MyJourney: More of Oregon

As the trees are starting to turn to the fall colors, it was a pretty drive from Bend to Silverton along the McKenzie Pass-Santiam Pass Scenic Byway and West Cascades Scenic Byway (Hwys 20 and 22). The road follows a very pretty river part of the way.

Unfortunately, an 18-wheeler laying on it's side blocked traffic for awhile. The cargo was hay - so what a mess. We were escorted through the one lane that was cleared, but I imagine it was a total mess and completely closed at some point. I hope the driver was not injured too badly.

One advantage to this colder weather is I didn't have bug spatter all over my windshield along the way. And I averaged 10 mpg - it was a short, easy, beautiful drive.

Silver Falls State Park - There is a "Trail of Ten Falls" hike (roughly a 7-mile loop that is considered to be moderately difficult with some muddy areas, steep sections and an overall elevation of 800 feet) that is worth the effort if you are here. I did a portion of the trail .....

Not much water flowing today ...

It was a very pretty trail ...

Not a very high drop, but it as pretty non-the-less

You can actually walk behind this fall and view it from both sides

The number of feet listed on the sign is the "drop" height of the fall.

In Oregon City there is an End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. The center is located at the geographic end of the Oregon Trail, from which settlers could finally see the promised land of the Willamette Valley. The buildings have been designed to look like three prairie schooners in a train. The first hall exhibits deal with the start of the journey in Missouri - what was needed, how much to take, who went, etc. The next stop was a 30 minute film, Bound for Oregon, that dealt with the actual journey, again with excerpts from actual journals and accounts. I always find these personal items the most interesting. The last exhibit hall was the end of the journey, with a period town of Oregon City as it was in the 1860s. After you leave the exhibit halls, you can walk the grounds to view a pioneer garden and the official end of the road trail marker.

The Tualatin Heritage Center is the former home of Tualatin's oldest church, built in 1926. The "Craftsman-style church" houses a collection of artifacts, antiques, and photos, such as a 14,000 year old tusk and arrowheads. There is also a self-guided historic walk through the "woods."

I did some driving around the area ....

Outside the Harvey Marine Boat Supplier store lies the Harvey Rabbit statue, a physical embodiment of the store's mascot.

The Centennial Candle in Damascus stands 21.5 ft. tall and was created to mark Oregon's 100th birthday in 1959.

No trip to Portland on a rainy day would be complete without a stop at Powell's City of Books. Walter Powell opened his first store in 1971, in Portland. Today, there are six locations selling both used and new books, the original store is 68,000 sq. ft. and has over 1,000,000 books available.

It has been raining the entire time I've been in this area .... there is rain pouring off the bridges in Portland that make it look like waterfalls. Anything would help, because Portland has some ugly bridges.... and some ugly traffic. The gridlock is the worst I have ever seen, which is saying a lot coming from a SoCal girl. It look me almost 1 1/2 hrs to drive the 12 miles home from buying my book at Powell's. Also, driving in Portland is like a roller coaster; you go up/down and around to get anywhere - it is a "trip" to get from Hwy 26 to I-5 and I could not have done it either time without my GPS.

Since I have "lived" by my GPS for 2 years now, there are 2 enhancements I would even pay extra for ... to be able to put my stops in driving distance order and for a pause button when I make an unscheduled detour. I spend a lot of extra time and gas covering the same area because I don't know where things are located .... i.e. I drove out of my way for Harvey the Rabbit, only to find it within blocks the next day at another stop; sometimes I cover the same area 3 times or more.

Gresham is a cute little town. In the downtown area there are statues on each corner ... a dog waiting, a dog straining on his leash, a crane, big brass bear sitting on a park bench .... fun to look at.

I had tons more to see in the area, but as it has rained, and most of the sights are outside ....

I did get a little time at Fort Vancouver National Historic Park before I was completely soaked ...

The London-based Hudson's Bay Company established Fort Vancouver in 1825 to serve as the headquarters of the Company's interior fur trade. The first Fort Vancouver was located on the bluff to the northeast of the fort's current location, where it was relocated in 1829. The fort served as the core of the HBC's western operations, controlling the fur business from Russian Alaska to Mexican California, and from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Vancouver was the principal colonial settlement in the Pacific Northwest, and a major center of industry, trade, and law.

I have had the pleasure of attending 3 quilt shows while I have been here, one in this historic museum ...