Friday, July 3, 1998
Jacksonville, FL to Tigard, OR
At last we are taking a real vacation! We delayed breakfast until 10:00, which would be 7:00 in Oregon time, and used up leftover items in an omelette. Followed by a hectic time vacuuming the house and last minute errands including dropping Sparkle off at the Total Pet Complex for boarding. Closed up the house and left about 11:30. Left Kent’s car at Ace Parking and had a van ride to the airport. Checked in and Kent did some updating with Avis. Hope we have a car in Portland! Used Kent’s Gold status to board the plane early so we could stow all our carry-on only luggage: one suitcase each and one backpack or briefcase each. Flight to Dallas-Fort Worth left on time at 13:29. Beverage and pretzels. Arrived at DFW on time about 15:00 (16:00 Jacksonville time). Had to get from Gate 4 to 44, so took the American Airlines TrAAm. Used a restroom, then boarded right away. Flight to Portland/PDX left on time at 15:46, although we spent some time taxiing around the airport. Dinner snack of a hot chicken burrito, nacho chips and salsa, and a Ghirardelli mint chocolate. We arrived 10 minutes early at 17:45. Due to the layout, and construction, we had to walk quite a ways from the terminal to the car rental center. Brynne and I saw a woman in the restroom who had gotten a Ty Beanie Baby Erin for $6.95 in the airport. But there were no more! Avis gave us a better deal than the two prices of which we knew, and we went to the white Mazda 626. It was gray and cool in Portland, like having outdoor air conditioning!
We drove out on I-204 to I-84 to I-5 to OR-99W, and stopped at Buster’s Texas Barbecue for a tasty dinner of barbecue sandwiches with Texas dirty rice, and a pizza pocket, fries and Oreos for Brynne. ($18 cash.) Continued to the Wayside Motor Inn, searching back and forth along OR-99W, until we noticed by the address that it had become a Howard Johnson’s ($85.60 Visa)! We checked in to Room 403. We were worried that Jan & Kirby would have the same trouble finding the Wayside Motor Inn, but find it they did, having driven from their home in Seattle, WA. By 20:00 they were knocking on our door. Sat and talked until nearly 22:00 (1:00 the next day in Jacksonville!) and then went to bed.
Saturday, July 4, 1998
Tigard, OR to Heceta Head, OR
Wakened first at 4:15 (7:15 Jacksonville time), but stayed in bed until 6:00 when the hotel alarm clock went off! Kent got his coffee and brought back donuts and Danish to go with bananas and mangoes that Kirby had brought. The TV here has many cable stations, including Brynne’s beloved Nickelodeon. It was cool and gray outside. Jan & Kirby were up about 8:00. We checked out breakfast again, saw the pool outside, but no sauna. Around 9:00 we hit the road, with me in Jan’s car leading and Kirby in our car with Kent and Brynne. Missed the exit for Salem and had to turn around at the next exit on I-5. Found the State Capitol (1936-1938), a marble structure of “modern” design/Art Deco style by Trowbridge and Livingston. The murals inside portraying historical events were dated 1938. The building was topped with a golden statue symbolic of the Oregon pioneers.
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Oregon State Capitol
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Oregon State Seal
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Inside a large bronze disc was gold-plated with the state seal.
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Sprague Fountain with Brynne, Kent, Kirby & Jan
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The Mall in the front of the Capitol was actually over a parking garage. There was a large modern fountain sculpture, also strawflowers and Brewer’s blackbirds with yellow eyes. Big trees including an American elm and sequoia, and a rose garden. Willamette University was across the street.
We drove back to I-5 to travel south. Lots of vultures, cattle, sheep, hay bales, low-lying clouds on hilltops, a supposed osprey and eagle sighting, and raccoon roadkill. Exited to go into Eugene, and drove down a main numbered street with a right turn to Broadway. Found parking spaces, but the gallery Kirby wanted to see was closed until noon. Went to look for a place to eat, but the recommended restaurant was closed. We found a children’s shop, Cottontail Kids, selling Beanie Babies, but they had a limit of three new ones per person. So Jan & Kirby jumped in to buy three each, and we left with a total of nine new Beanies ($49.50 cash)!
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Salmon sculpture in Eugene Mall, Eugene, OR
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One of four decorative columns:
Four Seasons (1997, by Betsy
Wolfston and David Thompson) |
Ate at Zenon Bakery & Café (898 Pearl Street), a mite expensive. Caesar salad for Brynne, stuffed eggplant for me, and Kent had chickpeas and curry. Left $32 cash. Jan & Kirby had appetizer portions of hummus and roasted peppers, and a dessert of ice cream and a wicked chocolate cake. We walked through an open-air market with crafts, food, and fortune-tellers. We quickly went through the gallery, which was now open, but was not as expected. Back to our cars, this time staying in our family units, and continued down I-5. Turned on OR-99E toward Drain, OR with a stop for gas ($13.60 at Texaco on Discover). Continued on OR-38 to the coast. Along the scenic but cloudy Umpqua River valley. We made a few stops to see Roosevelt elk, once seeing about 24 near a barn!
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| Cervus canadensis roosevelti/Roosevelt Elk herd |
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| Hirundo rustica/Barn Swallow |
Barn swallows, redwing blackbirds, and a song of a marsh wren and common yellowthroat. We also saw a frog at the Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area. Steep forested hillsides with some clear cutting, some reforestation, a dead deer surrounded by vultures, a dead fawn, a dead opossum, and a dead skunk. Jan counted 60 turkey vultures today.
From Reedsport we turned south on US-101 to Umpqua Lighthouse State Park. There was a working lighthouse (1892, 65-feet tall at an elevation of 165 feet) with a red & white light, and a view of the dunes below and the Pacific Ocean.
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Umpqua Lighthouse
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| Rubus armeniacus/Himalayan blackberry |
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Umpqua Lighthouse view of dunes and Pacific Ocean
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This lighthouse was built to replace the first lighthouse (1855-1857) on the Oregon Coast, that eventually collapsed due to erosion. The sandy area directly below was filled with dune buggies/ATVs and their roar. Tried to find a way to see the 500-foot dunes farther south, but there was no ready auto access.
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Four tourists and a whale jawbone (Photo By Brynne)
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We headed back north with glimpses of small mountain-sized dunes, and freshwater lakes surrounded by Douglas firs. Past Reedsport to the Oregon Dunes Overlook (Paid the $1 honor fee.) for a view of real dunes averaging 250 feet in height.
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Oregon Dunes Overlook
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The dunes were swallowing conifer forests.
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| Oregon Dunes Overlook: Kirby, Kent, Brynne & Jan |
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| Ammophila arenaria/European Beachgrass |
Jan identified bird songs of Steller’s jays, and we saw Douglas squirrels (reddish brown) and a chipmunk. Kirby identified salal, a forest floor plant with white flowers and berries, and huckleberry. Sitka spruce have spikier/stiffer needles. Lodgepole pine have brown new needles looking like pine cones. Saw wild lily-of-the-valley.
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| Vaccinium ovatum/Evergreen Huckleberry |
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| Gaultheria shallon/Salal flower |
We continued to Florence, with me in the J&K car. Crossed the impressive Siuslaw River Bridge by Conde McCullough, a 1936 Public Works-built arched span in Art Deco style with obelisks at each end.
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Siuslaw River Bridge (1936, by Conde McCullough)
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300-foot dunes by the Siuslaw River
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We worked our way to the “Old Town” on the river bank and found spots to park. Went to Mo’s for dinner, a chowder house, one of many noted for its “best chowder in Oregon.”
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Mo's Restaurant, Florence, OR
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After a short wait we were taken to a waterfront window table thanks to Kirby’s request!
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View at Mo's
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I had the Cannonball Express, a round sourdough loaf hollowed out and filled with chowder. Brynne had chicken nuggets and fries, and Kent had fish and chips. I had a salad as well. While Kent stood in a long line to pay, Brynne and I chose postcards, then waited outside ($24 + $5 cash for meal and $3 cash for postcards). There were fishing traps, but for what?
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Traps
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Some fireworks and crowds of people. We walked under the bridge and browsed the Blue Heron Gallery with Don McMichael whale paintings, very similar to the Wyland whale murals in Providence and Boston. Lots of neat stuff like wind-up wooden sculptures.
We drove to Harbor Vista Park to see the jetties and the ocean, before continuing north on US-101 toward Heceta Head. We started winding around cliffs, with spectacular views down the beach coast line. We came around a curve for a breathtaking evening sun reflecting on a lighthouse and keeper’s house on green cliffs. Traveled through a tunnel, over a bridge, then a quick left into a driveway. We had to open the pole gate to let ourselves in, and finally arrived at the Heceta Head Lightkeeper’s House Bed & Breakfast ($142.50 check).
The hostess was on her way out to a July 4th celebration, but took the time to show us through the guest kitchen common areas and dining rooms, and to our rooms. We had the Victoria Room with a queen bed and a trundle bed for Brynne, and a shared bath down the hall.
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Fireplace at the Heceta Head Lightkeeper's House
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The Victoria Room
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Brynne in our common bathroom
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Jan & Kirby had an ocean-view room with a double bed and their own bath that had one sink, two showers and two toilets!
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Double toilets!
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Goats wandered outside the picket fence, and bunnies were inside and out of the fence. Lots of hummingbirds flitting around We unloaded the cars and walked to the lighthouse.
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| Heceta Head Lighthouse |
Returned to the B&B to play cards, then Kent and Brynne went to bed. Jan & Kirby and I went back out to the lighthouse in the dark to watch the light beams circling. There was a prism-like effect on the nearby trees behind the lighthouse, and reflected lights off the cliffs.
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Lighthouse beams on the hillside cliffs
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The moon was making the ocean glow. We could see some fireworks on the beach below. Saw and used Jan & Kirby’s bathroom, then went to bed. There were down pillows and a down comforter. This lightkeeper’s house is supposedly haunted by Rue, a former lightkeeper’s wife who is looking for her baby who died and was buried here. We heard only a few knocks during the night. The Queen Anne Victorian duplex (1893) was built for assistant lightkeepers, and the head lightkeeper had a house next door, which has since been sold and taken down.
Sunday, July 5, 1998
Heceta Head, OR to Gleneden Beach, OR
Kent and I were up early, and Brynne was still tired so stayed in bed as we walked down to Devil’s Elbow State Park. Saw blackberries, bunnies, windblown Sitka spruce, primordial forest, a tiny stream and waterfall, beach, and another Conde McCullough bridge, caves in the cliffs below the lighthouse, and a rock formation full of birds.
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Heceta Head Bunnies
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| View South from Devil's Elbow State Park |
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Tiny stream and waterfall
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| Ariolimax sp/Banana Slug |
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View back to the Lightkeeper's House
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Cape Creek Bridge (1932, by Conde McCullough)
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Kent at a sea cave
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Rookery Rock on the L, covered with birds
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Scary rabbit!
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We were able to pet a bunny, see violet-green swallows go in and out of a hole in the house overhang, robins and sparrows, and goats lying behind Kirby’s car.
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| Resident goats at Heceta Head |
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Heceta Head Lightkeeper's House (1893)
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Lightkeeper's House Queen Anne style details
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Played cards with Brynne until breakfast. Brynne was given the duty of sounding the triangle to announce breakfast. The grandfather clock bonged many times during the 1-1/2 hour meal! Started with fruit: watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, slices of orange, cherries, and green grapes. Had slices of a poppy seed pound cake. Beverages were a choice of coffee (home-roasted Arabica beans, dark roasted to limit caffeine content), hot chocolate for Brynne and hot apple cider for me and Jan. Next came mini-bagels with local salmon smoked by the B&B, cream cheese and a hazelnut chocolate cream, followed by cranberry-mango smoothies made with diet 7-Up and yogurt. Kirby had brought in his mangoes to give to the cook who incorporated them into the meal. There were delicate sweet three-cheese (ricotta, cottage and cream) blintzes with marionberry jam and accompanied by mango slices. A favorite with everybody. Now for the main course! Oeux (eggs) au vent in fancy puff pastry using eggs scrambled with basil and cucumber along with halves of some large poultry breast with sun-dried tomato sausage. Finally dessert of bite-sized cream puffs with paper US flags stuck in them for 4th of July, and rolled cookies with hazelnut chocolate cream inside, plus fresh strawberries with white chocolate mousse or that hazelnut chocolate cream! We were stuffed but happy! Went to our rooms to freshen up and pack. Loaded the cars, then all of us walked down to the overlook to see the rookery rock.
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| Another view of Rookery Rock |
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Tamiko, Brynne & Kent (Photo by Jan)
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A closer view of Rookery Rock
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With binoculars you could see western gulls and their babies, and pigeon guillemots with white wing markings. We then walked down to Devil’s Elbow. Heard a pileated woodpecker, and saw a hairy woodpecker. I checked out the bridge while the others went to the caves.
We returned to the lighthouse for a tour ($1 donation). The first lighthouse was in Alexandria, Egypt using a wood fire.
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Heceta Head Lighthouse
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This one was built in 1893 and used a kerosene lamp when first illuminated in 1894. The lenses that focus the light were made in England. It is the strongest light in Oregon and is still working. Its signature is a flash every 10 seconds. The 56-foot tower is made of brick, and it is 205 feet above sea level. The light can be seen for 21 miles, but no farther due to the curvature of the earth. Brynne was able to go up a few extra steps for a better view of the lens.
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View down from the Heceta Head Lighthouse
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Best bird close-up:
Larus occidentalis/Western Gull |
As we headed back to our cars, we saw a pair of downy woodpeckers and Jan and I saw a bright yellow Wilson’s warbler and orange-crowned warblers. Heard a Swainson’s thrush.
In our respective cars, we backtracked south, checking the views back on the B&B.
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View back to Heceta Head with the lighthouse to the left,
and the lightkeeper's house in the center |
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Oregon Coast Highway Pull-off view South toward Florence, OR
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Went to Darlingtonia Botanical Wayside for a short walk into a sphagnum bog noted for the Darlingtonia or cobra lilies, or pitcher plants, the carnivorous insect-eating plants. They were just past bloom, but with plenty of the “cobra-like” leaves.
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Darlingtonia californica/Cobra Lilies or
California Pitcher Plant |
We skipped the commercial Sea Lion Caves since another couple said it was expensive, the sea lions were far away, and it smelled terrible.
Next: Oregon Coast II.
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