My Vacation Wrap-Up

Well, I was so invigorated and inspired by my brief vacation in Oregon!

My son and I walked part of the trail along the Willamette in Skinner's Butte Park. It was wonderful to see so many people of all ages walking, jogging, biking, and enjoying the outdoors. I know that Eugene is a college town, but half of the people I did not look to be traditional student age. When I walk here at home, I am the only one, except during the hours that people walk their child to the school (and they are mostly going from the car to the school).

We visited the Perkins Peninsula Park bordering the Fern Ridge Reservoir.  I was happy to see a family of quail, as well as two white egrets (or herons) in the marshy area before we reached the park. I think I may have even spotted a loon swimming. It was cold and we were the only visitors, but the lake was beautiful.

One day we traveled east into the mountains to the Blue Lake Reservoir, only to find that it had been nearly all drained since it was after Labor Day. On the way home, we enjoyed a picnic lunch at a park on the bank of the beautiful McKenzie River.

We visited Dorris Ranch and were fortunate to see the workers harvesting the hazelnuts (filberts). I love hazelnuts in any form, especially mixed in chocolates, but visitors were not allowed to pick up even a single nut. There was no gift shop on the premises but we purchased some hazelnuts from another local grower at the Eugene Farmer's Market. We enjoyed the brief sunshine and the sight of the thousands of hazelnuts under the trees and in crates.

Across the street from the Eugene Farmer's Market was the Eugene Saturday Market. Although the sky was completely overcast and the air was chill, everyone was having a good time. I watched the performance of a father & daughter violin duo and threw a dollar into the little girl's case. I purchased a gorgeous pair of delicate ss & crystal earrings by Nome May for my daughter, and a hand thrown ceramic rice bowl from Bluff Cove Pottery for her S/O.

No trip to Eugene would be complete without a trip to Sweet Life Patisserie! He got a slice of decadent chocolate cake, and I chose the chocolate silk cake. We shared 1/2 and 1/2 so we got to taste both. Mine turned out to be a silken tofu cake on a crust. The chocolate overpowered the tofu, but I liked his regular (vegan) chocolate cake better. Alas, there was no carrot cake. The selections change, and it was supercrowded when we went on a Friday evening.

And I have to praise Laughing Planet burritos! They were delicious.

We visited the U of O's Jacobs Gallery at the Hult Center, where we saw the incredible photography of Katsui Shibata and the finely crafted woven sculptures of Sally Metcalf. I saw a hand-carved wooden log bench that was inlaid with smooth,black, round (ocean or river?) rocks. I've seen a lot of gallery furniture, but this topped them all. It was a nature lover's dream of a bench! 

We also visited the U of O's Museum of Natural History where I was happy to view the Susan Pavel exhibit of Salish weaving (I am a former weaver). The museum had a lot of exhibits on the native peoples of Oregon, and the building itself is constructed of huge logs and adorned with spirit carvings.

Last but not least, I became a member of REI and got some warm wool-blend REI socks.

I did not bring my heavy dinosaur of a camera, and son took the pictures. He is supposed to send them to me on a flash drive, so I hope to update this in the future.

I feel so fortunate to have seen so much of beautiful Oregon! As my son may be moving to another state next year, I probably won't get to visit there again. I encourage anyone with the time and means to travel to Oregon and enjoy its natural beauty.

Oh, and my airline ticket was free--it was a Chase bank promotion that I signed up for two years ago!  I had to take three flights there and three flights back, but I did it, sometimes with only 15 minutes to spare before boarding.

The strangest thing about my trip was that I only saw one deer, although we traveled for miles through the countryside and the wilderness. I guess the cougars keep them in check, unlike here, where they are as prolific as rats.

Cascades Raptor Center

Here are two photos taken at the Cascades Raptor Center, Eugene (OR), located near Spencer's Butte. The top picture shows a species of hawk. The bottom one shows a few of the shaded cages and a path. The center is located on the side of a hill and the paths are steep.

I was really happy to be able to visit this non-profit center and see so many raptors. Here in WV I see turkey vultures, red-tailed hawks, and perhaps another small hawk. The Raptor Center cares for many birds who were brought in injured (usually) and either rehabilitates them to be returned to the wild, or keeps them lifelong, if their injuries are too severe.

I saw many species of hawks and owls, as well as bald and golden eagles. The place serves as an educational center on birds of prey for the Eugene area and hosts many students during the school year.

We asked about the bags of feathers that we saw pinned to the walls of the supply sections of the cages and were told that even though they are approved to care for these special birds, they are not allowed to keep the feathers from certain species, such as eagles. Those feathers are sent to a federal facility in Colorado. Native Americans who need the feathers for spiritual ceremonies must make formal, written requests for them. It was unclear to me if non-Native Americans are entitled to request feathers as well.

They provide a sitting bench in front of one of the bald eagle cages. It was awesome to just sit and contemplate this magnificent bird.

The gift shop sells a wonderful variety or raptor-themed merchandise, including reproductions of pencil drawings of some raptors at a reasonable $8! If you ever visit Eugene, I recommend a visit here. You will not be disappointed.

Pumice Desert, Crater Lake

This is the Pumice Desert in Crater Lake National Park (OR) and it is located about six miles north of the actual crater. It was formed about 7,700 years ago from the pumice ejected by the ancient volcano, Mt. Mazama. You can see the great expanse of the desert as well as the myriad tiny holes in the piece of pumice.

The sign at the lookout area said that it will take thousands of years for a forest to get established here due to the poor quality of the soil. It is quite a contrast to go from here to the beauty of the lake up in the caldera.

Crater Lake

This is a view of Crater Lake National Park as seen from a north lookout on the rim highway. This photo was taken on August 2, and the white stuff you see around the edge of the lake is snow!

The little island poking up is Wizard Island. A park ranger told us that the view was hazy because the smoke from massive wildfires in California moved north into the valleys of Oregon. At the bottom of the photo you can see that the haze is beginning to clear, and the incredible deep lapis blue of the lake is starting to emerge.

Unfortunately, there are now Oregon wildfires burning that are affecting towns, some access highways to the park, and hiking trails. It is very dry in most of Oregon right now.

Oregon Coast

This is a view of the Oregon coast as seen from the trail in the woods below the Heceta Head lighthouse. The day was overcast when we arrived, but gradually the mist lifted. I was so excited to finally see the Pacific Ocean!

"Ocean in view . . . oh, the joy"
---from the journals of Lewis & Clark

My Trip to Oregon

In August I traveled to Eugene, Oregon, to spend five days with my son and his girlfriend. I'll be posting some pictures from my trip.

This is a view of Eugene taken from Skinner's Butte.