Reflections on a Dying Town

Lacrosse  from the south entrance

Have you ever visited a dying friend or relative you haven’t seen in a while?  The changes are often shocking and unsettling.  We had a similar emotional experience while traveling from Walla Walla, WA to Coeur d’ Alene, ID when we decided to take a detour to visit my mother-in-law’s home town, La Crosse, WA, population 312. 

La Crosse from the North

The town had its heyday in the 30’s and 40’s.  It was the center of social and economic life for miles around in the rolling wheat fields.  We hear many stories about it as Doris reminisces about her childhood during the Great Depression.  It was a major railroad and agricultural center.  Unlike some of the timber-dependent towns in Oregon and Washington, this town wasn’t done in suddenly by resource depletion or government regulations.  It just started dying a natural death in the 1950’s when the main highway bypassed and railroads declined. The world changed and left this place behind.

Bud's grave marker

We were last there together in 1996 for the town’s 100 year anniversary and a family reunion.  Kathy also visited in 2005 to bury her father's ashes.  It was obvious then that town had seen much better days, but things were still hopeful.  Revisiting it now, La Crosse, WA is downright sad, but with tenacious pockets of hope. 

View from the cemetery

Long gone are the dance halls, the saloons, the hotels (including a boarding house owned and run by Kathy’s grandmother), a movie theater, bowling alley, and vibrant businesses.   Some buildings that are still standing should be demolished because of collapsed roofs.  More residents reside in the cemetery than in the town.  Broken down vehicles, washing machine carcasses, and ‘For Sale’ signs abound.  The town's only cafe closed and is for sale.

Main Street, circa 2015

On the flip side, the city park, where we had the reunion, is green and well-maintained.  The swimming pool, where Kathy learned to swim during summer visits, had water but no lifeguards or kids.  The K-12 school still exists, with an enrollment of 76 students, probably from farms miles away.  Its Cougars won the 2005 football championship.  A ‘grocery’ store still exists, but it’s more like a convenience store seen in food deserts.  There is an Umpqua Bank branch on Main Street.  Sewers or water lines were being replaced, which added may have added to the dust bowel atmosphere on a hot and windy day.  Wheat is king right now, so the grain elevator was busy.  We counted about five large, older and nicely maintained homes.

Middle of Nowhere, WA

As with any small town, the people were friendly.  We got some bewildered looks as we pulled our Airstream through the town block by block.  Being three miles off the main road from Colfax to I-90, it’s hard to see how this town will ever come back.  We gotta give credit to the people still there.  In the words of the town’s official website La Crosse is a small town but through the ingenuity and diversification of the businesses within, most services are available. If you can't find something, be sure to ask one of our residents!

The visit was surprisingly emotional for us.  Maybe it was getting a connection to Kathy's dad, Bud, at his grave.  Or maybe from all the stories of a happy childhood gone by (not ours, but that of Doris).  Or perhaps it was just a sense of what it is like to be young and vital many years ago, only to have it slip away gradually year by year.  

(On a more cheerful note, check out the post from the Airstream Caravan we are co-leading through Washington and Idaho, entitled “The Daze of Wine and Roads.” Here's the link.  

Boston Uncommon

Boston view  from Harbor Island ferry

With two daughters who graduated from Boston University and one of them who still lives in the Boston area, we've seen this place and all of its usual tourist attractions.  This time we did some of the less common tourist activities, including a trip to the Berkshires in NW Massachusetts, and home of the Tanglewood Music Festival. Best of all, we enjoyed time with Skyler, RyRy (her dog), Spencer (her boyfriend) and Lucy (his dog).

Spencer, Skyler, Lucy, and RyRy

View from Spectacle Island

Fort Warren on Georges Island

We spent a day going to the Harbor Islands, which included an historic fort, nice views of Boston, and a little relief from the heat.

Team "Too Big to Fail"

Monday night pub trivia is huge in Boston among Skyler and her homies.  Our contribution was ancient history, circa pre-1987. Our team "Too Big to Fail," came in second.

Hubway  is an amazingly well-organized network of bikes throughout the greater Boston area.  We rented them and rode from Watertown into downtown Boston in the heat and humidity along the Charles River.  Skyler is quite the bicycle Samurai getting us through the convoluted downtown Boston traffic.  Now the child is teaching the parents about bicycling!

Samurai Skyler

Along the St. Charles near MIT, temperature 85, humidity 50%

Edward Kennedy Senate Institute (not my photo)

Life-size Senate Chamber

One of Boston's newest treasures is the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the US Senate, located right next to the JFK library.  We thought it would be like his brother's museum next door--all about him--but it was mostly about the US Senate, complete with a life-size replica of the US Senate Chambers with live historic Senate debates by the docents.  Very minimalist in design, but high on tech, you could learn about every single US senator.  Being provincial Oregonians, we only pulled up about 8 Oregon senators.

Our B&B

The highlight of our trip was five days in the Berkshires.  What's a Berkshire, you ask?  Yes, it's a pig breed and half of the name of a famous investment fund. It's also a region in NW Massachusetts, southern New York, and northern Connecticut with about 26 towns and what East Coast people call "mountains."  Above all, it's a huge cultural center that dates back to the 1930's.

Jacob's Pillow outdoor dance stage

We rented an Air B&B in Hinsdale, New York, about 25 minutes away from the music mecca of Tanglewood and the dance mecca of Jacob's Pillow, yes Jacob's Pillow.  While the home wreaked of mildew, and the sheets were too small for the beds, it was quiet and spacious with a well-equipped kitchen.


Skyler's boyfriend, Spencer, sings in the Boston Symphony Tanglewood Chorus. This time it was Mahler's 8th symphony.  Between the choral members and the musicians, there were 340 performers on stage.  Quite impressive!  The Boston Globe agreed.   Here's a 10 second clip of the choir warming up in the practice pavilion..  

Getting into the Tanglewood spirit

"Tailgaters"

 But just as fun was the festival/picnic atmosphere on the lawn beforehand.  It's the mother of all tailgate parties with 5,000 people, but minus pickup trucks, barbecues, generators, and team colors. We got to enjoy it again on Sunday to hear Joshua Bell.

Self portrait

Nearby was the Norman Rockwell museum.  That was probably the most accessible art museum we've ever seen.  There was no need to guess about obscure abstract meanings--every illustration or painting told a story, often with humor.  Others were very emotional or serious.  Interesting factoid:  Norman Rockwell could not paint from memory or just imagine things.  He always needed live models, real props, and/or photographs.

First Day of School

Peace Corps Commeration

Waiting for Joshua Bell's performance

The nearby grounds on the 200-acre estate are beautiful, as is the surrounding countryside.

On top of Monument "Mountain"

We swam in the Stockbridge Bowl

View from original Tanglewood mansion

Delightful dinner in the Berkshires

The Sous Vied

The finishing touch

We ate well on this trip, but our best meals were the ones we cooked together.  Skyler and Spencer are quite the foodies.  It was our first time to taste wonderful steak and seafood prepared with a sous vied, which slow cooks food in plastic bags at low temperatures in a water bath.  Then seared with a blow torch.  Amazingly tender and flavorful.

The only downer for this trip was when a 60-pound pit bull/black lab mix from next door to our B&B attacked Skyler's 50-pound pit bull mix on the deck of our B&B.  Absolutely terrifying as it dragged her by the neck!  I thought RyRy was going to die and that Kathy, the other dog's owner, or I would get bitten trying to break it up.  It took three of us to separate them.  RyRy is okay today with just a minor bite on the top of her neck, but it took me over three hours to get the adrenaline out of my system.

All in all, a good trip, filled with pleasant surprises.  As always, it will be nice to be back home Monday evening.  Our next blog will be in a week or so from the Daze of Wine and Roads Airstream caravan.  Kathy and I are co-leaders with another couople of this two week trip of 10 trailers exploring wineries and rails-to-trails bicycle paths in Washington and Idaho.  Until then, stay cool!

Home Again--One out of Two Could be Better

“…we still have two more branches, and two out of three ain’t bad.”  

--Jack Nicholson, in his role as US President in the campy movie Mars Attack, after the US Capitol was destroyed.

The Queen didn't wave back to us

Well, half of the Ron & Kathy duo are home, and one out of two ain’t bad, but it could be more fun if both of us were here together.  We had a nice breakfast with Shanti and Alan in London last Sunday morning, then started our 18 hour journey home.  It was nice to be back, but 36 hours later, Kathy was back on a plane to Burbank, CA for eight days for her volunteer role as a board member of the Assistance League. 

We're not complaining--as life is so good for both of us, even if we don't get to experience everything together. Salem is so nice in the summer, and I'm luxuriating in all its delights.  The annual art fair  and festival is a the quintessential essence of summer in Salem.  That and the Saturday Market, bicycling, barbecues, other festivals, our fabric of friends, and everything else that makes this such a great place.

Alsace France?  No, 11 miles from home by bike Friday

Their flat on top floor

Shanti & Kathy beneath the streets of London

Our last two days in London were quite a contrast from the rural and laid-back countryside.  London is so cosmopolitan. Unlike the Cotswolds, the place was alive with young people of all ethnicites.  Like New York City, it takes a lot of energy and money to live there. So much hustle and bustle, but no matter what, the people we encountered were so polite and helpful. The Greek crisis, ISIS, and the government's new budget totally dominated the news, and it was interesting to get the British perspective on them.  

We enjoyed walking neighborhoods, seeing a few sites, riding the bus and tube, and above all, hanging out with Shanti and Alan.  We got to experience the Uber driving service first hand, and we must say, it is nothing short of impressive! The drivers were all interesting people from all over the world, even though they have lived in London for years.  All of them make more money now than they did previously as bus drivers, Mc Donalds managers, or other occupations.

High Street in St. Johns area

Restroom door in Chinatown

Shanti and Alan's flat warming party was really fun. The kitchen seemed smaller than the one in our Airstream, but by London standards, it was a large flat, especially the living room area.  The party felt like we were at the United Nations. Their friends were all so intelligent and interesting.  I was definitely the oldest, and probably the dumbest one there.  

What's next?  Kathy comes home on Wednesday :)  That leaves us with two weeks of a beautiful July in Salem together.  Then we're off to Boston to see Skyler,  her boyfriend Spencer, and their dogs. Spencer will be singing with the Boston Pops at Tanglewood, so we can hardly wait.  We hope that all of you are also enjoying a beautiful summer.

Summer sunset from our deck

Cotswold—What’s a Cotswold?

  

A Cotswold trail marker

Always on the lookout for this

When planning the UK portion of our trip, daughter Shanti suggested that we visit the Cotswolds.  My first thought was “Who are they—some distant relative of Clark Griswold from National Lampoon’s European Vacation?” No, not quite.  

The Costswolds are a 79-mile long, 800 square mile British designated ‘Area of Outstanding Natural  Beauty’ (AONB) about two hours west of London.  Most of it is farmland. It also has over 4,000 miles of impressive stone walls and lots of sheep and sheep dung.  The word comes from ‘cots’ referring to sheep enclosures and ‘wold’ meaning gentile (limestone) hills.

One of countless "kissing gates" we navigated

Our first inn/pub  (on the right)

View from our lunch pub

We hiked about 10-14 miles for three days among them, eating at pubs along the way and spending the night at country inns, some of which were over 400 years old.  The area has a system of trails, which are basically right-of-ways along through and along the edges of fields, barnyards, and forests. Along the way we passed 800-year old villages, churches, and cemeteries.  We managed to dodge the rain showers, but not the ever-present sheep dung in the pastures.  Our bags magically showed up at the next B&B, often a 300-year old building.

Broadway Tower

Through many pastures with a view

old churchyard

Our experience can best be described as a delightful romp through the English countryside in the mornings, a leisurely lunch at a pub, and a long slog through nettles and sheep dung in the afternoons.  All along the way, the scenery was beautiful.  Evenings were spent enjoying good food (yes, the British can do more than fish and chips) and conversation over extended meals.

Typical Cotswold View

We met some interesting people, some cows, and lots of sheep.  What made this trip so unique is that we could walk from field to field, through farms, through pastures, forests, farmyards, and narrow alleyways between homes.  The landowners are all part of the cooperative system of rights of way through their land.  Volunteers maintain the 'kissing gates.' Unlike the States, the trail users treat the private property with respect and don't litter or harass the livestock .

Today, our third morning, we met one of the original founders of the Peace Corps, hiking most of the same route.  Unlike us, Paul and wife Mary were in their late 70’s, which we found inspiring.   We enjoyed learning about his early days in Pakistan when Sargent Shriver and Bill Moyers were setting up the Pakistan country desk. 

A fragrant lavender field

Mogul palace of some rich dude 

Along the way we had a couple of delightful surprises.  One was an immense and fragrant lavender farm.  Another was a mansion in the form of a 17th Century Indian Mogul palace.  

This time, a view when it was not cloudy

Old stone fence

newer stone fence

All in all, a very unique vacation.  What we enjoyed the most was the extended conversations with daughter Shanti and her boyfriend Alan (who is Australian, but works in London).  As the Greek crisis unfolds and the British budget was unveiled, we learned a lot about the economy, culture, and lifestyles of living in the UK. 

We have a couple more days in London, then head home on Sunday.  It’s a nice place to live, but we’ll be glad to return to our small world in Salem, OR on Sunday.