla County.

Mt. Hood

magnificent mountain
coolly communing with clouds
yet simmering deep inside

Pendleton OR - Surrounded Fields & Sky

“To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own beauty, and in the same field, it beholds, every hour, a picture which was ne oncever seen before, and which shall never be seen again”

I became blissfully small

all at once surrounded by sky

a mind at peace

Now heading downtown

Headed back out of downtown  . . .

The Beautifully Full Moon

ancient shining one
there longer than I'll remember
showing through the cedar trees

"For most people, we often marvel at the beauty of a sunrise or the magnificence of a full moon, but it is impossible to fathom the magnitude of the universe that surrounds us." - Richard Baker

La Grande, Oregon - City Between The Mountains

"Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe." - Anatole France

all of a sudden the road slanted up
it curved out of sight valley showing below
a different journey was unfolding

I decided to visit the next "big" city east and south of Pendleton, OR so off I went down the highway towards the Blue Mountains. I was surprised to find out that I had headed up a steeper road to higher elevation than anticipated, and into some snow.

"Nestled between the Wallowa Mountains and the Blue Mountains, La Grande is located off of I-84 in the Grande Ronde Valley."

So I decided to visit the next "big" city east and south of Pendleton so off I went down the highway towards the Blue Mountains and La Grande. I was surprised to find out that I had headed up a steeper road to higher elevation (Blue Mountain Summit.
Altitude: 4193 feet) than anticipated, and into some snow. I was a little worried, and thought about turning back. But it's a nice wide highway.

Then there was the perspective from the rest areas from past travelers over these mountains.

From OTCC Interpretive Kiosk http://www.tomlaidlaw.com/otkiosks/otcc/deadmanpass.html:

Oregon Trail emigrants labored for days to cross the Blue Mountains on a road that P. V. Crawford , emigrant of 1851, described as "very sidling, rough and stony." Maria Parsons Belshaw, emigrant of 1853, exclaimed, "I never saw as crooked a road in my life." The trail through these mountains was indeed arduous, but emigrants like Samuel Dexter Francis in 1861 were not the only ones affected by climbing "the hills, up and down," the Blues also took their toll on exhausted livestock and worn-out wagons.

leaving La Grande

"Not all those who wonder are lost."  - J. R. Tolkien

“In today’s world, people experience two types of poverty: the poverty caused by lack of food, clothing and shelter, and the poverty caused by lack of love and compassion,” says Ammachi. “Of these two, the second type needs to be considered first because if we have love and compassion in our hearts, then we will wholeheartedly serve those who suffer from lack of food, clothing and shelter.”

Milton-Freewater - Everywhere A Frog

"I think that travel comes from some deep urge to see the world, like the urge that brings up a worm in an Irish bog to see the moon when it is full." -Lord Dunsany

On the road fom Pendleton OR to Walla Walla, WA

there were clouds, rain, and sky
blissfully empty highways to coast on
then up popped the frogs

So I went home from vacation wondering why were there frogs inhabiting the streets of Milton-Freewater Oregon???

From their town website www.mfchamber.com:

The Legend of Muddy-Frogwater
How did it all begin?

It began innocently enough.   It was the early 1970's and a group of good friends in high school and from the nearby town of Weston were hanging out and having a good time.  As is always the case with close friends, good-natured teasing happens a lot.  Before long, the Westonite friend started poking fun at their city name and "Milton-Freewater" became "Muddy Frogwater".

One fateful night settled the destiny of "Muddy-Frogwater" and perhaps saved the town festival.  The group decided it was time the new town name became official, since so many folks were using it anyway.  Late one evening, Raymond, Seymour and Juice sneaked to the edge of town and painted "Muddy-Frogwater" over the "Welcome to Milton-Freewater" sign in one of the first recorded instances of graffiti the town had known.

It didn't take long to decide that the new town festival would henceforth be called "The Muddy-Frogwater Festival".  And thus the legendary festival was born!

* Names have been changed to protect the [not so] innocent.

Right now, I am thinking of the opening line from the classic TV cop show Naked City that went something like this:

"There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them."

There just must be so many more magical stories around the curves in the road . . .

May you enjoy the journey and the blessings it brings