175th Commemoration of the Oregon Trail//Part Two

This post is sponsored by Oregon's Mt. Hood Territory 

but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

If you missed part one of our trip to Soda Springs, Idaho...Click HERE!

This is part two of our trip we took to Soda Springs to learn more about the Oregon Trail, which was a major destination along the trail.

We were so fortunate to meet several pioneers of the area, including Robert Lau, who owns and operates Caribou Jacks Trading Company and BBQ.

It was really fun to learn more about Robert. His heritage in the area goes back five generations which means his family dates back to when Soda Springs got its start. He was living back East just a few years ago and decided he wanted to do something different with his life. He, along with the support of his wife and family, purchased a hardware store in Soda Springs (dating back over 100 years) which he spruced up and continues to make a unique stop not just for hardware supplies. In 2017, Robert won the first Re-Imagine Retail Grant of $100,000 from the National Hardware Show. The grants purpose is to encourage local hardware retailers to identify business activities that could be added to a store thereby drawing additional customers. With that, he added Caribou Jack's BBQ cafe. Might I add that the BBQ is DELICIOUS. It is a must stop when in Soda Springs. I highly recommend getting a side of their mac and cheese too!

After having lunch at Caribou Jacks BBQ, we headed to a pioneer museum which was full of beautiful historic artifacts from the area. I particularly LOVED the clothing they had on display. Then after that, we headed to Chesterfield (a ghost town!) with Galen.

 ^^The Oregon Trail went RIGHT through Chesterfield, Idaho. At one point it was a bustling town but the harsh winters and lack of traffic over time left it desolate. Now, they're slowly restoring the town as a tourist site to learn the history of who lived there and HOW they lived.

 We learned so so much there, too much to share in fact. You'll just have to go there yourself and see! One exciting thing to learn though was that I have ancestors who lived in the town, the Holbrooks! We spent almost three hours there and could have stayed more. It was so fun to step back in time and see the style and learn the way of life there.

We then went to the local golf range BECAUSE there you can actually see wagon ruts from the Oregon Trail running right through the golf course! The owner of the golf course was nice enough to let us borrow some carts and drive down to check them out. I was thrilled, we had had such a fun day already and it just was the cherry on top.

After that we headed back to meet with our entire crew who gave us such a wonderful time there and had dinner. Here they are, all at Caribou Jacks.

I just want to say thanks again to Galen for taking an ENTIRE Saturday to show us a good time, for the Lau family for dinner and putting this all together, and for Roger for an epic flight over the area.

 Oh, one piece of history I didn't mention was why Caribou Jack is a well known name in the area! Jesse "Caribou Jack" Fairchild came around 1870 and found GOLD in Soda Springs. He was from Canada near Cariboo Mountains which is where he gets his nickname. He died from a bear attack. Kinda an adventurous way to die?

^^ This was when we went back to the geiser and it was totally worth seeing again. So beautiful!

 ^^A little peek into our hotel room! We decided to take one of their suites that had AC and our own bathroom. We LOVED staying at the Enders. If you ever end up going there, just be sure to take ear plugs haha. They have functioning trains that run through day and night. It added to the ambiance for sure. They have an old theater across the street with THE BEST popcorn. I just say, that is saying a lot coming from Alan and I. We are major popcorn critics hehe. And yes, we didn't see a movie but got popcorn and brought it back to our hotel haha.
The next day we snapped a few more photos at the hotel....

^^One more delicious breakfast at the quaint Geyser View Cafe...Delicious made to order food that they politely ask you to be patient for so you can have it hot and fresh. A handful of older local gentlemen sitting at the bar. An old coat hanger in the front which says stay a while. I love all its charms.

^^Bye bye Enders room 340...

 

We got a few more snapshots in town. I love all its charm!

 Then we headed to see Sheep Rock Point where the Oregon Trail split off for those who wanted to head to California.

We then headed to the city of Montpelier to see the Oregon Trail Center. There they have a tour you can take that is kinda live action...You walk through a simulation of what the Oregon Trail was kinda like.

Alan and I really enjoyed this trip learning about and commemorating the Oregon Trail so near where we live. Like I said initially, the Oregon Trail stretched from Missouri to Oregon! There is so much history to learn about the areas it stretched which is why I thought I would share a few other influencers blog posts to browse and see what they learned in their areas.....

Darling Nightingale in Bakers City, Oregon
My Breezy Room in Topeka, Kansas
This Messy Season in Oregon City, Oregon
The House of Hood in the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
Making of a Mom in Independence, Missouri
Her Heartland Soul Blog in Kearney and North Platte, Nebraska
Horseshoes and Hand Grenades in Pendleton/Eastern Oregon
Mom Life in PNW in Mt. Hood, Oregon
The B-List Blog in Mt Hood and The Dalles, Oregon
Mommy on the Mound and Angie's Angle in Oregon City, Oregon
The Ox Mama in Echo, Oregon
and
Living Overland and Love Haight Blog in Casper, Wyoming

I have a greater appreciation for those who strive to keep history alive, like the Oregon's Mt. Hood Territory team. If you'd like to learn more, click HERE.

xoxo