Exploring Woahink - Thrills and Chills

We took a walk today looking for birds and photo opportunities and were not let down at all.

After climbing up a hill (a short uphill asphalt road) we came to the observation platform. The platform is a wooden deck up a short flight of stairs. I got some good pictures there but not as good as the ones I took later. You could see the ocean on one side and the lake on the other bit they were sliver views (very thin and small).

So I walked up the sandy dune buggy trail and found this picture. If you think sand dunes are little hills this should help open your eyes. We were already up about 200 feet and looking up. I doubt this is the highest dune.

I love the salt grass growing on the hill and I'd love to see it with the wind blowing.

You can get an idea of how hard it was to take a picture of the lake from this shot taken about half way down the hill from the observation deck.

In the RV park we took a little train through the enchanted forest and found these gnomes

... and an old fire hose curled up for a nap.

We walked to the front of the resort and got this picture from highway 101 before ...

We crossed over to Lake Woahink where Scrabble Queen immediately looked for birds and found some very nice and big homes on the other side of the lake.

There were two boats on the Woahink RV Resort property this cool sailboat and...

...this great green canoe.

They had a fern growing out of the retaining log which we thought was pretty cool.

There was also a nice gazebo for picnics by the lake.

My news editor son/photographer tells me red is a hard color to shoot and he is right as rain. This image just doesn't show the splendor of this rose.

As I was taking this picture of a second bird feeder/houses I got to meet the man who crafted them. I'd show you his picture but he was shy about having it taken.

Finally a few more of the interesting touches around the park, a pulley and a huge rope hung over a wall. It was a very nice walk and we had a great day until we watched a weird movie that was entertaining and action filled but didn't make a lot of sense. Then one of us had a great time playing Scrabble.

Scrabble Score ~ Scrabble Queen 392 - the Contender 307

Quote of the Day

"Everything I know about love and its necessities
I learned in that one moment
when I found myself" ~ Anne Carson Canadian Poet born June 21, 1950

*New* Notable historical Items

Today June 21^st in:

• 524 - Godomar, King of the Burgundians defeats the Franks at the Battle of Vezerone
• 1665 - First soldiers of Le Régiment de Carignan-Salières arrive at Quebec to invade Iroquois territories.
• 1749 - Halifax, Nova Scotia, founded.
• 1788 - New Hampshire ratifies the Constitution and is thus admitted as the 9th state in the United States.
• 1915 - The U.S. Supreme Court hands down its decision in Guinn v. United States 238 US 347 1915, striking down an Oklahoma law denying the right to vote to some citizens.
• 1942 - World War II: A Japanese submarine surfaces near the Columbia River in Oregon, firing 17 shells at nearby Fort Stevens in one of only a handful of attacks by the Japanese against the U.S. mainland.
• 1963 - Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini is elected Pope Paul VI by the
• 2002 - The World Health Organization declares Europe polio free.

Those born on June 21 are:

• 1226 - King Boleslaus V of Poland
• 1639 (O.S.) - Increase Mather, New England Puritan minister
• 1759 - Alexander J. Dallas, American statesman and financier
• 1870 - Clara Immerwahr, German chemist
• 1903 - Al Hirschfeld, American cartoonist
• 1905 - Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and writer, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1921 - Judy Holliday, American actress
• 1940 - Mariette Hartley, American actress
• 1950 - Anne Carson, Canadian poet
• 1973 - Juliette Lewis, American actress

Died on June 21^st:

• 1305 - King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia and Poland (b. 1271)
• 1527 - Niccolò Machiavelli, Italian historian and political author (b. 1469)
• 1893 - Leland Stanford, American business tycoon and founder of Stanford University
• 1908 - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian composer (b. 1844)
• 1969 - Maureen Connolly, American tennis player (b. 1934)
• 2001 - John Lee Hooker, American musician (b. 1916)
• 2001 - Carroll O'Connor, American actor (b. 1924)

Holidays and observances on June 21^st:

• Summer solstice (Northern Hemisphere) and winter solstice (Southern Hemisphere) celebrations
• National Aboriginal Day in Canada (starting in 1996)
• Midsummer – Neopagan festival – Litha
• National Day of Greenland
• Fête de la Musique in France, Belgium and Switzerland.
• World Humanist Day

Sawdust to Fuchsias

I didn't add this picture on the visit to Portland there were too many pictures. I don't have as many this time so here it is.

Mount Sawdust taken along Interstate 5 between Portland and Eugene. This is only a small portion of the sawdust located here, it's a huge pile ready for plywood or some other wood product.

Today we drove to Florence a short drive from our home and on the coast on the north edge of the Oregon Dunes. We stopped at a Walmart to get some supplies and I got this picture of a common thistle while waiting for Scrabble Queen to come back from shopping.

We are staying at Woahink Lake RV Resort Hwy 101 just south of Florence, Oregon. The town of Florence hit a landmark population of 300 in the year 1900, a year when it was proud to boast a lumber mill, two general stores, two canneries, a saloon, and a weekly newspaper. Interesting enough that was the year the 1900 Storm hit Galveston, Texas where my grandparents lived. The 1900 storm killed over 6,000 about the number of people in 20 towns the size of Florence at that time.

Our hosts at Woahink Lake RV Resort are Ken & Katy Greger and they run a beautiful park. All around each site are beautiful bushes and flowers giving a feeling of calming privacy and space. These are my favorites, the Fuchsia.

There are mostly Rhododendrons and a few of these delicate white flowers.

I found a Fuchsia bloom that had broke off and took it for a walk around the park and it was kind enough pose while resting on this leaf.

Then it stood at attention on this leaf.

Next it did a little happy dance on this broken shell.

Finally it decided to hang out with the red leaves while I went on.

This is the office and I couldn't help but notice the leaning pines in the background.

I loved these colorful bird feeders/houses.

I had to get a shot of the Musemobile at rest.

Then drool over this beautiful blue land Yacht.

Scrabble Score - The Queen 324 the pauper 302

Quote of the Day -

“The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore” ~ Vincent van Gogh, (Dutch Painter, one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionists, 1853-1890)

Wednesday Market in Portland

Wednesday it was time for a mini-trip up to Portland and the Wednesday Market in downtown


We got lucky and found a parking spot on the street across from the market. Yup that's the Mini-Musemobile across the street.

This is how far we were from some great veggies, so off we went.

Crossing the street I was almost run over by a 6'8" tall girl on a bike so I took this picture. That's the Roosevelt Hotel across the street - remember that name.

The first spot we came upon were the cut flowers. I really like these blue ...

...and hot pink flowers.



Then there were stacks and stacks of veggies

and sweet stuff like Macaroons and Snicker Doodles etc.

The location for the market is on a greenbelt park right in the middle of town and the park goes on for several blocks. All these children together looks like a field trip or one huge family.

They had a few food stands at the market so people were sitting around eating in some rather unusual places.


Well the children crossed the street safely and I couldn't help but take this picture of the caped crusader it so much reminded me of Video Guy and Mattme. Mattme loved wearing a cape and Video Guy with the blond hair. The little one in the orange shirt, as a matter of fact, also reminds me my little Art Boy. All are now fine men.

Loved the mushroom and got a bag of these great Morels.

And then there were more veggies including Arugula which always makes me laugh thinking of the movie "My Blue Heaven" with Steve Martin.

Most people dressed casual for the market but this man was there in a suit, tie and hat. Scrabble Queen still wonders when and why men stopped wearing hats and went to caps or nothing at all on their heads.

One more look down through the market.

... and a look down the street on the North border of the park.

The streets in Portland are definitely colorful.

They even had a tart stand - the sweet tasting kind of tart (I'm not calling the two redheads and the blond tarts)

I really liked the look of the Fennel display. It looked like a little tree standing against a huge tree.

So then there were more flowers. This pink and yellow lily was great ....

.... and this orangish red was spectacular...

and this pink delicate flower was eye candy as it's best.

The food was great at this tamale stand called "Salvador Molly's. No fooling they were the best tamales I've ever had. Scrabble queen got the chicken tamale and I got a vegetarian made with an artichoke stuffing"

Remember the hotel and the tall bike rider - yup Roosevelt and here he is Teddy R on a horse in the park.

Like any cutting edge city like Portland there is cutting edge art - this is an example of bleeding edge art and it's rather cool.

There is also some traditional art like this statue of Abe Lincoln.

So OK time for my unusual shot of the day. I loved these wrought iron balconies along the side of this building.

I just loved the sign with a paraphrase from Joni Mitchel's "Big Yellow Taxi"

So we are on our way home leaving wonderful downtown Portland. Traffic wasn't bad at all for Wednesday at about 2:00 pm

I got to ride a bit on the way home and took this out of the window at 65mph. I love the openness of this countryside in Oregon.

Scrabble Score - The Scrabble Queen beat me again 324 to 302

Quote of the day

"They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot" ~ Jon Mitchell from "Big Yellow Taxi"