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Flying L Ranch Farmers, hunters, hippies, and gold prospectors |
   
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From Prairie City, it's about a 4-hour drive to reach the
Columbia River and the border between Oregon and Washington State. Hwy 26 follows the John Day River to Daysville, then Hwy 19 takes over to Condon.
Passing through the hamlet "Service Creek," where Jana & Rich Zwicker run the cafe restaurant B&B grocery store and raft rental "Service Creek Stage Stop," I reach the heights where the fields of gigantic wind turbines stand before descending to Wasco and Biggs.
It is a dry, invigorating cold, and the majestic electricity-generating machines are running at full capacity. Here, electricity is not expensive, it is abundantly provided by dams and clean technology.
After crossing this river at The Dalles, about 1 km wide at this point and 1 mile at its meeting with the Pacific Ocean, one must follow Hwy 14, which crosses Lyle, Bingen, then White Salmon. This is the last stop in "modern civilization" before heading north via Hwy 141 to Trout Lake, BZ Corner, and Glenwood, and into still pristine valleys.
A slightly undulating plateau with Mount Adams, snow-capped (12,276 feet or around 4,000 meters), standing on the horizon like in a painting. Farms, ranches, trailers, cabins scattered here and there. Two successive rifle shots ring out, reminding me that we are in the middle of hunting season. Americans love those little vehicles we call "Quad" in France and "ATV" here; they use them to easily round up cattle or head out hunting on all the trails. Once the snow falls, they are replaced by snowmobiles.
Glenwood is a semi-ghost village; however, it still has two cafe-bar-restaurants, a gas pump, a grocery store, a small post office worth the detour, and a small school with a few students. A few tall conifers ("redwood" and "sequoia") tower over the wooden cabins, some of which are uninhabited and dilapidated. Winter is long in Glenwood; the snow remains for several months, and as the Native American proverb says, "if a white man brings in a lot of wood, the winter will be very harsh!"
About 1 mile on the right side of the road is "Flying L Ranch," a "Country-Inn Bed and Breakfast" run by Jeff Berend & Jacquie Perry.
They have been here for 6 years, hosting groups of hikers, couples seeking tranquility, and corporate seminars. Most of their guests come from Portland, which is a 2-hour drive away; few French guests, some Japanese, Australians, British, and Canadians.
The Ranch is 80 acres with 9 wooden cabins in total, including the main lodge where the large living room with a fireplace and period piano is located. This piano has a resonance and touch perfect for my style of music, a sound that gives me great pleasure to play and play again.
The living room is spacious and comfortable, with large bay windows allowing you to enjoy the view of Mt Adams as well as the dogs lying in the sun on the prairie.
After breakfast (orange juice, walnut bread, fruit salad, slightly sautéed new potatoes, scrambled eggs, and coffee), Jeff takes me to cut wood in the forest with his big truck and his dog Bill.
Jeff will come next May to La Bastide-Puylaurent and would already like to speak a few words of French. It is not easy; it sounds like he has a hot potato in his mouth, especially when he has to pronounce an "r"... Anyway, "sit" for the dog, "I do not speak French," "good" or "well"? I do not know the true difference myself; French is really a complicated language. But Jeff perseveres and wants to present a good image of America to France.
In each cabin, there is a wood stove, and in each room, a small, very efficient, and silent electric heater. All the firewood comes from their property, but it is a long and hard job. Cutting, cleaning, splitting, collecting, storing, drying ... It is probably best not to count the labor costs... It's true that the place is very pleasant, and one stays happily outdoors all day.
Jacquie has just returned from Mexico, where she spent a week decompressing from a very active life. She is in great shape and has many new ideas. Her specialty is working groups that want to gather for seminars. She knows many people in Portland and the surrounding area. She is a very interesting woman, she has a "big heart" and welcomes me as if I were part of her family. She has the overall perspective that successful entrepreneurs have. I am curious to see what she will think of L'Etoile next May.
For shopping, you have to go down to the Columbia River and White Salmon on the Washington side or rather Hood River on the southern side. In Oregon, they serve gas for you, whereas in WA, you have to do it yourself. Hood River is more significant than White Salmon and Bingen combined. That's where we go by a toll suspension bridge (75 cents or 65 cents if you buy the coupons in advance).
Here, there is everything for farmers, ranchers, hunters, hippie communities, gold prospectors; all the folks living in these vast forests and valleys or along the "creeks" (rivers). The appearance of the customers says it all; long beards, army shoes, large dusty pickups with happy dogs in the bed with the goods.
Americans of the hippie generation are now in their fifties but still keep a bit of that "Neil Young" look; they no longer travel as much as before, they gather as couples from different backgrounds, invite each other for tea or dinner, one cultivates the vine, another makes the wine or the aperitif. They chat about current government politics but also about the latest recipe for the excellent clafoutis that Elisabeth prepared for us.
And what does our French friend think of the American position? Answer: "No much idea..." Perhaps diplomacy is no longer the monopoly of "qualified diplomats." Exchanges between innkeepers are a way to exchange ideas, appreciate each other, and why not create more partnership between peoples.
Flying L Ranch in Glenwood, Trout Lake, Mt Adams, Washington State, USA - Map 
Former resort hotel with a garden on the banks of the Allier, L'Étoile Guesthouse is located in La Bastide-Puylaurent, nestled between Lozère, Ardèche, and the Cévennes in the mountains of Southern France. Positioned at the crossroads of GR®7, GR®70 Chemin Stevenson, GR®72, GR®700 Voie Régordane (Saint Gilles), GR®470 Sources and Gorges of the Allier, GRP® Cévenol, Montagne Ardéchoise, and Margeride. It offers numerous loop routes for hiking and day-long cycling excursions. Ideal for a relaxing stay.
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