A Day in Pendleton

Jill's Journal: Pendleton was named the “Top True Western Town in 2011” by True West Magazine. Sweet Victoria still gets excited every time she sees anyone in a cowboy hat. “Mommy, look! It’s a real cowboy with a real hat and a real belt!” I love it.

Here's a view of downtown, set in the hills around the Umatilla River.

Outside of town, it's wheat, wheat, and more wheat as far as the eye can see.

Friendly touches are everywhere.

I loved this sign. From the best I can tell, the Mainstreet Cowboys serve as a sort of welcoming committee for folks attending the Round-Up.

The girls and I spent part of the day at the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute (no, I can't say it either). It's an American Indian-owned and operated interpretive center that celebrates the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla tribes. No pictures were allowed inside, but the girls got a lot out of it.

This is a tule reed lodge, the standard dwelling used by the Columbia River Plateau peoples about 200 years ago. It's large, about 30' by 16' by 16'.

A demonstrator invited the girls to meet Ula (but sounded like Olga), the Golden Eagle. Obviously not knowing we've seen several birds of prey in Oregon, he was telling the girls and the audience about the basic physical differences between Golden Eagles and Bald Eagles (the color of the heads, how far down the feathers reach on the legs, etc.). He finished and Erika, our sponge, spoke up, "Yes, and I've also noticed their beaks are shaped differently. The ___ Eagle's (I forget which one, she didn't) is longer and more pointed."

"Why yes," the man said, a little surprised, "if you were to study them very closely you would definitely see that." I later asked her how she knew that. She shrugged and said like it was the most normal thing in the world, "I just noticed." Like I said, she's a sponge.

Look at those talons. I wouldn't trifle with these birds!

We did learn at the Tamastslikt center about the Pendleton Round-Up being a true collaboration between the cowboys of the area and the tribal people, both a century ago when it started and to this day. Later, we happened to be driving by the Round-Up grounds when we noticed the gate open. We snuck in for a peek. Look at the size of this place! How many thousands of people must it hold? The arena is unique in rodeo for two reasons: it’s still grass (the outside dirt is where the Indian Relay Races are held) and there’s no advertising on the walls.

Erika found a barrel racing toy she desperately wanted in a store a few days ago and we returned so she could purchase it with her own money. We made her think about it, especially as it was an expensive toy ($40) that more than cut her cash savings in half. She had been saving for a pony and we reminded her of how long it took to earn $40. She said, "I know, but we'll be traveling at least another year or two so I have plenty of time to earn it back. Besides, I need to learn about barrel racing and this will help. And it's my money and I earned it!" Who can argue with that? She had clearly prepared her argument ahead of time!

One last picture from the day: Oregon produce continues to be amazing. We stopped by a Farmers' Market today and picked up our first yellow watermelon. It tastes like...watermelon! The flavor was a little different from a perfectly ripe watermelon, but it was still good.