Mist

I left Portland during rush hour, which influenced my decision to drive up the Oregon side of the river before rejoining I-5 in Longview. But one thing leads to another and by Scapoose, I had an urge to go back to Mist and visit the old store. Just a little out of the way. But many miles of winding road later, I found the Mist Store was gone. I thought maybe my memory had blanked (it had only been 27 years), or that maybe I might be somehow missing downtown Mist (hah, hah!), but I found a site that looked like it might have once been the place. A big gas tank and a vacant plot of land.

I still have a photo of the Mist Store from July, 1980. I had visited the Nehalem Valley back when the Mist gas field was new (probably the only commercial production in the northwest) and remember how remarkable it was to see gas wells in the midst of the forest, since most of the oil and gas I had seen before had been in somwhat less lush geographies like Wyoming and Bakersfield.

Thanks to the web, I have now learned that the Mist Store served burgers and milkshakes, that it was the oldest continually operated store in Oregon (since 1874), and that it burned to the ground on July 6, 2001.