ST. PAUL (AP) — If you’re exploring Champoeg State Heritage Area for the first time, a good starting point is Monument Plaza on the northwest side of the park. The granite monument marks the spot where a vote was taken on May 2, 1843, to form the first provisional government in the Pacific Northwest. The vote, coming 16 years before Oregon became a state, was a squeaker. Fifty-two men voted in favor of the provisional government. Fifty opposed it. The names of the 52 are inscribed on the monument, erected in 1901. On a balmy Friday evening in August, my …