Dufur

Dufur, Oregon, an old agriculture town that is close to my heart. A town with a lot of fond memories while as a kid growing up. Each summer from Tacoma, Washington my folks took me, my sister and brother to see our grandparents, uncles, aunt and cousins in Dufur, The Dales, and my mother's girlhood farm house that sits between Dufur and Tygh Valley. My mother and father grew up in Dufur and eventually got married. Dufur is a town that's easy on the eyes with picturesque views of open fields and hills with the ever present Mt. Hood in the distance. A town whose smell, look and feel harken to the days when life was simpler.

                Looking toward the west while Dufur is to the east. Mt Hood is off in the distance behind the clouds.

                                             An old truck behind a house named "Fort Dufur."

 Fort Dufur house. I'm not sure what the history of this house but it is an abandoned one. Sits next to the historic Balch Hotel.

Old theater or auditorium seats stacked in the back yard behind Fort Dufur house.

Inside an old bus used by the Portland Police.

My old swimming hole near Friend, Oregon which is about 13 miles south of Dufur as the crow flies. Every summer while growing up my family would go there to swim along with my uncle and aunt.

Swimming hole is anywhere from 5 feet to 8 or 9 feet deep.

Found it! The last time I swam here was back in the early 1970s. Took me a few hours to finally find the place deeply tucked in with the basalt canyon. I know the name of this creek but I won't mention it here. After all, it is my "super secret" swimming hole.

Jump in! The water is fine. It was warm enough, upper 70s, and sunny with some wind. The water was cold but refreshing. You have to hike a steep trail that you can barely make out down 200 feet into the canyon to get this spot. And hiking back up can be chore if you're not up to the task.

This water fall is not a vertical waterfall but it cascades down a 30 to 40 degree angle and goes into a small pool before cascading into the larger pool. You can take an inner tube and slide down this waterfall for some fun.

Beyond the pool is the "The Chute" you can float down on while it cascades into a few pools.

Because this is a dry country poisonous snakes are known in the area. This isn't a rattlesnake but a poisonous snake called the Hypsiglena torquata.

An old school house used as a community center in Friend, Oregon.  You can see the two outhouses to the right of it.

His and her outhouse.

Inside the old school house. There's an old piano in the corner. I played on it and the sound reverberated throughout the whole school house. The school house is an open building where anyone can go in but there is a sign inside the entrance that says please not to vandalize the place. It looks to be well kept. Very few people come out of the way to Friend, Oregon.

 

Playing ragtime...songs of the past that matches the old school house. 

The picture quality isn't so good in my blog but you can see those same pictures (and more!) in Flickr that comes with better resolution and quality. Enjoy!