The “Rapids Cafe'”, An Oregon Roadhouse.

…Lee Glover's Photo From A 1980 Klamath County Yearbook.
…This Is Very Likely What the Narrator Experienced At Klamath Lake.

… “We pull in for lunch at a roadhouse which belongs to this era too. Wooden frame badly in need of paint, neon beer signs in the window, gravel and engine drippings for a front lawn. .. Inside, the toilet seat is cracked and the washbowl is covered with grease streaks, …. “ (Cont. Next)

At intersection of road from Crater Lake, Rt-62, with US-97, along the Eastern shore of Klamath Lake, OR.

Where Is The “Roadhouse” That Fits The Above ZMM Narrator’s Passage. …Back in May 27, 2013 I Henry Gurr. sent an email to my list of ZMM Enthusiasts, asking =>
“Do you know of any restaurant in Klamath Lake, OR area that fits this Narrator’s description?”
…Mr Lee Glover, immediately replied with 3 Email Attachments Of Photos showing the “Rapids Café”, with the following explanation =>

Henry,

I did some research a few years ago in the Klamath Falls area including talking to locals and reading the passage in the book to them.

They told me there were very few restaurants along highway 97 between the Crater Lake Junction and Klamath Falls serving alcohol in 1968. The state of Oregon has a long history with prohibition dating back to the Oregon Territory. The state enacted prohibition four years before it became the law of the nation.

One exception to restaurants selling alcohol was the Rapids Cafe located at the junction of highways 97 and 62. Robert and Chris left Crater Lake on highway 62 before reaching highway 97, the main north/south corridor in central Oregon.

When I was last there it was good fortune that a yard sale was going on next to the Rapids Motel. I purchased a 1980 yearbook for Klamath County at the sale and asked the people running the sale some questions. They lived in the area their entire lives.

Attached is a page from the yearbook and a crop of the Rapids Cafe and gas station.

While there is no mention of filling up there, this was the logical stop after the long ride through Crater Lake NP. The only other option was a stop for fuel in Fort Klamath but there is no mention of that either. They could eat and fill up at the same stop when they reached US-97.

While the cafe in the photo does not have the run down look described in the book, it certainly has a 1920's look. If this is the restaurant, the sequence is a bit off as Pirsig describes the 1920's feel of highway 97 before stopping but I do not see that as a contradiction in the context of the narrative.

I will spare you my analysis of the brilliant use of metaphor that demonstrates how great a writer Pirsig was.

I believe they stopped at the Rapids Cafe and that much of the colorful description was purely metaphorical.

I traveled between Eugene and Klamath Falls many times during the 1970's and don't recall any other places along highway 97 between Eugene and KF. If there was, we never stopped and since I worked with a construction crew, we usually stopped where alcohol was served.

Regarding the [ZMM Narrator’s] missed turn, I think the two most likely possibilities are a missed right turn onto highway 62 south of Crater Lake or the turn at Fort Klamath which would follow the western shore of Klamath Lake. There are several turns towards the coast at and beyond Redmond which they "missed" and given the distance traveled makes it unlikely he was referring to a missed turn as far back as Redmond.

I think the most likely candidate is turning left instead of right onto highway 62 but I am only guessing.

I hope this helps. Feel free to include the photographs on the website. There are no credits specifically for the photographs but the yearbook is Copyrighted 1981 by Carefree Living Productions, Inc.

Lee

SIDE NOTE:
…Mr Glover says this Roadhouse Restaurant was called the “Rapids Café” and later the “Bend Café”
…..As is seen on a Satellite View, 2000 feet East of the river side of the intersection of Rt-62 & US-97, are both, a River Bend & River Rapids, in the Sprague River.
…These facts concerning the river, help confirm that indeed correct for the location of this “Roadhouse”.

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For Deeper Understanding of how the ZMM Narrator would have gotten to Klamath Lake, and say “ “I see on the map we’ve taken a wrong turn way back and could have gotten to the ocean much quicker by another route.
… Please Read Our => ZMM Research Examination => Why ZMM Narrator’s Abrupt 90 Degree Turn South, At Prineville Junction, Oregon?
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So, Many Thanks to ZMM Route Researcher Lee Glover, For Successfully Finding The “Rapids Café” Shown In The /\ Above /\ Photo. The Previous Photo, And The Next Photo.
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(Photo = FmLeeGloverEml130527.WritingKlamath InKlamathCntyYearbook=1980 Rapids Café.jpg ..... ZMM Page = 313 ..... WayPt = 383i2 ~4200 ft)