Friday,
May 22, 2015
This
week, we made a circuitous, overnight excursion down the coast to Newport, then
continued over the mountains to Corvallis, up the Willamette Valley to
Cornelius, and finally traveled back over the mountains to Tillamook. The days
were cool but sunny, providing some great weather for exploring our area.
At
Newport, we had a seafood lunch at Nye Beach and then checked into our hotel.
After establishing our hotel-headquarters,
we walked our dogs at the Yaquina Bay State Park, situated around the old
Yaquina Bay lighthouse. The park has a sensational trail system landscaped with
an assortment of huge fir trees and colorful flowers. The Rhododendrons were in
full-bloom and predominate along the trails.
In mid-afternoon, we walked
and shopped historic Newport waterfront and sampled some succulent treats. The
barking sea lions were piled on the docks, which are maintained especially for
them, and their incessant barking could be heard all along the waterfront.
The “Lady Washington” (State
ship of Washington) and “Hawaiian Chieftain” (State ship of Oregon) (our
motivations for this trip) were in Newport for a ten-day stopover and we went
aboard at 5pm for a thrilling tour. The ship-crews were dressed in period
costume and were very accessible for pictures, to answer questions, and share
their experiences about serving aboard the old “square-rigger” sailing vessels.
Newport is famous for its
seafood and the restaurants and markets enthusiastically supply all that you
may desire. Newport, home of NOAA, has become a very popular beach-resort with
gorgeous beaches and additionally, Yaquina Bay provides abundant fishing and
ocean-excursion activities.
On Thursday, we traversed the
Coast Range to Corvallis, home of Oregon State University, Oregon’s leading
research university. We toured the campus to discover stunning facilities and
landscaping, with a virtual arboretum of native trees, flowers, groomed, green
lawns and playing fields. I was reminded of Prentiss Edwin “Shot” Schilling,
who earned his doctorate degree here and then served his entire academic career
at Louisiana State University, where he died shortly before retirement.
Thankfully, he was responsible for my tenure at LSU in the System Network
Computer Center.
Traveling up the west side of
the Willamette Valley, in a warmer, dryer climate, we were impressed with the
agricultural operations and production. The Willamette Valley attracted the early
pioneers to the “Oregon Country”, much smaller than California’s Central
Valley, but just as productive. The “Oregon Wine country” is a major tourist
draw in the valley, hosting wine-tastings and over-the-counter sales. We
lunched at McMinnville, cruised the historic main street, and walked our dogs
around the park.
We trekked up the valley to
Champoeg, site of the early settlement where the 1843 “vote for
self-government” led to joining the United States. The settlement is now a
State Park preserving the buildings, artifacts, and history of the early
colonizers.
Returning to Tillamook, we
followed Gale Creek up the east slope and Wilson River down the west slope of
the Coast Range. We relished a picnic, evening meal on Wilson River, at the
“swinging bridge”.
Now comes Memorial Day
weekend, one of the busiest for the Barview Jetty Park and we will be working
with our associates to keep it safe and enjoyable for our visitors. As I review
and close my notes, I realize how inadequate my writing must be. My notes serve
me well in recalling people, places, and things but my English teachers would
“roll in their graves” to read them.
Have an enjoyable and
reflective memorial day AND many thanks to all our esteemed veterans!
Friday, May 29, 2015
Exploring Astoria, Oregon for
the past two days was a history lesson and a contemporary experience. We toured
Fort Stevens (Civil War-WW II), which guarded the mouth of the Columbia River. We
visited Astoria Column on Coxcomb Hill and the Astoria waterfront including the
Astoria Maritime Museum. My favorite experiences were seeing up-close Bald
Eagles at Astoria Column, cruising the Heritage Square gardens and
architecture, visiting with the Coast Guard personnel at the dock, seeing the
piles of basking sea lions on the piers, and savoring hot fish and chips on the
waterfront.
Traveling the coast Highway
101, you must traverse the dramatic Neahkahnie Mountain pass, clinging to the
edge of sheer drop-offs, hundreds of feet above the crashing waves.
We
love the Oregon coast because weather or not, a sunny day is not necessarily the
ultimate Oregon Coast experience. A big part of the Oregon Coast is the
unpredictable and frequently stunning atmospheric conditions that vacillate
here. Living right on the Pacific Ocean is sometimes like standing in front of
your freezer with the door open. The dissimilarity lies just east of the Coast
Range, in the Willamette Valley where Portland, Salem, Corvallis, and Eugene
are warmer and dryer.
