Last day of May 2015

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.