June 4, 2007:
Last weekend we did our first family trip in the Prowler. I made reservations at the Sisters RV Park in the quaint town of Sisters, Oregon, population 1,700. Sisters is a tourist/resort town just on the other side of the Cascades where all of the buildings on Main Street have and old west look. There are lots of little shops and restaurants in town, and the views of the nearby Three Sisters are fantastic.
We left at about 5PM and were in Sisters by 8. We went on highway 20 through Tombstone pass and Santiam Pass (4817 ft.). The Dodge had no trouble pulling our big trailer up the mountains although the going was slower than in a car. It was a very clear day, so the drive was a very scenic one. Once we got into Sisters, Holly and I made a quick dinner of hot dogs, corn on the cob, and various other appetizers. The RV park was right at the edge of town near Ray’s supermarket, so Holly, Sadie, and the kids walked over and got some groceries wile I leveled out the rig and did all the connections. By the time Holly and the kids were back from the market, I had the rig set up, the doggie run set up for Sadie, the patio furniture out, appetizers made, and the grill set up. We had kind of a late dinner, and then we went to bed.
The next morning we all got up and went out to the Coyote Café which was a short walk away. We sat outside where we had a beautiful view of the still snow covered mountains. The sisters are a series of three volcanic peaks that supposedly got their name by members of a Methodist mission in the 1840’s. The town of Sisters gets its name from the nearby peaks that dominate the skyline. The breakfast at the Coyote Café was good and plentiful for everyone. Berries are starting to get into season in June, so Holly and Ashley had the added treat of fresh Oregon blueberries and strawberries. After our breakfast we walked back to the camper where Sadie was there to greet us. The kids still have school until the middle of June, so they started on their schoolwork while Holly, Sadie, and I prepared for a walk into town.
Holly and I got directions from the hostess for the best route to the little less than a mile to the center of town. The route took us past a ranch with a gorgeous view of the peaks and into town on a little less busy street. Of course, we had to stop on the way into town at a drive-up coffee shop where Holly got an iced latte and Sadie and I got a water to share. It was quite a warm day, and we needed cold drinks. Once we got into town Holly looked into a few shops while Sadie and I waited outside. Many of the passersby couldn’t help but coming up to Sadie to say “hi”. As usual, Sadie was very well behaved and friendly to all the strangers. We took a little break in the well manicured central city park and all had our drinks under the shade of a tree. After a little more walking around we found a nice wine bar with outside seating where Holly and I enjoyed some wine.
After the walk Holly, Nathan, and I went to the RV park pool for a dip and a soak in the Jacuzzi. While Nathan and I were soaking in the Jacuzzi, we heard some deep “booms” off in the distance. The weatherman had predicted a 20% chance of afternoon thunderstorms, and although it looked like there was not a cloud in the sky earlier on in the day, some storms had formed over the mountains. We all decided to leave the pool and head for the safety of our trailer before the storms hit. Shortly after getting back to the trailer the rain really started coming down. Watching the thunderstorms over the mountains was really spectacular. There were numerous, brilliant lightning flashes and you could see the rain coming down in sheets in the distance. There was a few minutes of intense showers where we were, but the rain died down after about an hour.
After the storms died down, Nathan and I went into town to run a couple of errands. We picked up a new belt for Nathan’s new camping shorts from the local outdoor store, and we went to Sisters Ace hardware and picked up some indoor/outdoor carpeting to put out in front of the trailer to reduce the amount of dirt getting tracked into the camper. They had the carpet in a big cut-to length roll, so I got a 20’x6’ section. When Nathan and I got back it was time for dinner. Holly and Ashley prepared steaks, potatoes, and vegetables for me to grill, and we all enjoyed a nice grilled dinner.
Sunday morning we made breakfast, packed up and started the drive home. Shortly after going over Santiam Pass, we stopped at Hoodoo ski resort which had their shop open to supply campers in the summer. We got snacks and took a few photos before continuing our trip home. I took highway 22 home instead of 20. The highway 22 route is a little longer and typically has more traffic, but it is a better quality road than 20 which commonly gets sections washed out with landslides in the winter. Since traffic we quite light on Sunday, highway 22 was a nice drive. It was the first time we had taken this route home, and it was a very scenic drive which I think is preferable to highway 20 if the traffic is not bad. We got some fantastic views of Detroit Lake and Mount Jefferson on the drive down and we avoided the climb and curvy roads near Tombstone pass. We enjoyed the drive so much that we decided to make a trip to Detroit Lake which is only about an hour’s drive from where we live later in the summer.
At the small town of Mehama, we took 226 back towards Albany and Corvallis. 226 was a pleasant country drive that brought us down from the foothills to the valley countryside near Corvallis. We hardly saw any other vehicles on this country route home. We managed nearly 9mpg on our trip through the mountains, so I was pleased. With the several long, hard climbs along our route, I was expecting no better than 8mpg. The pictures below hardly do the scenery justice, but you can get an idea. Next weekend we are planning a quiet weekend at home since we will be coming out to Minnesota on the 14th.
The Three Sisters:
