Merrill, Oregon

Merrill, Oregon is just a hair over the border, but they aren't afraid of reminding you there is no sales tax.  Sarah and I roamed the High School Gym, which had been converted to booths for the Potato Festival 2010, and found someone selling handmade candles.  We bought a Peppermint one.  We also admired the first place potatoes, brussel sprouts, green beans, etc...you name it the veggie was present and someone had been named the King of it.

After a stroll through the one-room Merrill Museum, we took in the outdoor booths.  One man was selling furniture made out of Juniper wood, which had been polished to a sheen.  There were three ladies swinging on one piece and as Scott admired it they informed him that the $850 included the three of them, which really did seem like a good deal.

We saw a man with a kilt on...why?  We don't know.

Highway 161, which runs the border of California and Oregon, also runs along an open range dedicated to shallow bodies of water and the ducks that live in them.  It was very pretty, but I was constantly worried that there was going to be a Duck Rushing and we'd run one over.  But thankfully, all we saw was a dead raccoon.

Saw Grandpa Tony and his dog Flash.  We love Flash.  So sturdy, so sure, so determined.  We also met Grandpa Tony's girlfriend and we really liked her!  We all had lunch at Pappy Gander's.  They were extremely busy because of the Potato Festival, but the food was really good.  Of course every plate came with about fourteen inches of fries.  HEAVEN!  Teri informed us that "Thankfully they've taken all the dead animals off the walls."  But they did have one animal that looked like the one Scott has hung in our garage.

Then we saw beautiful Teri get married.

  

So fun to see the family we don't get to see often.