One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure

That’s my motto for this weekend.  It’s finally here, our weekend away to Sumpter.  We have been looking forward to this weekend since we made our reservations in January.  The Sumpter Memorial Day Weekend Swap Meet.  What will we find this year?

Since we are gone all weekend, we decided to board the dogs at the local vet’s office.  Nick is staying at the house since he is on his week off, but we thought it would be less work if he didn’t have to worry about Daisy and Mack.

It was pouring down rain this morning as Scott packed the truck and loaded the dogs into the back to take to town.  (I have no idea why Daisy looks cross-eyed in this picture.)  The dogs are always excited to go to the vet were we board them.  I think they get away with a lot more than they do at home.  It’s like when you were a kid and you got to spend the weekend at your grandparent’s house.

We expected that it would be busy on the roads today, and were not surprised when we got stuck in a traffic jam in Silver Lake.

 

Once we got past all this traffic, we realized what part of the hold up was.

This picture, for some reason, makes me think of the Wizard of Oz.  Yes, that house is driving directly into the storm.

Along the way, we saw our share of wildlife, including these four elk that Scott spotted from a mile away.

Our first real stop was to Skeins:

This is a great yarn shop just outside of John Day.  The selection is great and the lady who owns it is so friendly.  I have looked forward to coming back to this shop for the last two years.  I was not disappointed this year.

Got enough to get started on my Christmas presents.

Next stop was the Kam Wah Chung State Park in John Day.  This park is primarily an old house that has been converted into a museum. 

Inside is exactly as it was left in the 1940’s after two chinese men ran a medical office and mercantile for over 60 years in it.  When the last one died in the 1940’s, the house was locked up, not to be opened again for more than 20 years.  Everything on display in the house is exactly where it was found when the house was reopened.  We took a small tour, as the actual tourist season doesn’t start for a couple of more weeks.  I would recommend this spot for anyone passing through John Day.  You don’t have to plan for more than an hour at the most.

After a late lunch / early dinner in Prairie City, and a quick trip to the small town market to get snacks for the weekend, we got back on the road for the final stretch. 

We were pleasantly surprised to roll in while it was still daylight.  We had figured that, with all the stops, it would take longer to get here.  But at last we are here.

The Lazy Moose Cabin.  Our home for the next three nights.  Driving through town, the swap meet vendors were starting to get set up.  Hopefully, this rain will hold off just a bit so that it’s not miserable to be walking around. 

And maybe, if we’re lucky, it will get warm enough that we can enjoy a few minutes out on the porch.