S.Calif Trip Day 1- Vancouver, WA to Jerome, ID

Vancouver, WA – Left around 9:30 AM on a three-week road trip to Southern California.

Drove Interstate 84 through the Columbia River Gorge and made a quick stop at the Pendleton Woolen Mills store in Pendleton, Oregon. Was hoping we could take a tour but unfortunately, we missed the early tour and the next tour was at 3 PM. According to the sales lady, the woolen mill in Pendleton is much smaller than the woolen mill in Washougal, Washington near where we live.

It’s also the only Pendleton mill that uses jacquard looms that can create very complicated designs. The sales lady said their jacquard looms can weave just about any pattern that can be scanned from a photo.

We’ve taken the tour at the Washougal mill and if you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend it. We continued our road trip along Interstate 84 through Baker City, Oregon where we stopped for a break and coffee. Baker City is one of the bigger towns in Eastern Oregon and is known for its historical buildings, funky shops and, my favorite, the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center where you can see interpretive displays about the Oregon Trail and the actual ruts from the covered wagons early settlers used to migrate to Oregon on the Oregon Trail back between 1840 – 1860. We continued on our road trip to Jerome, Idaho which was our final destination for the day. We have never spent any time in Jerome so weren’t sure what to expect. We made reservations at the Best Western Sawtooth Inn & Suites and were pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. When checking in, they offered a free “happy hour” drink of our choice (local craft beer for me and apple soda for Carol). They also included breakfast of eggs or omelet cooked to our specs, muffins, fruit, toast, coffee, etc. According to the Jerome website, the city is the economic center of Jerome County and farming and agricultural related industries (dairy) dominate the Jerome economy.

Things I Learned On This Day (#TILOTD) –

• In 1960, a little-known singing group known as the Pendletones was formed, taking their name from the classic Pendleton wool plaid shirt. This group later changed their name to The Beach Boys and the Pendleton Board Shirt became popular among American youth.
• Segments of Interstate 84 follow the historic Oregon Trail