We are in a heat wave. Sunday morning started at 88 degrees and as the day went along it fractured 100. We were up in time to get to the 9:00 service at Church of the Redeemer. It was an interesting morning. First, the bishop is Nedi Moore who Yvonne and I have worked with while she was still a priest in Gonzales. Second, they have a wonderful old building with a grand piano and a great little organ and a person who could play both. It was a wonderful service but it was obvious that they were beginning a search for a new priest because there was a lot of talk about the search process and the number of committees that needed to be set up.
After the service, Yvonne went up to talk to the organist and I was cornered by a woman who had been born and raised in Salinas and had moved with her husband to Pendleton where she though should would never have to deal with a rodeo again. Pendleton has one of the major rodeos in the US. I looked up and Yvonne and the organist were going through service music. We eventually added two singers, a interim priest and myself. Boy was that fun. They could really sing. We would later stand and talk during coffee hour with a man who is sending Yvonne the recipe for Sopas (Portuguese pot-roast). A very friendly parish and a good time.
We went back to the trailer to save our dog who was asleep when we got there but was really happy to see us. It is now over 100 degrees so there would be no hiking or river walks but Pendleton has a very cute thing for visitors to do. There are about 15 statues and murals that you can drive around town and find. As this could be done from the cab of the truck with a quick run to the statue/mural to read about it, we took on the challenge. We were able to find all of them. It was an interesting mix of early settlers and native Americans and a great way to get to know the town. Cassie went with us and was able to explore many new parks and venues. Some of the statues were traditional and others were very modern.
Then it was necessary to find a DQ and some ice cream. Cassie was not happy that she did not get some for herself but... Then back to the trailer to sit in the cool of the air conditioning and do a little reading.
Monday morning we were up and out to the Pendleton Woolen mills. What an experience. We had a great tour guide and were able to find a couple of blankets that were seconds that we could afford. It was a great experience to go through the blankets and try to figure out what made them "seconds" There was a code but often even with the code we could not find the flaw.
We left the mill with a new blanket for the trailer. I am sure that Yvonne will not allow Cassie sleep on this, but I could be wrong.We then headed out to do the underground tour of Pendleton. It turns out that we needed to have reservations. We got our reservations, went back to the trailer to play with Cassie and then went back to take the tour.
The Underground in Pendleton came into being for completely different reasons than the Underground in Seattle. The similarities begin with both cities being pioneer towns, settled by business men with a plan to grow a city. After that, it is completely different. Pendleton had none of the issues of water or tide or sewer, etc. They just built basements under their downtown hotels and large buildings. Then, when the railroad men, sheep herders, wheat field workers, cowboys, and other rowdy men came crowding into town and needed a place for the "entertainment" that they desired (booze, cards, and women), the city put the basements into use. This picture shows one of the "card rooms" or saloons in the underground. The city took care of the men's needs by putting the saloons in the basements, the regular shops on the ground level and the bordellos on the 2nd floor.
Another use for the basement area (dark, dank spaces under these buildings) was to house the Chinese workmen that the Railroad Companies brought over from China. These spaces were lighted by glass prism panels in the sidewalks that acted as sky lights for the underground. These were also used in Seattle. After the RR was finished, the RR would send the Chinese workmen back to China or they could choose to stay and find work. Of course, the work had to be work that Americans wouldn't do, like, work in the quarry, be servants for the rich, start laundries, etc. This kept them at the lowest possible social level, as well as living underground, for free as long as they had work. It had to be dismal at the best. 
We saw an underground speak-easy that had a very small escape tunnel in case of police raid, the first electric freezers used for the ice cream parlor and the meat market, a Chinese jail, an opium den, a Chinese "dorm" room (living area). It was pretty amazing how the businesses above made use of this space.
Then we went upstairs to visit the "Cozy Rooms" of Madame Stella, one of the most famous and longest running bordellos in town. Madame Stella catered to the "movers and shakers" in Pendleton and was protected by the police and city council for years. She was one of 18 bordellos and finally the religious leaders had enough and spied on who came and went from her establishment and blackmailed the city council and police to do something immediately about this "problem". The police raided the bordellos, rounded up all of the "girls" and in one night closed all of the bordellos, including Madame Stella's. She returned two years later and opened a boarding house for elderly gentlemen and stayed in business until the late 1960's. Stanley and I ended the tour with a dish of ice cream at the "Cozy Girls Ice Cream Parlor" and them home to save Cassie. (She has done very well today. No barking or destroying the trailer while we were gone.This Underground was as interesting and fun as that of Seattle. The story is very different, but still fascinating. We recommend it to all of you.
Well it is 8:00 and it is still 98 degrees outside. Time for some dinner and then tomorrow we are off to Cove Palisades outside of Bend Oregon.
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