The Dalles impresses with nature, history
‘No, not Dallas. It’s The Dalles…No, two words. First word: ‘T.H.E.’ Second word: ‘D.A.L.L.E.S.’ Yeah, it is an interesting name for a town.”
I’ve said this dozens of times when making motel reservations, and my strong Southern accent doesn’t make explaining this on the phone any easier.
The Dalles, Ore., is the town that husband John and I have called home since we followed the Oregon Trail seven years ago seeking our own destiny like so many fur traders, homesteaders, merchants and technology graduates.
Since our cross-country move, we’ve been lucky enough to see quite a bit of the Northwest. We’ve followed the Pacific coastline to see the ancient redwoods. We’ve witnessed the amazing natural beauty in Montana’s corner of Glacier National Park and we’ve overindulged in the regional fresh fruit harvest to the point of a stomachache.
But this week we didn’t roam very far. In fact, we stayed right at home in The Dalles to enjoy what have come to be some of my favorite places.
The Columbia River Gorge, which borders Oregon and Washington, is known for its lush rain forests and waterfalls. However, 80 miles east of Portland in the gorge’s eastern end, the trees stop and the rain usually does too, around May. This is where The Dalles is located, in a bend of the river.
The two-word name comes from the French “dalle,” which described the flat, basaltic rock that lay like tiles in the narrow rapids here in the Columbia River. Native Americans watched to see if Lewis and Clark would lose their stuff when they tried to navigate these rapids.
In the late ‘50s, The Dalles Dam tamed this section of the Columbia and silenced Celilo Falls, east of The Dalles, which was said to roar like thunder. For thousands of years, the falls had been a great natural fishing and gathering place bringing native tribes from near and far.
During spring and fall salmon runs, descendants of the Cascade tribes can be seen pulling fish from the water while standing on wooden platforms that hang out over the flowing river. Some of these platforms are maintained and handed down from generation to generation. Roadside stands selling fresh catch can be spotted at times along Interstate 84.
The thundering roar of the Celilo Falls can still be heard at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Wasco County Historical Museum in a black-and-white film shot prior to the dam’s construction.
In addition, the center is currently featuring “Cargo,” an exhibit that takes a close look at what explorers Lewis and Clark packed for the trip.
A long journey requires lots of luggage. The 30-ton load they began with in St. Louis included such things as presents for Native Americans; swords and muskets for protection and hunting; and navigational instruments, such as compasses and clocks, for mapping.
To pioneers who came after Lewis and Clark looking for the fertile Willamette Valley, The Dalles was the point of decision. It was here they had to decide whether to risk floating their supplies down the wild Columbia or hauling them around Mount Hood via the Barlow Road, a rough and bumpy toll “road.”
Some people decided to stay near The Dalles and planted crops including cherries. Orchards abound; blossoms will soon fill them and the Northwest Cherry Festival will crown its queen. The festival is a weeklong celebration with the main events, including a parade, classic car show, and Cherry Stomp, held this year on April 23. Contact the local Chamber of Commerce for details (see below).
In the past several years, historic downtown The Dalles has had new commercial investment with the renovation and remodeling of a couple of large old structures.
Too bad those walls can’t give up stories on the people who lived and worked in them. The Dalles once had a reputation as a bawdy western town. Watering holes and houses of ill repute flourished.
One of these was the Baldwin Saloon, which opened in 1876. First established by two brothers, the bar later came to be owned by Dr. Charlie Allen, said to be an arrogant man. Allen married a brothel madam and they operated their businesses together.
You can still belly up to the bar and order a brew in the restored Baldwin Saloon. It’s also a good place to get a steak or a creamy pasta dish. Sometimes a lady sits at a piano on platform above the dining room playing “Walking the Floor Over You” or “Georgia on My Mind” in a twangy, saloon style.
Oil paintings of landscapes and nudes from the 1890s cover the walls of the Baldwin. A notable one is of 19-year-old Carrie Reichwein. She often visited her sister in The Dalles, who was married to the town’s postmaster.
Reichwein posed for artist Wilbur Hayes in 1899 wearing a sheer piece of cloth fashioned like a Greek toga. Roses rest in her lap and adorn her dark hair. (I believe this drafty getup represented some Victorian idea of romance.) The portrait won first place in the 1905-06 Lewis and Clark Exposition.
The townsfolk weren’t all-party in the early 1880s. Some people were obviously reading enough to keep a bookstore in business. Klindt’s Booksellers on Second Street is the oldest continuously operating bookstore in Oregon, according to the plaque on the building’s exterior.
Inside, the wooden floors creak beneath my feet as I inhale the scent of new and used books. Photos show scenes and people from the town’s past. An old, stuffed Pooh bear sits on a top shelf in the children’s room.
The building was constructed in 1870. Bookstore owner Inwer Nickelsen, who first opened his business in 1869, moved his operation to Klindt’s current location following a fire in 1891.
Today, Philip Klindt, the store’s third owner, continues selling books, newspapers and magazines taking people’s minds to places near and far. He’s also added a service to transport the whole body, by coordinating tour packages to regional and world destinations.
A few streets over, a former library constructed with money from Andrew Carnegie in the early 1900s now serves as The Dalles Art Center. Here I stare at color and light captured on film and canvas and in clay, stone and wood. Fresh, green grass growing in and along the ruts of a dirt road highlight a simple scene from the region.
On the scenic bluffs above The Dalles sits Sorosis Park. The path that meanders along the park’s perimeter takes me and my dog Kah-less through tall pines where grey squirrels munch on acorns clasped between their little front paws. Kah-less tries to dart after a squirrel, until he remembers he’s on the leash.
We pass an empty baseball field. To our right is a sweeping view of cherry orchards with Mount Hood in the distance.
Down by the edge of the Columbia River is another favorite walking path. Beginning at the Discovery Center and Museum, the River Front Trail winds through open grass meadows and by marshy Taylor Lake (an excellent bird-watching area).
It’s not far from this path that Internet search engine company Google has agreed to purchase 30 acres from the Port of The Dalles.
When I Google “The Dalles,” a message appears at the top of the screen – ” ‘The’ is a very common word and was not included in your search” – as if to suggest the “the” is not necessary.
Oh, but it is in The Dalles.