Redmond Hotel

The original Redmond Hotel was a two-story wood frame structure built in 1906 by William and Fanny Wilson after they made a small fortune in Alaska selling supplies to miners in the Klondike Gold Rush.   The hotel burned and was replaced by a three-story brick structure as seen here.  It is listed in the national Register of Historic Places.

Soaring Welcome

We often pass by this grand sculpture of an eagle which welcomes folks to Redmond.  It's in a median that divides the highway that turns into one-way streets in the downtown area.  It's quite lovely with the green grass and other plants and although I've yet to see any, there's a rocked area to the back that looks like it will accommodate water flow.  It's nice to see art all over town.

Redmond Sculpture

Redmond has "art on the corner" similar to Grand Junction CO.  This horse with the flying mane is on the main street and I think it is quite handsome.  It also represents the area well as there is a high presence of agriculture.  The weekend newspaper even had a story about the BLM rounding up some wild mustangs in Central Oregon.  That made me thing of the wild horses near Grand Junction.

One Street Down

This Redmond eatery is "One Street Down" from the main business district (which is Sixth Street).  It, too, is in a remodeled house and has a big, green lawn.  The table tops are copper and there is a water element/room divider where water flows down a sheet of copper.  Definitely unique.  Their food is good, too, though we thought it was a bit pricey for what we got.  We'll go again, just not often.

Eateries

I'm not promoting business for anyone but thought I'd mention some of the places we've found that are good for a meal out.  Christie's serves breakfast and lunch (though not on Mondays) and the staff is efficient and friendly.  It's close to downtown and there's a big parking area in back.  Food is good at a reasonable price.  This is one of our new favorites in Redmond.  And, yes, it's a remodel of a two-story house.

July 4 in Redmond

We celebrated our first Fourth of July in Redmond by watching the parade (themed "Baseball, Hot Dogs and Apple Pie") and viewing the fireworks.  The parade had more vintage cars than I've ever seen in a parade and there were lots of other things too--75 or more entries.

In 1991 Redmond was officially recognized as a "Flag City, USA" community and more than 1,000 4x6 flags line several streets.  Various organizations have responsibility for putting them up and taking them down on seven different occasions each year.   We got with the program and lined the front portion of our lawn with flags and we'll probably add more down the side next year.

The fireworks show was very good with a lot of variety in the display that lasted 20 minutes.  But leaving the fairgrounds was a snarl of traffic requiring 30 minutes of time from pulling on to the street to reaching the exit (which was probably a quarter mile distance).  We'll have to come up with a better viewing plan--or maybe just plan to spend the night at the fairgrounds.  ha  There was one other snafu behind us when some bushes caught on fire by individuals lighting their own fireworks.  Fortunately several guys kicking dirt onto the flames took care of it pretty quickly and disaster was averted.  Whew!

And that was our first Fourth of July in Redmond.

Redmond Street Festival

Last Saturday my husband and I went to the downtown street festival.  Five blocks of the main street were closed to traffic and vendors sent up shop in the middle of the street.  Although we didn't buy anything, it was interesting to see what was available:  leather goods, framed photos, jewelry, patio furniture, kettle corn, a few commercial booths and lots of different hand-made items.  There was also a bouncy play area for the kids and "BBQ that's good to the bone."  Since it was predicted to reach 100°, we went mid-morning and it was quite pleasant, though hotter than I preferred.  The festival had a local flavor as to what was available and I think it's a two-day annual event.  I think we will go back again.

New Hometown

Happy Memorial Day! and a big thank you to all who have sacrificed for the good of all.  I especially thank my father (who was away in the Army when I was born), my brother and my husband.

And now that we're back from Peru, here's a photo of the main business area in my new hometown, Redmond, in central OR.  The area is much like we left behind in Grand Junction, high desert.  But it's quite different in that the area was formed by volcano so we have buttes rather than mesas and lava rather than sandstone.  There's lots of grasses that grow wild but wildflowers look familiar.

It's a friendly little town, with nearby Bend to offer more amenities, and we are happy to be here.