North Central Oregon
I do enjoy living where I do. It lends to awesome exploration and enables one to have a history lesson from time to time. I haven’t lived anywhere longer than I have in the PNW. I’d like to take you on a journey through a little patch of Oregon and show you what there is to see…so without further adieu…
I know I have spoken about this before, the town of Shaniko, Oregon, provides us with a bit of history of an Oregon from the early 19th and 20th centuries. Beautiful, old and rustic buildings, in great condition, I might add, that are definitely wonderful to photograph, as well as, read about the history of those structures. You can park your vehicle, outside the public restrooms, and walk to these places and enjoy a day of fascination in history. The old hotel, I found out on my 3rd visit to this town, is actually being renovated and I got a quick tour of the lobby by someone I’ll mention later. It was a great day of shooting and I may even go back a 4th time…maybe when there is snow on the ground…stay tuned!
A couple of weekends ago, a buddy and I decided to go on an over-nighter, freestyle-type photo trip. I did cheat a little, researched a few things to make sure we hit while out there. One thing that we did not count on, and glad we stumbled upon it, was the Grass Valley Country Market in Grass Valley, Oregon. Bonne, who runs the establishment, couldn’t have been sweeter and more accommodating.
So the inside of this Country Store is half groceries and half diner. Exactly the kind of quaintness you’d love to find in a small, rural town. Everything was clean and in its place and everyone was so nice. Everyone that came in while we were there were respectful and gave out smiles willingly.
When Bonne brought our food to us I asked her if I could pick her brain a little. She kindly placed our food in front of us, pulled back a chair, sat at our table and said…”Pick away!” We asked her about the area and she gave us a couple of spots that could be target rich for photographers. Once our inquiries were met, she left us to our lunch. Homemade sandwiches, and other fare, that you can customize and it gets made fresh. No skimping on product, served with a smile and a warmness that isn’t always found in these times. Big city doesn’t always mean better and this establishment is my testimonial to that fact!
If you find yourselves out and about in Grass Valley, Oregon…do everyone a favor, that’s in your party, stop by the Grass Valley Country Store! Say Hi to Bonne and order some awesome sandwiches. You will not have a bad experience there as Bonne will see to it that you’re met with a warmth and friendliness that will require you to want to return and get more of the food, the atmosphere, the hospitality…everything!
We were told by Bonne, although late as we got to this church before hitting the country store, about this abandoned Methodist church. Now the dating of this church is a bit sketch, but old B/W photos found of this building seem to indicate that the photo was possibly from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Services halted in 1947 and a couple had been married in this church between 10 and 12 years ago and then the church fell into a state of disrepair. You can walk around the entire church and even go inside if you felt compelled to shoot photos of the inside. I would even suggest you shoot, if the devise you’re using is capable, 3 bracketed shots and stitch them together in a post processing program. There is some graffiti inside, but it’s nothing too drastic. If it were a big city, it would be riddled with the stuff. But Grass Valley is a place that you have to want to go to and plot your course to get there. It’s off the beaten path by a ways and those who aren’t from there will understand what I’m saying when you get into town.
What I do know is this, I WILL be back to Grass Valley and I will make a point of going to the Grass Valley Country Store and I hope that I may have another fun, and wonderful conversation with Bonne in what else can be found in that area. Go there people! Go say Hi to Bonne and get some wonderful food in you! You will be a much better human when you see the effect of country charm and hospitality as it envelops you.
Well, this episode is in the can and it’s time for me to get after another adventure. I truly hope you get out and see the kind folks in Grass Valley, or smaller towns near where you live. Every time I go to such a place, my faith in humanity is restored. I’m starting to develop a few towns to keep in my back pocket that I know that when the big city and its horrors get me a little frazzled, I got a few places I can go, talk to people I’ve met in these smaller towns and renew my belief that there are really good people still left that are friendly, empathic and always have a smile on their faces and will, in some cases, give you the shirt off their back without batting an eye. I hope you all have places like that you can visit from time to time. They’re remarkable places that contain remarkable people and they are necessary. Until the next time, take care of yourselves and each other…be and travel well!
