9-13-19 Salem & Grants Pass, OR

We continue to meet up with friends and family on this marathon trip.  Rob and Joe met at Boeing 49 years ago when they were working together on the guided-missile hydrofoil.  Life interfered and they drifted apart but a few years back, they found each other again and rekindled their friendship.  Fortunately, Joe and Barb were available while we were in Seattle and we met them at the Pike Place Market for a fun lunch at the Athenian.  (I just love that place!)  That was about a week ago, I’m not sure.  Our activities are starting to run together in my old mind.

Dad & No. 2 son, Mike

We lit in Salem on the afternoon of Sept. 10^th, hoping that No. 2 son would be available.  Mike is very busy at this time of year supplying youngsters with their band instruments from his music store, Willamette Valley Music Co.  Mike’s fiancé, Jen, is a busy woman, too, having become a cop in the last year after going through the extensive learning process involved in that discipline at the police academy.  They have been working opposite shifts, but as luck would have it, they found a few hours off at the same time to have us over for a wonderful steak dinner.  We got to see their newly-acquired house and puppy, Thaddeus, who is in serious need of tranquilizers.  A great evening with the kids.

Jen, Mike and Thadd the
Wonderdog (as in, I wonder
if tranquilizers would help...)

Grants Pass (spelled Grant’s Pass until 1900) is a cool little town.  Its origin goes back as far as 1825 when the settlers were hunters and trappers.  It lies in the Rogue River Valley on the Rogue River.  The Indians were a little cantankerous and warlike, fighting to keep possession of their lands.  The trappers called them “The Rogues.”  When gold was discovered here in 1852, the rush was on and the population of Grants Pass grew quickly.  The gold dried up eventually but the town continued to thrive because of the railroads and the burgeoning lumber industry.  Saloons, whorehouses and hotels sprang up followed by banks, stores and schools.  (Priorities, don’tchaknow.)  Later, dairies and vineyards spread throughout the fertile land.

This dude stands outside
the Chamber of Commerce

Grants Pass, home of the Cavemen

In 1922, a bunch of guys got together and formed the Cavemen Club in Grants Pass.  It was just a wild-assed brainchild but it became really popular.  Their main purpose was similar to other clubs like the Elks or Eagles:  get together and drink.  They would dress in animal hides like cavemen for special events like parades and such to promote Grants Pass and help the community grow.  Now, everything is “Cavemen.”  The school sports teams are the Cavemen.  Cavemen Saloon, Cavemen Fence Co., Cavemen Restaurant, you name it. 

The Taprock sits on the
Rogue River's edge

We found a fun restaurant on the Rogue River and stopped in for lunch on the outdoor patio.  We sifted through some of our literature and learned about the annual duck race!  A person can sponsor a little yellow rubber ducky for $10.  On Sept. 21^st, all the ducks, up to 25,000 of them, are launched into the Rogue River a mile or two upstream.  They float down the river, untouched, and the first of them to arrive at Riverside Park across from the patio where we were sitting, win prizes.  Each ducky wears a number so everybody will know who won.  The first prize is $15,000 off on a new car from one of 3 local dealerships that sponsor the duck race.  Just another excuse to party and drink, I’m thinking, and I’m good with that.  I thought about entering just for the hoot (the proceeds are worthy) but I really wouldn’t know what to do if I won.  Best to keep all my ducks in a rowboat.   

We have traveled some very crappy, bumpy roads along the way.  Indiana springs immediately to mind.  Rob says that some of these roads were constructed by people who went to Paving College but called in sick on “concrete smoothing day.”  We are now north of Mt. Shasta headed south and the highway is beautifully smooth.  Rob observes, “This highway was built by Road Scholars.”  (Hey, I live with this on a daily basis.)

Lovely Lady Shasta dominates the horizon