{"id":15657,"date":"2017-09-02T19:58:55","date_gmt":"2017-09-02T23:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.runkevinrun.com\/?p=15657"},"modified":"2017-09-02T19:58:55","modified_gmt":"2017-09-02T23:58:55","slug":"americana-pendleton-oregon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/?p=15657","title":{"rendered":"Americana – Pendleton, Oregon"},"content":{"rendered":"

When running these Mainly Marathon series of races, you find yourself in the smallest of towns. Some local Chambers of Commerce and townsfolk embrace the runners and throw swag and free museum admissions and even pasta parties (I feel like Dalhart, TX, did a big one the year I was at Dust Bowl, and a few other places have really rolled out the red carpet for us runners).\u00a0 Some don’t seem to know we’re here… they just know there’s a weird uptick in tourists.<\/p>\n

Last night whilst checking in to the Knights Inn here in Pendleton, Oregon, the night manager was annoyed at having all these other folks checking in; she was going to sell out and people were coming at all hours of the day and night. Some of the pre-paid bookings didn’t get processed into her computer so she was struggling with the vacancy\/no vacancy. But it seemed odd that she was so upset to be, well, selling out. Even stranger as I suspect next week for the annual rodeo here called the Pendleton Round-Up she’ll be once again seeing sell-out capacities.<\/p>\n

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The Round-Up is a big deal here. There’s a multi-day festival, complete with rodeo competitions, parades, pageants, a Round-Up Court of lovely ladies (both Native American and Cowgirl competitions), and most of it is run by volunteers… though based on the merchandising for sale throughout this small town, SOMEBODY is making money on this deal.<\/p>\n

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It is a slice of Americana, of the sort of thing Buffalo Bill might have toured through the country to show the Wild West as it may have been. I wandered through the Happy Valley Hall of Fame and Museum and snapped some photos to capture a bit of the flavor. I somewhat balked at the $5 admission fee but if it helps preserve something unique to this place, some identity that hasn’t been homogenized into a Wal-Mart\/McDonald’s\/Jack FM sameness, then really it’s money well spent.<\/p>\n