Follow S.E. Schlosser's trip to Oregon in search of ghost stories, supernatural tales, and of course, Bigfoot! The author takes you day by day through a typical research trip as she discovers the supernatural side of Oregon, in preparation for the writing and publication of the 15th book in the Spooky Series: Spooky Oregon, coming in September 2009.

Day Six View of Hells Canyon from inside the Jet Boat. Photo credit: S.E. Schlosser, copyright 2008. Hells Canyon - at last! I was going on an all day Jet Boat Tour! I got up early and had breakfast brought right to my room by the B&B Hostess, Julie. When ready to depart for my trip through the canyon, I took my tray upstairs to the deck and spent several minutes meeting the dogs - Ally and the 3 pugs, Sherman, and two others whose names I forget. Sherman had to be chained up because he frequently goes walkabout where he should not. Then I was on the road and driving through the canyon itself - up and up the twisty, narrow, windy road with no protection at all from the sheer drop on the left side of the car. I crept along as slowly as possible, alternating between admiring the view and hyperventilating with fear that I was going to pitch over the side of the cliff. 22 miles later, I came to the dam, drove across it, and down to the parking area, pulse still pounding madly with fear. But I was there, and after checking in at the guest station above, went down the switchback gray outdoor staircase to the canyon level and the dock, and the check-in area. First thing I saw was a bald eagle darting down to the water of the Snake River and then flapping away. I took several shots - all unfortunately a little blurry. But what a way to begin the day! Next I met several fishermen and four lovely "active" senior couples who were going on the jet boat tours with me. Fun! Our lunch host once chased a cougar out of this flower garden in Hells Canyon. Photo credit: S.E. Schlosser, copyright 2008. The tour itself was marvelous. We had to wear life jackets for the first section because the rapids were so big - level four out of a 1-6 scale! One was nearly a five! The boat whirled and swirled and bounced - kinda like my sister's driving! Then we were on calmer waters. Wildlife sightings included deer, wild mules, bighorn sheep, and a golden eagle. Very cool. For lunch, we stopped at the boat drivers house in Hells Canyon --- a lovely farm-house - no indoor plumbing - with an air field across the river. We were met by his wife and two dogs - one was a boxer - and had a wonderful make your own sandwich kind of picnic with salad and cold cuts and pickles and homemade brownies for desert. I sat with a very lovely couple from Bend and talked photography with the woman the whole meal. Then the jet boat driver told us stories about living in Hells Canyon - the time his wife found a cougar in her flower garden, the herds of elk who came down almost to the house to use the salt lick in the winter, seeing two bighorn rams fighting... After lunch, we went upriver to a small museum that depicted life in Hells Canyon before the government turned it into a park and pushed out the farmers living there. Then we returned up river at a much faster pace, pausing only to pick up the white water rafters and the fishermen. View from the farm museum in Hells Canyon. Photo credit: S.E. Schlosser, copyright 2008. We had to put lifejackets on again, and go up those huge rapids. It was great, and I had a lovely conversation with one of the rafters - a sweet senior lady - who told me about her adventures on teh river and about her hometown of Pendleton, which happened to be the next stop on my journey. At the end of our jet boat trip, she issued an open invitation for me to visit her and her husband in Pendleton, Oregon if ever I chance to be in town. I was exhausted by the end of the trip, and still had to make the nerve-racking trip down the narrow, windy, too-high road with no protection against the sheer-drop of nearly 1000 feet - this time on the right side of the car!! Whew! Then I drove 2 more hours to my hotel, had a quick meal at Pizza Hut, and checked in. I was tired and sore, so I stopped for a short soak in the hot tub before bed. And as I was leaving, my keycard fell into the hot tub! Being unable to find it again, I had to go in my bathing suit to the front desk to beg for another!! Just as they coded it in, some kids also using the hot tub came running in with my dripping wet card, for which they had gone diving!! It was hilarious! A funny end to a glorious day! Day Seven Replica of a covered wagon overlooking the Oregon Trail. Photo credit: S.E. Schlosser, copyright 2008. Lots happened today. I started the day at a lovely little depot for breakfast, with a miniature train running past my booth every ten minutes. It ran around the whole store up to the ceiling, spiraling down the walls, passed the booths. I kept wishing I could show it to my 5 nephews, all of whom would love it. Then I went to the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, where I learned about the epic journey in detail, and then rode down to a place where I could walk in the actual wagon-wheel tracks made by the original settlers. Very cool. Then I drove up to Pendleton, where I had a quick lunch at the local bakery and then to the Underground Tour. It was amazing. The Chinese settlers - there to build the railroads or do mining - built all these underground tunnels and rooms, lined with carefully smoothed stones and dirt floors. Spooky underground tunnel reputedly haunted by the ghosts of Chinese workers. Photo credit: S.E. Schlosser, copyright 2008. The rooms had doors and windows leading out to the main tunnels!! - this was meant to catch the light from above, since the sidewalks originally had open air grids and then later purple glass windows built right into them to shed light into the tunnels. Over time, the tunnels housed a Chinese laundry, a butchers shop, gambling dens, a prohibition speak-easy, an ice cream parlor, Chinese workmen, a bowling alley/pool hall, and an opium den! We were also given a tour of an old-time brothel - which I found disturbing. After the tour, I drove to the Dalles and watched the wind-surfers for a bit. Then I took the Rowena road to the overlook of the Columbia Gorge - which was beautiful. And then I stopped at Multnomah Falls - over 600 feet tall!! - and took lots of photos, before driving to Portland, where I met Mom and Dad when they arrived at the hotel. Also spent some time talking photography with Chris - one of the guys manning the desk that night - who showed me some of his photos he had up on MySpace. Nice! Day Eight The lovely Multnomah Falls. Photo credit: S.E. Schlosser, copyright 2008. Today we went to see the Portland Rose Festival Parade in the morning. Dad wanted to use public transit because he said parking would be awful, so we took the hotel shuttle to the airport to the train to the stadium. It was still a great deal of walking for Mom - but the parade was a lot of fun. We had a seat almost at the top of the bleachers, and right in front of the TV cameras, so we were part of the crowd scene on TV!! My favorite float had a ballerina hippo held up by sweaty, weak-kneed frogs! I also liked a group from Tawain in which they had girls dancing with large fans and a Tawainese band playing with unusual instruments. There was even a Bigfoot float and one devoted to Native American culture (sponsored by a casino!!). Lots and lots of rodeo queens rode by, and one time a group on dressage-trained horses, which performed for the crowd. Wonderful! After a late lunch, we drove to Multnomah Falls and Dad and I walked up to the bridge. The we drove up to and then over Mount Hood. What a gorgeous high mountain, In the shadow of Mount Hood. That tiny object is an SUV! Photo credit: S.E. Schlosser, copyright 2008. and still lots of snow when you get up to the top. Skiing there all year long. I got out several times to take photos - one time I bumped into a nice young man who wanted me to take his picture with the snowy mountain peak in the background, and then he took one of me and Mom and Dad. Very nice of him. As we started driving down the mountain, I noticed that my stomach - which had been bothering me slightly since lunch - had turned into full-fledged chills. A stop for soda only worsened the situation, and I was sick in the woods by the parking lot and again on the drive to the hotel. I had all the symptoms of food poisoning from lunch. Maybe I got one of those bad tomatoes! I went to bed right away when we got back, and quickly started feeling better, which was good! Spooky Oregon Travelogue: Days 1-3 | Days 4-5 | Days 6-8 | Days 9-11 | Days 12-13 | Days 14-16 About the Author   |   Awards   |    Sources   |   Spooky Books   |   Stories A to Z   |   Reprints/Permissions Comments? Email us at webmaster@americanfolklore.net © S.E. Schlosser 1997 - 2008. 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