Quote of the Day: "Time to Mophie up"
After breakfast we got a morning shot of Sophie and Mike in the little garden area off of the suite we occupied.
Several people told us that we had to see the Kam Wah Chung Historical Site in John Day. The building was built in 1867 out of 24 inch thick block and was purchased by two Chinese immigrants, one a merchant (Lung On) and one a physician practicing Chinese medicine (Ing Hay). They both lived on-site and had the first Buick dealership in Eastern Oregon.
There was a large Chinese community in the area due to gold mining. After some persecution these men became well respected in the community and are both buried in the town cemetery.
The building remained abandoned after Ing Hay died in 1952. He had deeded it to the town of John Day and asked that it be turned into a museum. The store was largely forgotten until 1968.
What I especially liked about this site was that it was exactly as it was when abandoned except for the addition of lighting. Nothing has been brought in. Fun to look at all the old brand names in retro packaging - no plastic!!
It is free and well worth the 40 minutes it will take, if you like history!!
Apothocary:
Doc Hay's bedroom - meat cleaver on sideboard for protection as the Chinese were not allowed to own guns. $23,000 in un-cashed checks were discovered in the black suitcase under the bed. It was thought that Doc Hay did not cash the checks of patients that could not afford his services. People traveled from other states to be treated by him as he was very knowledgeable and successful in his treatments.
Lung On's store:
The kitchen:
Thanks to all that convinced me to take this tour.
So today is to be a down day for R&R. We decided to bike the 13 miles to Prairie City (pop 900) and stay at the local restored hotel.
We got caught in a brief rainstorm and took shelter with a local rancher.
We stayed at Hotel Prairie and the gracious owner kindly comped us one of the rooms when we told her of the charity aspect of our ride. This is a very recently restored property - very nice!
The lobby in the evening light:
The hotel predominantly features antique furniture and beautiful woodwork.
This is a shot into the recently opened wine bar.
This is the hotel owner, Donna who is retired from the State Department resulting in international postings and a very interesting perspective on international affairs.
Oregon certainly is bike friendly.
So this is "Getting Mophied up". When you are traveling in especially remote areas one must consider the battery life of cell phones and tablets. These are the Mophie brand back-up batteries that Sandrine and I carry. Mine, which is probably too large as it weighs in at almost 2 lbs., can charge an iPhone 8x's and a tablet 2x's before requiring a recharge.
We often use GPS when trying to find our accommodations at the end of a day of riding, and as the heat is so tough on the batteries it is important to have this emergency power. Also, if and when we do need to camp it will be good to still be able to blog or at least be able to type up our thoughts as we review our photos and then be able to copy and paste in to the blog later. That is what I have been doing the past few days when we have not had Internet service.
Look who found us in Prairie City. It is our water angels from the day before Tom and Dawn.
We had a nice dinner in the Oxbow Restaurant and Saloon owned by Phil and Carol Bopp. They had just come back from a 6 hour one-way ride (made especially long due to the fire detour) to get provisions from Costco in Eugene.
The racks on the wall.
Here is Phil presenting the many tea options Sandrine now has due to his recent trip to Eugene:
Today it is on to Baker City which is reportedly a 73 mile ride with two summits to make. Hopefully the next day we will make it to Idaho.
Have you managed to make a donation yet?
If you are enjoying what you are reading and sharing in our adventure I would ask if you would please use your social media skills and share the blog address with your friends and colleagues. As you know when it comes to charity and fundraising work it's all about the numbers. Plus I just would like more folks to join in the fun and adventure!!
The Usual Disclaimer:
And finally please remember the cause - soldiersbestfriend.org I will go into this in more detail and perhaps some level of haranguing later on, but for now here is the link .... and an additional link for donation SoldiersBestFriend - Donate Please :):) As you donate please enter my name in the appropriate spot so the folks at SBF can tally the results to encourage me and let me know WE are getting something done TOGETHER. Oh and I would be a lot more comfortable if you use the "honorarium" option vs the "memoriam" option - you'll understand when you click on the link:):). I will be inserting this call-to-action in all of my blogs so I hope you don't mind.
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