Time for a beary belated mail call. First up is a letter from early October from Sandy and pals. Sounds like they have a beray busy fall planned. Rose and crew are coming to visit, their side hustle is doing well (Sequoia wants to know if dog treats are provided upon arrival), and the October rain brings in proper mushroom hunting conditions.
They also sent some pawsome stickers.
Do you see these stickers? Aren't they cool? They say "Little Fox" and guess what? That's me!
Next up is a thank you card from Jerry and Ben for entering and winning the "Halloween Themed Snack" portion of their contest.
Oooh, and look a starbucks gift card as well. Drunk Fox and I are going to visit our nearest one and get some hot chocolate.
The only question is should we get extra whipped cream on our hot chocolate? We both agree that the answer to that question is an emphatic "yes".
Happy Holidays Blog World. It only seems appropriate to write this post about a mall as the holiday season winds down.
Recently, the local news mentioned that Lloyd Center (an urban mall) is slated for redevelopment and probably the wrecking ball. This mall is an icon and it was explored a few years ago by my pal Drunk Fox.
When it opened in 1960 it was the largest mall in the Pacific Northwest, (and the mall owners claimed to be the largest mall in the US at the time), Richard Nixon was at the opening and the mall it did a heck of a business until 2015 or so.
Now the mall is pretty quiet (even during the Christmas season).
Another entrance to the mall that is basically dead. This courtyard used to be near Nordstrom, a fancy department store, and Stanford's restaurant which had an amazing happy hour.
Most of the doors are boarded up for protection.
More emptiness.
Inside, it's a little livelier. Emphasis on the word little. Although I do appreciate the time taken to decorate for Christmas.
By January 2021 there were 37 empty store fronts in the mall, all the anchors were gone and most of the food court was closed.
The mall opened in 1960 and was open air. Around 1988 it was remodeled to an indoor mall.
This staircase is pretty modern looking (edit: this staircase was part of the 2015 remodel). It seems to flow nicely from the remodeled portion while still maintaining that 60s vibe.
There used to be 2 movie theaters in Lloyd Center. One in the mall, one outside. Both have been closed for many years.
The food court has two operating restaurants, a chicken place and a Dairy Queen. Both doing a heck of a business. About 12 food court stalls closed and/or abandoned.
The good news...there is a little life left in the mall. Some people out shopping and/or hanging out.
The mall also has an ice rink....go figure. It's kind of cool and it's one of the more popular things happening at the mall.
Stores have come and gone.
Some popular store over the years include JJ Newberry and Co (a five and dime), Nordstrom, Old Navy, Sears, JC Penney, Macys, Bests dept. store, and Woolworths.
One store has survived and is till going strong. A local place, a food establishment, and they sell one heck of a good product.
Joe Brown's Carmel Corn. Joe Brown's store has been since the mall opened in 1960. In fact, Joe Brown's has been around since 1932. George Brown and his son Joe opened a popcorn stand next to a movie theater. They did well, lots of locations around town and at the beach. During WWII all the locations closed and it wasn't until Lloyd Center opened up that Betty Brown (Joe's sister) opened up the location. Now, the location serves over 300,000 customers a year.
The popcorn is sold in a variety of flavors. Kettle corn, carmel corn, Oregon carmel corn, cheese corn and regular popcorn. All is good, but this fox got a fresh warm box of carmel corn.
Not a bad treat for $5.00. What's next for Lloyd Center? This fox isn't sure but hopefully the new development will pay some honor to the past (and hopefully Joe Brown's stays in the neighborhood).
Hiya Blog World, Little Fox here. I am working on my entries for Sandy's Art Deco contest. I have decided to enter the Baker City Tower.
This Art Deco beauty was originally christened the Baker City Hotel. Built in 1929, it was originally an 82 room hotel catering to the automobile travelers. It has an observation deck on the 9th floor and was in operation as a hotel until the1960s. In 1972 it was turned into an office building with some apartments and in the 90s it was pretty run down.
Now-a-days it has condos on 5 floors, offices on a few floors and a restaurant or two on the ground floor.
Thanks for hosting the contest Sandy. Good luck everyone!
Hiya Blog Pals, Little Fox here. I'm in the first room of the National Neon Museum in The Dalles (yes, the name of the town starts with "The"). In 1814 French trappers named the town for the slabs of basalt in the Columbia River Gorge.
I digress. Back the museum. I know, there is no neon in this room but we started our tour here to learn about the history of electric signs.
These signs had minimal words and are basically from the 1890s to the 1920s. The US had a lot of immigrants during that time so the idea of signs with a few words was designed so everyone could read the sign even if you were still learning the language.
Flash forward to the 1920s during the beginning of neon's heyday.
Some cool signs from the gallery.
This sign came from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
This fox hasn't had frozen custard but it's a popular dessert in Milwaukee. There were a ton of signs to take pictures of, the one I really liked is the Greyhound Bus Lines sign, but I didn't get a photo of it.
Sigh. Here's a close copy.
After my tour it was off to explore town.
First stop, St. Peter's Church built in 1898.
You are able to go inside during the hours of 1 to 3 daily. Today, there was a wedding going on, the humans went inside and the fox had to stay outside. Hmph.
This is a stock photo from the church but it's just as amazing inside. No trip to The Dalles is complete without exploring.
The Granada Theater. Built in 1929 of the Moorish Revival Style (do you see it?).
This was the first movie theater west of the Mississippi built specifically for the talkies. Unfortunately, the sound equipment ordered for the opening night was sent to The Granada Theater in Dallas, TX. Not The Dalles, OR. The Dalles theater owner contacted the theater in Dallas trying to explain what happened and the theater in Dallas kept the sound equipment and didn't send it back. The Granada in The Dalles opened with a silent movie instead of a talkie.
92 years later the theater is still up and running. They have concerts, dinner and movie nights, and all sorts of fun events.
The last stop on my tour is the Columbia Brewery. The Dalles had their own brewery for many years (since 1867) and this brewery operated until 1916 (prohibition in the US).
The building still stands....it looks safe and it's empty. This fox would love to explore inside of the building.....now I just need to find a tourguide.
Hiya Blog World. Little Fox here. I just got back from the cape, no not the Cape of Good Hope, instead Cape Horn (no, not the Southernmost part of the world), Cape Horn in Washington State.
It's a beautiful day for a hike. This is a good hike for me. Lot's of places to stop and enjoy the view.
This hike is along the Columbia River and this portion of the river many Oregon Trail Emigrants traveled near. Lewis and Clark and Sacajaweja traveled along this river years ago as well.
History is everywhere for sure. No time to go into a deep dive of the history of the area since this little fox needs to continue hiking to get to the lunch spot.
Little Fox here at the Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. Sadly, they are closed for a major remodel but the outdoor exhibits are open.
A four month, 2000 mile trip from Independence Missouri to the Willamette Valley.
400,000 people traveled on the Oregon trail or offshoot trails (California, Bozeman or Mormon trails).
I'm on top of Flagstaff Hill.
The emigrants didn't actually travel to the top of Flagstaff Hill. The emigrants tried to take the path of least resistance so they went around the hill. This part of the trail was challenging (ok, the entire trail was challenging) but by the time pioneers came out to this part it was July or August the climate is high desert without a whole lot of water.
Time for lunch. Cheese and crackers. Yum.
Being a student archeologist I have been tasked by the University to find ruts from the Oregon Trail wagons. A lot of the trail was paved over but my sources tell me I can find some at the bottom of Flagstaff Hill.
This looks promising.
The ruts were not at all what I expected. I was thinking they would be narrow but the ruts are almost like a dirt road.
It was getting late and I had to hike back so I could contact the University with my findings. Perhaps after a beer or two.
Happy Thanksgiving to my US pals! Hope you have a great day. Little Fox here. Still haven't done my archeology work yet (stay tuned). Today, I am hiking at Anthony Lakes and in the Elkhorn Mountains. Anthony Lake is a beary nice lake. Lots to do in the summer hiking, boating, fishing and in the winter x country skiing, snowshoeing and a small ski restort.
So many trail options. This fox needs more vacation time.
Made it to the top w/o any problems. Saw a few backpackers and day hikers along the way. My goal is the saddle to get around Gunsight Mountain and back to Anthony Lakes. (This fox has a wine tasting to do later today so I have a schedule to keep).
Made it to the saddle without any problems. Hoping to have a lunch near here. Just need to find a spot.
Any guesses on this tree? It's beary important to high elevation ecosystems.
Did you guess the Whitebark Pine Tree?
Grizzly and Brown Bears along with Squirrels eat the fatty seeds for sustenance. This tree also provides stabilization and prevents erosion. It can handle mountain weather.....there's only one problem....blister rot fungus (oh and climate change too). Between climate change and the blister rot fungus the population has decreased by 90%.
It's on the threatened list but there is hope! A variety of groups are planting 500,000 seedlings that are disease resistant to the blister rot fungus. Lfox is keeping his paws crossed for success!
It is I, Little Fox archeology student on a little road trip to Baker City, Oregon. No archeology studies today but I a excited to explore town. Baker City was a mining town, then a timber town and now a county seat and a regional hotspot. I'm staying in the heart of town so it's all walkable for me. Let's go.
What does this sign say? Better get a little closer.
This is the kind of sign my pal Drunk Fox thinks is funny. Gotta try the Thai food at the Chinese restaurant.
On a side note, I did eat there and it was very good. Now that I am fortified let's explore further.
Up next is the Baker Tower. A 1929 Art Deco beauty. Originally constructed as a hotel (89 rooms) and now an office building. Sandy, when are you going to have another Art Deco contest????
Lot's of public art and most of it was animal based. Score points for Baker City!
Help!!!
As usual, this exploring has made me thirsty. This drink should tie me over.
Here's a hint on where my archeology trip might take me. Of course, that's after a hike.
