Rasmus Petersen, a Dane who came to Oregon in 1900 and died here in 1952, loved rocks. To see what he managed to do with them as an artistic medium, you need to travel pretty much to the middle of nowhere — OK, a few miles outside of Redmond, Oregon — and drop in on Petersen Rock Garden, the delightful folly that Rasmus built.
Petersen’s four-acre home is run as something between an informal public park and a very low-key tourist attraction. There’s no one selling admission tickets; drop $3 a head in the box by the gift shop to cover the family’s costs.
Then wander, amid a handful of peacocks, around the incredibly weird estate, decorated with Rasmus’ strange houses, castles, and even a replica (apparently not by Rasmus himself) of the Statue of Liberty.
Almost anywhere else in the world this would be considered valuable folk art and protected; here it’s just part of the community. A must-see for anyone within 100 miles. Or more.
Joseph, Oregon, is an intentionally quaint town (though not as dreadful as Sisters) in the far northeast corner of Oregon, near Wallowa Lake and the Eagle Cap Wilderness, for which it serves as a gateway. Some years ago it became a center for bronze casting and has billed itself ever since as an art town, which it is if you squint hard enough.
Valley Bronze, the foundry that started it all, is essentially the art business in Joseph. The work they do is not bad so long as you’re fond of heroic cowboys-Indians-wildlife bronzes.
The best places to stay are the Best Western (in Enterprise, five miles away), which has a wonderful view of the mountains and is right next door to the Forest Service visitor center, or perhaps the Indian Lodge Motel, a ’50s vintage highway-side motel whose main claim to stardom is that it once was owned by Walter Brennan. Restaurants on the whole are determinedly mediocre in both Joseph and Enterprise (“You’re welcome to some in and sit down but you’re going to have to wait a long time to eat,” was the kind of cheery greeting we got in one), except that we had good food and friendly service in the Mexican family restaurants called La Laguna, with incarnations in both towns.
The countryside around Joseph is drop-dead gorgeous, though, and Eagle Cap is Oregon’s largest wilderness area. If you visit, be sure and take the tram that goes up Mount Howard, and then treat yourself to an insanely huge ice cream cone at the Matterhorn Village shop across the street.
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Then wander, amid a handful of peacocks, around the incredibly weird estate, decorated with Rasmus’ strange houses, castles, and even a replica (apparently not by Rasmus himself) of the Statue of Liberty.