Or - Life Is A Highway....
I wanna ride it all day long
If you're going my way,
I wanna drive it all day long.
With apologies to Rascal Flatts
We did ride it all day long, too. We've been wanting to get out, so-to-speak, from the coast and see the westward side of the Oregon Heartland and so we hit the road for fun and adventure today with a Grand Tour of Central Oregon West of the I-5.
We knew we wouldn't be able to visit, in detail, all the areas we drove through today but that wasn't the objective. Oh, it was a 'follow-your-nose' kinda day; one where we just drove and stopped when we wanted to or needed to and we knew that time and our age would conspire to cause us to just drive through a lot of the country we were seeing.
And that was it, basically. We started out heading south to Florence, Oregon. From there we would head due east to Veneta and then north to Junction City, Corvallis and Dallas. Then we'd set the mini towards the setting sun and home.
Starting some 20 miles south of Waldport, it was all virgin territory for us. And therein lay the adventure and the mystery...all along those 240-plus miles we drove today.
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| Thank you, Mr. Google. |
I'd checked the weather and it was suppose to be a clear and sunny day...it's just that the 'clear and sunny' part wouldn't start until the afternoon. Ahhh, I'm learning that this Oregon weather isn't as friendly as I'd like it to be. No, not at all. It's a rough rascal and isn't afraid of making its mark felt throughout the day with its swings and moods.
I was semi-surprised when I stepped out the front door and saw the morning was foggy. It wasn't dangerous driving but it wasn't scenic driving either. Visibility was limited.
See, there by the foot of the telephone pole? That's the little dog station we put up. Hahaha, Seattle has rubbed off on us. I had that extra rock so I sunk it next to the pole and put a water bowl out for the thirsty mutts, mongrels, curs and pedigrees that bring their Pooper-Picker-Uppers out to the beach for walks. Oh, and we got another small bowl for dog biscuits and put it next to the water bowl. Carol does love her some dogs.
Helloooooo?!? Mr. Sun?!? Are you there?!?
After breakfast and a short drive through LCO, our first stop was at Siletz Bay. The tide was, obviously, out. By now you're becoming a bit familiar with the geographic layout of LCO and you should know that Siletz Bay is the southern anchor of the city and the neighborhood (one of the six cities that joined together to become LCO) there, on the bay, is Taft.
This is the bay where we've seen the egrets, herons, harbor seals, eagles, canada geese and clammers.
Oh, you can see the ocean here, too. Hahahah, no you can't!! It's too foggy!! I was fooling with you. For a good part of the morning, we knew where the ocean was but we couldn't see it.
Evidently it's pretty easy to get a clamming license. Oh, and they also have classes to teach you clamming. I've wondered about that...seems all you really have to learn is where they are. After that it's shovel and sift. Seems easy enough to me...the shoveling and the sifting, I mean. I'm sure it takes some expertise knowing where to shovel, though.
Fun Facts: Most of the clams found in this area are either the smaller purple varnish clams or larger soft-shell clams. Hahaha, this is a no-brainer, but low tide is when you dig for clams. First you dig with a long, thin shovel and then you reach in and grab a handful of, hopefully, clams.
You can look for the soft-shell clams in the mud flats on either side of the bay. You look for a round-shaped show (or hole) which indicates to you where the clam is located...up to 18" below the surface.
Purple varnish clams are the dominate clam in the bay. They are located in the lower portion of the bay from Cutler City to near the entrance of the bay.
A license is required to take marine shellfish for those 14 years or older. The license cost $7. Each digger must have their own container, dig their own clams and may not have more than one limit (72) of clams while in the harvest area.
Whadya say!?! Wanna go clamming?!?
I've wanted to stop by the southern end of the bay and today I did. Hahaha, I know I'm old but I think anyone would agree that it's semi-dangerous walking alongside the 101. And noisy, too!! Hahaha, but I sacrificed for my art and dared to walk a couple hundred yards down the Highway.
And it was worth it.
Fun Facts: The Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is one of six NWRs that make up the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex.
It's closed to public use, except for viewing from outside the refuge boundaries and during special events. Established in 1991, it was set aside to return the salt marsh to its natural state. It had been diked and ditched to create pasture for dairy cows. The segment I was at, Millport Slough, consists of a 100-acre tidal marsh.
Just because he was posing for me on a piece of driftwood.
Part of the tidal marsh. I'm guessing the dead trees were introduced to the tidal marsh about the same time as the dairy cows were.
I felt like I could spend several hours there shooting.
These were all taken on the east side of Highway 101.
And the fog was hanging in there. What a rich treasure this Refuge is.
On the western side, its more open. Plenty of room for some Canada Geese, like this guy.
Hahaha, I was trying to get some good foggy treetop pictures. I still have a ways to go.
On the road again, we headed south and stopped, briefly, at Depoe Bay. There is a small Coast Guard Station there. When we pulled up there was a fishing boat there, along with the Coasties. We thought there was a rescue or something dramatic happening when we pulled up and so we stayed to see what was up.
Nothing.
I'm guessing the fishing boat was just going out to sea from the Bay. The Coasties stayed around that same area for a couple minutes, made a couple of approaches to the entrance to the Bay and then...
...went home. Not very exciting although I think I'd have a different opinion of excitement were I on the boat with the Coasties. A much different opinion.
The entrance into the Bay is just on the other side of that concrete jetty.
Ahhh, the life of a Coastie.
And then we were on the road again. Nothing dull about most drives through Oregon.
My only gripe is that there never seems to be a convenient, and safe, place to pull over and gawk at the local flora and fauna. For a serious photographer I need to be able to pull over and seize the moment....and the shot.
Life's like a road that you travel on
When there's one day here and the next day gone
Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand
Sometimes you turn your back to the wind.
Life Is A Highway - Rascal Flatts
See what I mean. It's not dull.
I have resolved to, when driving through scenic Oregon, to travel at a speed that allows me the best opportunity to enjoy the whole experience. I want to see and enjoy as well as lay down some tracks.
Hahaha, I know this does not make me too popular with my fellow travelers. Boy, Howdy, do I know. But, in my defense, I do try to be polite and considerate...as much as I can.
So, when I'm tooling down the road at 55, I look for pull-outs where I can slide off to the side and allow the cars behind me to pass. When we get to passing lanes, I deliberately slow down so as many people as possible can pass me safely. And when we're on the road and there's clear roads ahead I move to the right as much as I can to allow them to pass me safely.
Even then, it doesn't always work. We had one joker (just one for the whole day), who was so upset at having to drive the limit that he sped around several cars in order to pass me. And when he passed, he made it a point to do it as close to the mini as he could. Hahaha, I saw him passing and had slowed down because there was traffic ahead and I was pulling slightly to the right when he whizzed by.
Tres fun. I'm sure most others were a bit frustrated but they weren't stupid.
And it's worth it. Hahaha, I do enjoy driving these roads. I just wish I could do some more gawkin' while I'm drivin'.
Next up, Bob Creek. There's dozens of these little treasures along the Oregon Coast Highway.
It's just a small stretch of beach where they plunked down a parking lot for visitors. Easy on and easy off, and you're right there. At the beach.
There are plenty of Waysides for you to pull over to and enjoy.
Plenty. Like this beach...
Even the driftwood is artfully arranged.
And the fog. I was pleasantly surprised by the fog...an unexpected treat. But one that was beginning to overstay its welcome.
The mountains surrounding the Bob Creek Wayside, part of the Siuslaw National Forest. Still trying for that cool foggy trees shot.
Carol found these slugs on the beach. We haven't found out yet exactly what they are. They're not a Banana Slug. I suggested they were Couch Slugs but then I looked in a mirror and couldn't see a resemblance.
Any help?
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| CB |
This was a rocky beach area with, of course, the creek feeding into it. The closer you got to the water, the more sand there was. A lot of shells and detritus on the beach.
Carol found some, too.
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| CB |
I've got to take a class on marine life at the beach. I want to know what these things are and how they interact but, at least in this instance, the Internet isn't working for me. Hahaha, the real reason is I am too doggone lazy to really dig into it.
Path of least resistance....that's my motto!!
Playing with B&W. You have to admit, the subject lends itself to a B&W rendering, doesn't it. I guess I should also take a short course in geology, again. I want to know how, exactly, all those small, round holes get into some of these stones.
And the introvert, Shy Carol, quickly met two amateur geologists out on a hunt. They have a VW Vanagan and they travel around looking for agates. She said she takes them home and puts them into her bird bath.
Regardless, they were semi-pro. He had a small specialty hammer to move the stones as they searched for the crystals and agates.
OK, OK. I admit it, I am, at times, a one-note singer.
Hey!! You don't get fog everyday, Man. Gotta Carpe the Ol' Fog, y'all.
Still trying.
And another of my notes. The amazing Gull.
Notice I didn't make the layman's mistake and call this critter a Sea Gull. Nope, I'm a semi-serious birder now and I'm trying to get all the terms correct. Hahaha, I am also, obviously, full of it, too.
This fellow's patience paid off. He was watching a couple eating a light lunch at a table just in front of this sign and as they left they rewarded him with a Slim Jim.
Yeah, that's right, an honest-to-goodness Slim Jim. By the time we got up there, he had it in his beak and was trying to figure out how to eat it. I could see some obvious problems but he appeared undeterred. Rather, he seemed to be relishing (forgive me!) the challenge.
By the time we left, he had half that sucker down his gullet.
And then we stumbled onto this. Hahaha, I had not thought, as I looked at our route today, about any lighthouses. So when we rounded the curve and saw this, I was very pleasantly surprised.
And my first thought was that Michelle would be just a wee bit jealous (the good kind) of me.
Fun Facts: The Heceta Head Lighthouse was built in 1894, the 56-foot-tall lighthouse shines a beam visible for 21 nautical miles making it the strongest light on the Oregon Coast.
Looking from the parking lot, this is the Assistant Keepers house. It's a duplex, actually. The Keeper's house, a single-family house, was situated on the same lot just up from this house. It was demolished in 1940 and was very similar in size and design to the Assistant's house. Due to electrification, the head lighthouse keeper was no longer needed and the house was bought for $10 and dismantled for its lumber, which was used to build the Alpha Bit bookstore-cafe in nearby Mapleton, which still stands today.
What!?!?!
Just because. He was there and he didn't appear to be bothered by me so, what the heck, I shot his picture. A rather mean-looking White-Crowned Sparrow.
Cape Creek flows into the Pacific here. Hahaha, this is a Creek? It puts the river in El Paso to shame.
The Cape Creek Bridge.
Fun Facts: It's an arch bridge spanning Cape Creek. The bridge carries The 101 and was opened in 1932. Designed by Conde McCullough, it has a total length of 619 feet with a main span of 220 feet. The bridge resembles a Roman aqueduct, with a single parabolic arch that spans half its length.
Coolio.
Hahaha, yeah, it's foggy trees again. But this time I included a bridge for some relief.
And that's all the relief you'll get from me!!
It's a half-mile hike up the hill to the lighthouse. The Keeper's House sits midway between the parking lot and the lighthouse.
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| CB |
This gives you an idea of what it looked like back when.
More Fun Facts: In 1892, a crew of 56 began construction on the light. Because of the site's seclusion, building materials were either shipped in, if the weather and tide permitted, or brought from Florence by wagon which usually took four or five hours, one-way. Stones were brought from the Clackamas River and bricks came from San Francisco.
Completed in 1893, the entire project cost $80,000 and consisted of:
- The lighthouse
- Houses for the head light keeper, the two assistant light keepers and their families
- A barn
- The purchase of the land the lighthouse sat on
-And two kerosene oil storage buildings, if one caught fire, there was a secondary source.
Up, up and away!!
I am not a big fan of up. I tend to avoid it. If they had had an escalator or an elevator I would have, without embarrassment or the least shred of shame, taken them. And smiled.
But they didn't so we hoofed it up the hill.
And tried to enjoy the scenery along the way.
FYI...this is a different turn than the one you saw in the picture two above this.
Going up. Always going up.
And as we wound our way slowly, s-l-o-w-l-y up the headland, we were able to see the bridge from a different angle. Slightly.
It was a dark and stormy day....
Hahaha, yes, I am shameless. I think I use this almost as much as I use the much-loved and always fresh, Whatchu talkin' bout, Willis!?!
Taking a moment to catch our breath, we gave a look at the Assistant Keeper's house. The Head Keeper's house would have normally blocked our view but it was torn down. Amazing!! I guess it wasn't all that rare back then.
Here you can see the lot where the houses stood.
Another view. The families worked several gardens and kept cows and other animals. The supply ship would not be able to drop off their food stuffs at times because of the weather and so the families had to be self-sufficient. Wasn't no taking a trip down to the 7-11 for a six-pack.
They were a happy-go-lucky and fun crew.
Fun Facts: Ever wondered where that term, Happy-Go-Lucky came from? Wonder no more...
In its early life, this phrase was used to describe something that was haphazard or simply left up to chance. There's no exact date but there are records of it being used in England in the 17th Century.
OK, this is long but they didn't believe in short titles back then. In 1699, there is a recording from Sir Thomas Morgan entitled A True and Just Relation of Major General Sir Thomas Morgan's Progress in France and Flanders with the Six English in the years 1657 and 1658 at the Taking of Dunkirk and Other Important Places (see what I meant?) that includes the phrase: "The Redcoats cried, 'Shall we fall in order, or go happy-go-lucky?'"
With its modern sense of without any cares, unconcerned, the phrase was first used in the mid-19th century. One of the first known recordings comes from Herman Melville's famous Moby Dick (1851) in which he writes: "A happy-go-lucky; neither craven nor valiant."
I know, both entertaining AND educational!!
During WWII, the Heceta Head Light was manned by the Coast Guard. Sweet duty, eh? Well, dull, but still...
Because it's my blog. Hahahaha, that's all. OK, I thought this interesting.
OK, we got our wind back and we were getting ready to tackle the second half of the climb to the lighthouse. (and by we I mean me.)
Thar she blows!!!
Up. The. Damn. Hill.
They had originally built a wooden boardwalk from the houses to the lighthouse to facilitate moving the supplies and oil up the hill. In the 20s, they replaced it with this concrete path.
Can you imagine all the many trips they would have to make up to the lighthouse just to keep it running? My gosh!! Go on back and take a look at the keepers and their families. Two of those guys don't look like Spring Chickens.
Sometimes I fail to realize just how good I have it.
Catching our breath....and taking a selfie. Anywhere, anytime!! That's our motto!!
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| CB |
We finally made it to the lighthouse. Finally. Whew. Did I mention I am not a fan of walking uphill? I'm not.
The Heceta Head Lighthouse has a first-order Fresnel Lens. Its signature is a flash of white light every ten seconds.
The lighthouse was restored starting in 2011. The restoration was finished in 2013.
I still say we've lost our architectural soul. Well, maybe we sold it to the cheapest bidder. Still, I believe they appreciated beauty in their lives back then. Life was tough and they found beauty wherever they could, even combining it with utility when they had to.
Haha, I'm not sure if this bell is original or not. Heck, I'm not even sure they used a bell then but it was there, on the window sill and in my mind I could see the Keeper using it to signal or alert someone. I could see it being used.
We had just begun our tour which started in the small room that sat off to the side of the tower. They originally had an overstuffed easy chair here and the Keepers would get a book from the Lighthouse Library and sit here when they could reading to pass the time.
The three Keepers worked a 24/7 schedule. One Keeper would be on from around 0800 to 1600. The second would take over from 1600 to 2400. The unlucky, most junior Keeper, would sit his watch from 2400 until 0800. Seven days a week. Before you think it was a plum to have the day watch consider that on his watch the glass of the lamp, all of its 12-foot high and 6-foot wide glassiness, had to be cleaned. All of it.
I admire the craftsmanship and skill in the small details of these gems. Look at this door. So carefully crafted and so well-made that it still sits snug keeping out the cold air to this day.
The floor shows the wear of all the years but it is still solid.
The short hallway from the building to the tower. Remember, all the bricks were fired in San Francisco and then brought up the coast to become the Heceta Lighthouse.
Simple, elegant, efficient.
We gathered at the floor of the tower for a short talk on the history of the lighthouse.
The stairs are free-floating in that they're attached at the top and at the bottom but not in between. That accounts for the swing and vibration you can feel going up or down them. They did this to reduce the strain on the brick walls of the lighthouse.
See how thick the walls are?
See the small circular plate on the floor beneath the bench? To operate the light and cause it to rotate on its ten-second flash, they would crank up a 200-lb deadweight up the center of the tower. When they first tried it they found the light rotated too slowly so they had to lengthen the depth the deadweight had to travel and they cut a hole in the floor to accommodate it.
Hahaha, so, at the beginning of each shift, the Keeper would wind up the deadweight lifting it from the bottom floor up to the light so that its pull would rotate the light for that shift.
Hahaha, eezy-peezy, one-two-threesy!!
At the top, I got this shot looking down the stairwell. It was an easy climb, the lighthouse is only 56-feet tall.
A view of the lamp. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to have to clean all that glass. Nope.
And this lighthouse was so well built that it was actually hot inside this tower. Regardless of how the wind blew outside or the temperature, it was snug inside the tower.
And a look at the park....in the fog. That's the Cape Creek Bridge there on the left. The 101 goes into a tunnel through the mountain.
And I got this pretty girl to pose for me on the way down. Plus it gave me a chance to rest my aching knees.
We went to take a closer look at the Assistant Keeper's House on the way down. I don't know what the deal is with Oregon Parks, but they're starting to tick me off. First the Cape Meares Lighthouse was closed when we went to visit and now we found out that the Assistant Keeper's House was closed, too.
It's a conspiracy, I tell ya!!
Then we found out it is now a Bed & Breakfast. OK, so the world isn't against me...this time!!
Yeah, a B&B.
Honest. Check out their website at
http://hecetalighthouse.com
There are 15 rooms available and they range in price from $180 to $315....depending on the season.
A view of the lighthouse from the Assistant Keeper's House.
Carol got this shot looking down from the lighthouse.
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| CB |
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| CB |
As we were leaving and heading over the Cedar Creek Bridge.
We found a viewpoint a mile or so up the coast and pulled over for another look at the Haceta Head Lighthouse.
I got lucky with my timing and caught the lighthouse with its characteristic flash every 10 seconds.
And missed it here.
And it was still foggy!!
After the lighthouse we stopped at the Sea Lion Caves. We decided not to stay but I did get this close-up of the totem in front.
And this Tiffany-style rendering of the Heceta Head Lighthouse.
One last look. Haha, this goes along with all my road pictures today.
It was getting late in the day and we'd been out for over five hours by then, so we didn't stop anymore. Oh, we had lunch, a Guacamole Burger, in Junction City and stopped at a Goodwill just for the heck of it but we mainly drove and enjoyed the passing scenery.
This trip was like a recon, getting out there and seeing what was what so I didn't figure I'd be stopping all that often after the coast. And I didn't.
And, of course, there is always time for a selfie.
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| CB |
But I did get to see a lot. And I liked it.
We left the coast at Florence. To be honest, neither of us are impressed with many of the towns along the coast. They're, well, kinda like a strip mall. One long, plain strip mall.
We did enjoy driving in between the towns. Especially driving on OR 126 alongside the Siuslaw River. What a treat that was.
And we tooled along at a steady 55. For the most part I was able to keep out of people's way.
We went up through Corvallis and then onto Dallas. Yeah, they have a Dallas, Oregon. It's set out in farm country. In fact, we passed a lot of farm country when we turned north going up 99W.
Fortunately, we didn't run into any deer, elk....or bear. But we did get a healthy dose of open. And trees. Lots of trees. And, as the afternoon wore on, we saw a number of raptors hunting. Quite a few, actually, in this fertile farmland.
We got to drive through a lot of the Willamette Valley.
Fun Facts: The Willamette Valley is a 150-mile long valley. The valley forms the cultural and political heart of Oregon and is home to 70% of its population. It includes in it Portland, its largest city and Salem, the state capital.
The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley depositing highly fertile alluvial-deposited soils across its broad, flat plain. The valley is surrounded by mountain ranges on three sides. the valley's waterways, particularly the Willamette River, are very important to the economy of Oregon.
A massively productive agricultural area, the valley was widely publicized from the 1820s as a promised land of flowing milk and honey. It became the destination of choice for the oxen-drawn wagon trains of emigrants who made the perilous journey along the Oregon Trail in the 1840s-1880s.
Driving along you can understand what drew them.
Easy driving, too. We hit a slight traffic jam in Corvallis but that was it.
We're gonna do this drive again. But slower the next time.
Finally the Salmon River Highway, OR 18. Taking us home.
What a great day. It was completely unplanned other than the route we would drive and that, well, that could have changed in a heart-beat. Nope, it was a real follow your nose kinda day.
And rewarding. I gotta tell you, this retirement thing is all right!!! No worries about time or obligations....just get an idea and then do it. I recommend retirement for everybody. It's a kick!!
And we make the best of our opportunities. Hahaha, we'll get better, too.
Life is good
Hooah!!
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