At least that's what the Parade Announcer said. And, y'know, I have to agree with him with a small qualification...any parade you're at is the Best Little Parade In Oregon/USA. It is, without a doubt, the best.
And this one, this one was no exception. It was fun, it was original and it was very American. I have found myself reflecting on this theme of American for a while now. I think it is because this country, our culture and our identity has changed so dramatically and so quickly in the past few years.
Sometimes it is difficult keeping up with what is happening and I feel a little bit lost in my own country. It's an uncomfortable feeling and one I deal with on an almost daily basis these days. And so it is good to be able to reach back and touch something so American, so familiar and so, well, comforting. This Small-Town American experience lets me touch base with the America I value and the one which I've stood for. It's a good thing.
And it was fun, too!! In answer to the question posed below, "I don't know!?! Who could ask for more!?!"
So I saw the small notice in this week's copy of Oregon Coast Today (I tell you, that free paper is invaluable to me!!) about the parade and knew I wanted to go and see Clover the Cow. It was easy to convince Carol that she wanted to go and see her, too.
And, POW!! Just like that, we were off!!
On the road. The small town of Cloverdale sets just 20 miles north of LCO on The 101.
Fun Facts: Located in Tillamook County, Cloverdale was founded and named by Charles Ray, who settled in the area around 1884 at the site that later became the town. He later established a store, hotel, bank and cheese factory. A post office was established here in 1899.
The population was, at the 2000 census, 242. In 2010, the population had swelled dramatically to 250 souls; specifically, 123 males and 127 females.
A City on the Grow!!
Again, the drive just about anywhere on The 101, is a kick in the pants. I don't mind the miles when I'm driving The 101.
And here we are, approaching the outskirts of the metropolis of Cloverdale. We're familiar with this small town as we've eaten at The Dory, one of the two restaurants in the city and usually stop at the Cloverdale Market for a soda when we're motoring up the coast. Oh, and their egg rolls, too. The Market has a number of tasty delicacies for the weary traveler. Hahahaha, and they're all kept warm under the lamp.
And our adventure begins with parking. I was wondering what they were going to do for parking as I expected there to be a good number of people there for the Parade and the main street is only about 250 yards long. If that.
And there ain't much in the way of parking there.
But they solved the problem with some good ol' Yankee ingenuity by setting aside one of the cow pastures for the cars.
And it were free, too!!!
What a beautiful day. And it was pleasantly warm, too. Cloverdale is set in a long valley that runs up to Tillamook. And, not surprisingly, the main industry in this long valley is dairy.
To get into the town, we had to go over the Nestucca River which runs parallel to The 101 for awhile in the town.
The Nestucca. It's gotta be fun, having a river run through your town. One that you can actually get to, swim and fish in. Again I go back to my youth where all the rivers I knew were either grand gulches or concrete beds with a thin trickle of water running down the center.
So, for me, seeing a real, unrestrained and free flowing river running through the town is a real treat.
Here we are!!
Clover's Day Celebration!!
And here's the view we had looking south from the intersection of Gist Road with The 101. Directly ahead of us is an abandoned church. It's, unfortunately, boarded up and empty. Across the street from the church is the Post Office
And forgive me. I was so caught up in the excitement of just being there and so eager to get some fry bread that I failed to get a shot of the exterior of this small stand. It was set up for some charitable group and they cooked them up as you ordered them.
Then a sprinkle of cinnamon and some powdered sugar and it was ready to .....
..... eat!! And we did. It did not last long.
And it were good!!
And from Gist Road, looking north up the Oregon Coast Scenic Highway, aka The 101. You can see the end of the town from here. That's the Dory Restaurant there, the last building as the road curves out of town. We had a chance to eat there recently and, well, it has a nice bar.
We didn't go in, it was closed, and so I don't know exactly what this shop sells....but it is different. It reminds me of a Hobbit Shop or, maybe, a specialty store on Diagon Alley. It is....unique.
And it was also the perfect place for a reflected window selfie.
See!! Don't you get the sense of a Hobbit or a Wizarding Store? Hahaha, right there in Cloverdale, Oregon, population 250.
We were early so we were able to walk around a while and see what was what there. Oh, I want to remind you that the pictures are presented in the order taken. Occasionally, I will change up the order for continuity, to help the story, but normally, you get the pictures, and, by extension, the story in the order that these things happened and were recorded
So you're going to see things sorta bounce around in this story. Don't worry, we were walking here and there and had a good hour to kill before the parade and so we went up and down the main street. And there was a lot to see.
Hahaha, I like these small towns.
Oh, and they had a car show going on, too. This guy was moving his hot rod over to the parking lot.
And here is Patriotic Carol, posing in front of the Cloverdale Market. Where we got our egg rolls. And sodas.
They were showing the vintage cars in the parking lot where we had seen all the goldfinches. The birds were long gone with all the activity going on so we just admired the cars.
Like this '57 Ford T-Bird and the older version, a '63 (?) T-Bird, to the right.
Oh, it was a shame what they did to that sporty little personal luxury car. Hahaha, they sorta blew the crap out of it in 1958 when they added the back seats and didn't stop until the late 70s. Quite a difference, isn't it?
Ah, the Space Race left its mark on nearly every car made in the 50s. Here's the interior of the '57 T-Bird.
And, to give you an idea of what two years of tinkering can do, here's the dash of a '55 T-Bird, the first year of production. Notice that in this premiere model, the car had something resembling a bench seat. That'll change soon enough.
Ah, America!! Bigger is better, right!?! Hahaha, they went all out when they blew up the T-Bird. Still, they had bucket seats. I can remember how exotic and .... dangerous the bucket seats were. Every car I had until I got my '72 Mercury Capri was a bench seat.
Now it would be a bench seat that is exotic and different. Ah, the times they keep on a-moving.
And then it was Bullitt time...A '68 Ford Mustang Fastback, The Muscle Car!!
Fun Facts: Steve McQueen only did about 10% of the driving on the movie. They actually had three Mustangs and Chargers for the movie but only had to use two of them in shooting.
Although it looks, as it should, like the chase is one, long sequence, when they filmed it, they filmed it in short segments. So one jump down Taylor Street would be filmed and then they would start working on the next jump and so on. And they weren't filmed in any sequence. As the McQueen's Stunt Double, Loren Janes, said, "It took the crew four weeks to shoot that 10-minute car chase. It didn't unfold the way it does in the film. The scenes were shot street by street, and in a different order from the film. Then the scenes were arranged into a deck of cards in the editing room so there was continuity. So for the stunt driver, it wasn't a car chase as much as a series of block by block enterprises all over town."
And the director added a new dimension to filming by some of the chase from inside the car. Most of those scenes were shot by a cameraman or a camera tied down into the back of the car. This was part of the genius of director Peter Yates, putting the movie-goer in the car during the chase.
Hahaha, I was bouncing all over. Here's the front grill of the '64 (?) T-Bird. Oh, they knew the value of some well-placed chrome in those days.
And they knew big, too!! You really felt it when you were tooling around in one of these old behemoths.
And the chrome went on and on and on and on and....ad infinitum.
One word - Classy!!
And from those Ford's to this one...a 1965 Ford Mustang.
Not-So-Fun Facts: My brother, Curtis, bought himself a brand new 1965 Ford Mustang. He worked out of the Local while he was in high school and could afford it. It was a beautiful car and it was fast!!
One night, just a little bit before I went into the Marines, I had a bit too much to drink and was mad at him for some idiotic and immature reason and I kicked his car in the rear side panel ..... and put a pretty good sized dent into it.
I still do not know why he didn't kick my dumb ass, several times, for that stupid stunt.
This was a fun car to drive. Notice the roller handles for the windows. Bucket seats and a big, sleek, chromed and modern like a space ship steering wheel. The back seat in these things were designed for torture. And for contortionists!!
And this one was .... for sale.
Oh, to have some extra cash.
If you're interested, let me know and I'll send you the phone number of the guy selling it. But you have to let me drive it once you get it!!
And a VW Bus. Hahaha, Peace, Love and VWs.
Look at that elaborate dash. Boy, a lot of thinking went into that design.
And, along with everything else, I'd love to have an old VW Bus. I was nothing near to being a Hippie back then but I can still appreciate the simplicity and the memories that go with these old classics.
Whoa!! This guy married the rear end of a VW Love Bug to a motorcycle. And, it too, is for sale.
Carol's Cell Phone Selifie.
 |
| CB |
The local Auto Parts store was dishing up some delicious Tillamook Ice Cream. And Carol quickly got into line for a treat.
I think it was a Chocolate Swirl.
The thing is, most every dairy farmer in this valley is part of the Tillamook County Creamery Association. They pretty much all sell their milk to the folks at the Tillamook Cheese Factory.
But we had plenty of time left before the Big Parade started and we'd seen just about all there was to see in the town and so we stopped by the Mighty Fine Riverside Bar and Lounge at The Dory. Where I was able to get my treat.
I like these small town Bars and Lounges. Hahaha, I checked and it only costs .75 cents to play a game of pool here. Back in the day, and by that I am referring to way back to the late 60s and very early 70s, it used to cost .25 cents. I have to say, the price of a game of pool, at least here in Cloverdale, hasn't kept up with inflation.
That's OK with me.
And they really know how to decorate up a bar here at the Mighty Fine Riverside Bar and Lounge at The Dory. You know it's quality when you see plastic light crabs.
Sorry for the poor quality of this shot but I included it because I wanted you to see the bar....as much as you can. Looks friendly. A place where you could spend some time.
And outside the Bar and Lounge the activity on the street was picking up.
Love the Small-Town America.
And this was our favorite empty store/house. Not very big but with a load of potential. Plus its own boardwalk in front.
We got to meet this guy. He was flying his Army Colors on his cap, vest and bike. He enlisted in '72. Way back when. Hahaha, we both joined the Army in the same year. He's retired, too. Course, they say I retired from the Army but I didn't really retire. Nope, there was still plenty of time left to have to work.
But no more!!!
And while the crowds swelled and the excitement grew, it was still business as usual along The 101. The road has to stay open regardless.
Everyone was just about ready for the parade to begin. The streets were lined with kids both young and old.
Let's Rock 'N Roll!!
The kids were ready.
And the Parade Announcer was getting the final details straightened out with one of the parade officials.
You could feel the excitement in the air.
And, finally, with a blast of the horns and a toot of the sirens, The Big Parade started. Leading off was the Fire Department in all it's blazing (hahaha, get it? Blazing!!) glory!!
The Fire Department is big out here. Folks appreciate them and they have plenty of volunteers. But, who wouldn't want to ride in the big trucks with the sirens wailing?
A staple in every parade, the Boy Scouts of America. That's great that they have a troop for the kids in this town.
And there are Boy Scouts then there must, logically, be a pack of Cub Scouts.
They all sorta look like they're in a funeral.
Whup!!
There she is!! Clover the Cow!!
She's billed as the Prettiest Cow in Town.
She was a good looking cow.
And there are the Grand Marshals....Verne and Pat Mobley.
I think they're old-time dairy farmers from the valley. They stopped and had a few words with the Parade Announcer.
Hahaha, now the parade was in full swing.
And this truck, from the Monkey Business 101 Nursery featuring nwbarndogs.com!! Their Motto is, Have Rats Will Travel....The Rat Race Redefined!!
I don't quite know what this is all about but I did find this blurb on the 'Net. It's, evidently, a new canine sport...
Fun Facts: The goal of the latest craze in canine sports is simple - find the rat. (I bet the dogs would go crazy from overkill if they let them loose in the Halls of Congress!!)
About 90 dogs competed in a variety of categories in a 'barn hunt' over the weekend in Redmond. Dogs sniffed around hay bales stacked into obstacles, searching for rats contained in plastic tubes hidden under the loose straw.
Evidently they race against the clock as they negotiate the obstacles searching for the rat.
I never knew.
Ah, shades of Grease.
Go Grease Lightning, you're burning up the quarter mile (Which, coincidently, is about the length, less a couple dozen yards, of the main street of Cloverdale.)
You're a Grand Old Flag, You're a High-Flyin' Flag, And forever in peace may you wave....
Haha, neat idea.
Oh, BTW, I caught the Tootsie Roll she tossed my way. Mmmmmmmm
I don't know....just a lot of flags.
Good job!!
They had several of these dories in the parade and we were reminded, several times, that these are real working boats. Uh, OK.
And you can see here they kept The 101 open despite the parade. They would hold the traffic and let the north-bound go up the side of the road and then stop them and let the south-bound go by. All the while the parade was going on. Some of the folks riding by on their way to here and there were visibly embarrassed to be interrupting the parade like they were.
Another dory, a real working boat....and this one even had a Mermaid. Looking good!!
A Ford LTD. It felt like a day for vintage Fords. My Dad was a Ford man, through and through. Most every car he had was either a Ford or a Mercury.
Hey, look!! It's Smokey the Bear!!
Hahaha, that was great, seeing Smokey!!
And they had trucks from the local Electric Company on parade.
It was a fun parade.
And, speaking of Mercurys, here's one from the 40s. What a beauty!!
Hahaha, kids riding in the front lift, or bucket. Totally safe here in rural America. And that's a real working tractor. Hahahaha....
The Elite Car Wash had an entry...along with their Grandkids.
Hahaha, I don't know. They just had a fun time.
Hey, there's the 2015 Tillamook County Queen, Sarah. Looking good wearing her Cowboy Hat with a tiara on it.
What parade would be complete without some horses. Always a crowd pleaser.
The horses are dressed up more than the girls are. Love the Small-Town America.
And, for no reason I can perceive, a young Cowpoke was walking his Cow Doggie in the parade.
Woo-Woo!! The ponies. Haha, looking good.
And this guy pulled up and had to shout at the announcer. And when he did....
....his dog made a break for it and he had to get out and corral him back into the truck. A nice interlude.
A couple Clydesdales. I didn't think they would have these working horse here but, obviously, they do. And from their look, they're real working horses.
Whup!!
There it is, the marching band.
Hahaha, this was it, the only musical entry in the parade. Proudly strutting his stuff down the route. I shoulda stayed with my accordion studies!! Hahaha, I coulda been a star!!
And that was the end of the parade. And the traffic on The 101 was still flowing.
So we walked back to the other end of town. I wanted to take a look at the menu at the local Taqueria. Hahaha, food!! It's important to me.
And while we were ambling round, we got a second look as the parade entrants disbanded.
Queen Sarah....with her tiara.
We walked up the hill towards the beer garden.
And this one was for sale, too. A Ford (are you seeing a trend, here?) Falcon Ranchero.
They had a live band playing at the beer garden. Carol was really taken with the band. They had some good C&W going.
It wasn't too hot and the mood was mellow. But I was still interested in the menu at the Taqueria.
And that sign pretty much said it all.
We've got this place penciled in for lunch someday.
Carol found her 'favorite' store, the Shell Game. She bought a huge chunk of coral there. And she's planning on visiting it again. Oops!!
Here's the fellow that runs the shop. Very laid back operation. Very small townish.
And here's Carol's coral. I guess it could be a good doorstop.
And we got to meet this lovely lady, Rosie. She was a big'un.
And so our fun-filled day in Small-Town America came to an end.
It was fun. Fry bread, ice cream, a parade and good people. Some great sights.
But it was time to head back. Both of us were tired. Hahaha, a little sun and too much standing.
It's a beautiful valley filled with small dairy farms and good values.
So there it was. Our 4th of July Parade disguised as Clover Days. I enjoyed this more than I think I would enjoy a parade in the big city.
I like the informality and the lack of pretense of these small towns. I like the casual intimacy of the people there. We were able to strike up conversations with just about everyone we met. And we felt safe, too.
What a great way to celebrate the Birthday of our Country.
Life is good.
Hooah!!
No comments:
Post a Comment