Tell Me About It

Linda Burton posting from Salem, Oregon – I ask everybody where they like to eat; it’s how you find the good places in a town that’s new to you. And knowing where people eat is one measure of a town, it gives a sense of what the people there enjoy. I stopped at an excellent trusted chain my first night in Salem, and when the manager stopped by my table to thank me for coming in, I asked him what “other” restaurants he would recommend. “I’m not looking for the most elegant,” I clarified, “I’m just interested in where people really enjoy going.” He sat down at my table, seriously thinking about his answer. “I eat out a lot,” he told me, as he jotted down some notes, “and to me the entire package is important.” We discussed what we appreciated in a restaurant – good food, of course; good service, parking, and location; but most of all, the right atmosphere. It’s that indefinable thing that’s hard to rate called, simply, love. “You can tell when an owner, or a chef, loves the business they’re in,” he said. And you can tell when people love to go there, too. It’s called “word of mouth,” meaning they tell other people about it. Rob handed me his notes, nicely categorized into the three basic meals of the day, three restaurants listed for each meal. “That should keep you busy while you’re here,” he smiled. » read more

That Very Pleased Look

Linda Burton posting from Salem, Oregon – Put your compass on the Salem map point. Now, draw a circle 100-miles around. This center-of-the-universe view reveals the truth of it – Salem is positioned right smack between the “mountains and the deep blue sea.” Take this varied terrain, add the fact that the climate is mild year-round, and there you have it: the perfect earth-air-water recipe for an out-of-doors way of life. East are the Cascade Mountains; Mt Hood, Mt Jefferson, Mt Washington, Three Fingered Jack; the Mt Jefferson Wilderness and the National Forests – Mt Hood, Willamette, and Deschutes. West are the Pacific Ocean and the Oregon beaches; Lincoln City, Tillamook, Newport, Agate Beach, Yachats, the Florence dunes. Also to the west is the Coast Range, Mary’s Peak the highest point at 4,097 feet. All of this is home to bear, elk, deer, beaver, and many species of birds and fish. Let’s talk about fish, and that statue of former Oregon governor Tom McCall, standing by the Willamette River in Salem’s Riverfront Park. » read more

When Babies Are Born

Linda Burton posting from Salem, Oregon – When babies are born in Oregon, the doctor slaps them on the bottom and says “No self-serve and no sales tax.” I was given this (sort of) tongue-in-cheek answer to my question this week, “Why can’t I pump my own gas here?” I know that when babies are born in Alabama they are dedicated right then and there as either “Alabama” or “Auburn” loyalists, whether or not they ever attend either university; a logical thing, you see; it keeps the sale of season tickets reasonably predictable (cue, chuckle). But I’m puzzled about the prohibition against being able to manage my own gasoline needs in Oregon. I’ve asked a few residents how they feel about it and the answers all come out the same: they like it like that. “I don’t like getting gas on my hands,” is one answer; “I don’t like getting out in the rain,” is another I’ve heard. Since Oregonians are always “out in the rain” on their bikes, or hiking their lovely mountain trails, or just going to the grocery store, that one didn’t resonate; and since I’ve pumped my own gas for more than twenty years and never gotten any on my hands, I decided to track down the legislative power behind the babies bottom. » read more

Once Upon A Time

Linda Burton posting from Salem, Oregon – “Once upon a time,” writes Virginia Green, “before shopping malls and giant parking lots….” Remember that? I remember walking to the A & P, Mother sending me off in a rush to pick up something she needed to finish cooking lunch. I remember hanging out at the corner drug store on summer afternoons, cooling off with a cherry coke while I planned my future over Wonder Woman comic books. That’s when I was 10, and rode my bike most everywhere. The good news is – bikes are in vogue again, and if you’re in Salem, Oregon, you can still walk, and shop, downtown. The Salem Downtown Historic District is a vibrant neighborhood today, with many buildings thoughtfully preserved to offer up a taste of the past. It’s tucked between the Riverfront Park and the State Capitol and you can combine shopping with reading – cast-bronze historic markers along the way tell you the building’s original name and when it was constructed and you’ll catch yourself nodding your head over the interesting story that is included too. Add shade trees, benches, and colorful architecture; you’re not just anywhere, you are someplace. » read more

Sunday Church

Linda Burton posting from Salem, Oregon – It’s just an old cinder cone, sprouting some juniper, and sage. But when you’re on the top of it, you get a 360-degree view of the world. The city of Bend lies below; look down at little house-boxes tucked between the trees; look across the high desert to the Cascades; snow-covered, glacier-frosted volcanic peaks that take your breath away. You simply have to stare. Pilot Butte was my first priority of Sunday morning business, but I wasn’t the first to arrive. Dick and Dee were already there. Karen too. So were moms and dads and kids and dogs and turtles. Well, one turtle, anyway. Water bottles, hiking boots, people dressed for Sunday morning joy, what better place to be? I looked around and deemed it “Sunday Church.” People had a happy look, pleased with themselves, pleased with the day. The “something” here is more than just a panoramic view. » read more

Shut The Front Door!

Linda Burton traveling from Boise, Idaho to Bend, Oregon on the way to Salem, Oregon – “Shut the front door!” or some version thereof is what I repeated each time I rounded another curve. The scenery was unexpected. According to the map, once I crossed the Snake River from Idaho into Oregon and left the freeway for Highway 20, there wasn’t much. First Vale, a small agricultural town, then what looked to be a curvy road to Burns, and Harney Basin. It was that unassuming curvy road that gave me the “wows” – a juicy-fruit of changing scenes, each one a surprise. All I could say was “Shut the front door!” Just outside Vale a lonely mass in a freshly plowed field commanded my attention. I stopped to read the sign. “Mahleur Butte,” it said, a leftover from the Idaho Lake of 2 million years ago. “Mahleur,” derived from the French “misfortune.” Turns out I’d see that name again and again. » read more

Fries With That?

Linda Burton posting from Boise, Idaho – A person can’t hear the word “Idaho” without the word “potato” inserting itself into consciousness, at least, subconsciously. While it’s true that Idaho soil is just right for potato growing, the real “potato story” is bigger than that, and centers itself in Boise. The average person (not living in Boise) may not be familiar with the name J R Simplot. You can read about him on any list of billionaires though. And something you probably eat every day is something you have because of something this man did. He’s something!

John Richard (J R) Simplot was born in 1909 in Dubuque, Iowa but his family moved to Idaho the next year, homesteading in the newly irrigated Magic Valley. J R quit school and left home at age 14, striking out on his own as a farmhand. At the time of his death at 99, he was the oldest billionaire on the Forbes 400. What did this man do in those intervening 85 years? Hint: his license plate read “Mr Spud.” » read more

Liking Biking

Linda Burton posting from Boise, Idaho – Boise is for bicycles. And not just during the ExergyTWENTY12 event that’s bringing world-class cyclists into town this week. Ordinary folks are out there every day, on the streets and on the pathways, going ordinary places on their bikes. Like Ed, the retiree who volunteers at the State Capitol. “I ride my bike almost everywhere I go. I can hardly stand getting in a car anymore,” he said. He figures he rides about 200 miles a week. And like Terry, a part of the American Heritage Trolley Tour I took. Standing by the map on the back of my car, Terry pointed out the route he and his daughter took in the summer of 1992 when they biked across the USA. Daughter Lyalka was 14, Dad Terry was 44. They departed from Florence, Oregon and arrived in Long Island, New York 43 days later, Pacific to Atlantic. “People made a fuss over her,” Terry told me. “Bicycling across the country at 14. They should have been making a fuss over me. I was doing it at 44!” When I asked how they trained for the trip, he said they didn’t; they were already bike riders, so they just went. “You don’t have to be an athlete to do something like that,” he said.

Or, you can be an athlete, and a professional, like Boisean Kristin Armstrong, leader of the Exergy TWENTY12 Team, who brought home Olympic Gold from Beijing in 2008, and is aiming for London this year. How she got into cycling is a rather unusual story. » read more

Do The Best You Can

Linda Burton posting from Boise, Idaho – “Look at me,” the Capitol Guide said. “I’m old. And your parents will get old. Someday this will be up to you.” He was speaking to a 4^th-grade class from Twin Falls, seated in the Chambers of the House; each one perched at a representatives desk; school in session, big time. He waved his pointer stick around the room. “One of those desks could be yours someday. All these legislators were kids one day, just like you.” The children seemed attentive, perhaps a little doubtful though. The guide continued, “You need an education. Study everything you can. Read. But do you know the most important thing that you can do? Pay attention to what is going on.” Well gee, I thought, that’s what I’ve always said to kids. Pay attention. Study everything you can. I liked this Guide, a Capitol Volunteer. He wasn’t giving kids the “history talk,” he was giving them the “future walk.” I heard him say as I headed toward the Governor’s Office, “If you’re not able to go to college, don’t let that stop you. You do the best you can.”  » read more

Just Visiting

Linda Burton posting from Boise, Idaho – In Monopoly, you scowl when your token lands on that unlucky space marked “Go To Jail;” you do not collect $200; you move directly into Jail. Your turn is up. Land on the “Jail” space in the ordinary course of play and you are Just Visiting; life is good. The Old Idaho Penitentiary off Warm Springs Road has lots of folks “just visiting” these days; the former territorial prison closed for good in 1973 after more than a hundred years of housing the “bad guys” and a few “bad women” too. Now a part of Idaho history, the Idaho Historical Society has it open to the public; it is a designated National Historic Site. A family bought their tickets just ahead of me; the parents and two girls, a teen and what looked to be a ten-year-old, a pretty little blond. The first exhibit room had costumes and a camera stand; put on the stripes and pose before a blackout screen; or stand behind the bars. The little girl did both; dramatic scenes; she pulled a look of anguish out; I heard the camera click. The teen played cell phone games, not much impressed. Just visiting. I headed for the gate into the Yard. “Don’t miss Siberia,” the lady selling tickets said. “It’s the worst.” » read more