Strawberry Mountain Inn Great Western Prairies
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Strawberry Mountain Inn Great Western Prairies |
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Between the Pacific Ocean and the Rockies, there is a small village charmingly named "Prairie City". Facing "Strawberry Mountain" stands majestically the beautiful Bed & Breakfast of Linda and Bill Harrington.
The entire atmosphere and environment represent the American West: vast stretches of prairie, national parks, small western towns, ranches with thousands of cattle, and these mountains where deer, squirrels, bears, etc., still live. An ideal place for a week-long break. Many hiking trails, trout, and salmon fishing in untouched rivers that still attract gold prospectors.
Linda will tell you about her region while comfortably seated in her living room, where there is a magnificent 1934 baby grand piano. Facing her, through the large bay window, are the plains and mountains; a breathtaking view also enjoyed from the balcony while rocking in the chair.
Having only arrived in the American West two days ago, I was still experiencing jet lag, 9 hours difference counts. By 5 a.m., I was wide awake and not at all ready to sleep in. With the greatest discretion, I left my "King size bedroom" to take a stroll around the area.
A main street with its church, chamber of commerce, and about twenty small businesses all decorated differently; there's also an old gas station where a cowboy is already filling up his pickup truck. Everything is calm at this hour, and it feels good to experience this special atmosphere that exists only in those moments. Everything is still closed, except the bakery that opens from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., quite a long day.
Through the window, I see the baker busy finishing the decoration of a large cake intended for a salmon fishing club of about a hundred members. Very welcoming, like all Americans, I drink my first coffee of a day that will be well filled.
About 5 or 6 km from Prairie City, atop a mountain, is Lake Magone; just a little further and you might spot a bear or a moose, the place is that pure and wild. There are also several half-day or full-day hiking trails nearby. The place is worth visiting, and one would stay longer just to immerse oneself in nature.
At the Bed and Breakfast, there are Linda, Bill, and Aneta, who has been here for three months. Aneta is Polish and came to the United States through an organization that allows students from Eastern European countries to stay several months in Canada and the USA. She has a provisional work permit, which allows her to practice English and gain real-life experience. She is dynamic, willing, and has many projects. The recent entry of Poland into the European Community promises a lot; one can feel it very strongly through Aneta, all that energy moving forward without any complexes.
Judith, Linda's friend, also has a B&B with only two rooms... Why not?! Her husband, Alan, is the true cowboy type; large belt buckle, broad smile, and Marlboro style. The perfect cowboy for the ladies. Always cool and stylish. We met him last night in a country restaurant in John Day, a small town located 8 miles west of Prairie City.
The steaks at the "Snafflebit" restaurant are enormous, as are the salads! Only locals come here: cowboys, firefighters, police officers, and hunters. Everyone here is tough; the atmosphere is friendly and warm. Alan's smile says it all about the joy of these rural folks living their great outdoors culture to the fullest.
By 7:30 a.m., we had an appointment at a corral on the road leading to Boise, Idaho. The weather was magnificent as it has been every day since I arrived; mist covered the prairie but already allowed the first rays of sunshine to pass through. Over there, towards the mountains, a dark mass was heading towards us; these were the young cows that, surrounded by cowboys, would be shipped to other destinations.
Hi Philippe! shouts Jim, Alan's son, from atop his horse. Jim is genuinely nice and attentive; despite his build and look, he doesn't take himself seriously at all. Always cool and smiling; long live America! Five trucks are expected to load around 250 cattle; they arrive one after another, on time as planned. Here, everyone knows each other: Bill, Jim, Alan, Brian, and old Jack with his dog and his hat still a bit dirty from the last season's mud. There are only men, and the loading of the young cows goes smoothly. Both truckers and cowboys count the cattle and pass on their numbers on pieces of paper. We are truly among cowboys!
This evening, we are expected by Jim Woomer at the saloon in Prairie City, the "Shoshoni Winds". A huge bar for a small town like Prairie City, long and decorated with about thirty heads of deer, bears, and stuffed elk. The meeting place for hunters. There, Jim welcomes us with a big smile and all the availability we need to provide us with all the information needed to enrich the Strawberry Mountain Inn's website. Jim is the local expert for everything related to mountain bike trails. He has a top-of-the-line mountain bike himself.
Over local 50 cl beers, the discussion goes smoothly between Bill the B&B owner, Jim the "outdoors" specialist, Aneta the Polish trainee, and myself, an amateur reporter 8 months a year and guesthouse owner for the other 4 months. Every time, I feel that this is the school that interests and motivates me. That evening, Jim was the professor.
Do you know Larry McGraw from Hancockville? He lives alone in a prefabricated house that you order two weeks in advance and is delivered by truck. Larry is happy where he is. Around 75 years old, photographer sometimes, gardener and researcher too, but mainly it is his homemade apple juice that is delicious. Served in metal glasses, this juice comes from carefully varied and mixed apple trees (a bit like wine).
He is a character with whom I would love to spend a week, listen to him, and share his rhythm. He has behind his house an old cabin where everything has remained the same as before, long before. The floor creaks, the old wallpaper gives an idea of the atmosphere of the bedroom. The stove is in the middle with irons, and some magazines from the era are within reach of the "Rocking Chair." In the spring, between the vegetable garden, the apple trees, and this "gold prospector"'s house, it must truly be a little paradise.
On Saturday, the four of us (Stacy, Linda's daughter, Tylor, Stacy's son, Aneta, and myself) went to Judith & Alan's magnificent ranch. There, three quads were waiting for us, and we headed towards the prairies in the direction of Strawberry Mountain. Here, the quad doesn't bother hikers because there really is no one else except for a few stray cows that barely look at us. It's with these machines that cowboys gather their cattle. Horses are still very present but only occasionally used.
On Sunday morning, Linda took us to a hot spring in a beautiful small valley with an old spa and an open-air pool where hot sulfurous water flows directly. The weather is still great, the horses are in the nearby pasture, and the buildings around us take us back to another era. There is no one here, in this heavenly place. I then let time slide surrounded by my hosts. It really is a good life here!
Strawberry Mountain Inn B&B, Prairie City, Oregon, 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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