Wildcat Bridge, Florence and the Seals

We got off to a hot start but didn't start this fire on the way to the coast.

We did however find this covered bridge.

It's the Wildcat Bridge over Wildcat Creek in Lane County, Oregon. The Wildcat Creek Bridge is located west of Eugene in Lane County, Oregon on Highway 126, near Whitaker Creek-Clay Creek Recreation Area. The covered bridge was built in 1925. It is a Howe type bridge. So we all wandered around taking pictures and taking in the scenery.

We even walked through the bridge to taste a bit of it's history.

I got this one of Jim taking a shot while the mini-musemobile waited in the background.

Then I took my usual oddball picture of the railing.

We arrived in Florence and before anything we drove around near the Siuslaw where it empties into the Pacific. I liked the contrast of the dry sand dunes and the wet plush river.

Next we ate some lunch at this combination Fish Market and restaurant.

Then off we were to the Darlingtonia Botanical garden for a walk and another look (for us not Jim and Doreen) at the Cobra Lily plants.

I liked the dark and dank woods on the trail with eerie looking trees covered in moss that are part of the gardens.

Then a short time later we arrived at the Seal Caves, a privately owned attraction, on the coast north of Florence. With a great view of Heceta Lighthouse.

I couldn't resist a picture of the Seal family statue on the walk down to the caves.

There is a long walk (by my standards) to the elevator that takes you 300 feet down into the cave.

In the cave the view is spectacular. The only other time we came it was the wrong season and there were no seals to be found. That wasn't the case this day. There were plenty of seals there to full the cave.

The don't allow flash photography so everything was shot on time lapse but I did get a couple of clear shots.


What a lovely day -----until the elevator stopped part way up when we left. It was only for a couple of minutes but Sharyn got off vowing never to see the caves again. Of course she meant if it meant taking the elevator.


Walking back up I caught these three seals cavorting with the sea gulls and cormorants but for the life of me I wish I knew how they climbed the 50 feet of sheer cliff to get there.


Quote of the Day (note the time with our friends Jim and Doreen has been very special so I found this quote I always loved for them both and the visit to Wildcat Creek Bridge)

"This bridge will only take you halfway there, to those mysterious lands you long to see. Through gypsy camps and swirling Arab fair, and moonlit woods where unicorns run free. So come and walk awhile with me and share the twisting trails and wondrous worlds I've known. But this bridge will only take you halfway there. The last few steps you have to take alone." ~ Shel Silverstein quotes (American poet, cartoonist and composer best known in children's literature for his poetry, 1930-1999)

Walking the Hendricks and taking in the 5th

Hendricks Park is located just southeast of downtown Eugene and directly south of the University of Oregon and within Hendricks Park is the Rhododendron Garden. The garden is an easy walk and one of the most easily seen display of flowers and trees around.

The pathways are designed so you may either take a longish hilly walk or a rather short and flat stroll. Sharyn and Doreen are really enjoying the view.


There are many bright colors in the garden and this day mostly white rodies were blooming but a preview of next few weeks shows other colors.


I loved the mixture of pink and apricot in these blooms.


It's hard to show the size of some of the Rhododendrons but this may give you some idea.


I know Doreen doesn't like having her picture taken but she did stop and let me take this great picture today.


I used my macro lens for a few shots.


For other shots it wasn't necessary.

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For some I had to take a few steps back to get as much as possible in the picture.


Some I almost had to leave the garden.


It was a fun time.


The volunteers are the real heros in creating this place of beauty....


...and color...........


...and wonderful whimsy........

.... and majestic views.


Small wonders never cease if you just look around...


... and envision a garden where life can be renewed


Oh Doreen and I differed on whether the fast moving bird was a black bird or a Steller Jay --- and I see a lot of blue on the wings.


Next we went to the Fifth Street Market for lunch...


...and speaking of Hendricks Park it was where Steve Prefontaine (know as "Pre") used to run for his training and practice. Pre is a hero in Oregon and very much in Eugene as you can see by the picture on this wall at 5th Street Market.


I like that the stores "Make Your Bed" and "French Quarter" were next to each other.


They were just below the Cotton Mill.....


The market even looked a bit like the French Quarter in this view. All in all it was a very food day.



Quote of the Day

"New Orleans is a siren of a city. A place of fables and illusion. A place Lorraine had to escape from and Bobby and I had to escape to. Away from Alabama, away from lives that no longer belong to us. " ~ from "A Love Song for Bobby Long" Ronald Everett Capps (novel) Shainee Gabel (screenplay)

Fly Fishing, Starfish and The Garden

Yesterday we went to Reedsport, Winchester, Sunset Bay, Shore Acres Botanical Gardens and finally The Plank House Restaurant of the Mill Casino in Coos Bay/North Bend.

Just out of Reedsport is the Roosevelt Elk Preserve where we caught the young lady lazing under a tree.


Jim and I played dueling cameras most of the day.


Well we played dueling cameras until water appeared at which point Jim played "A River Runs Through It" for real. It is quite a view to see a fly fisherman who can work magic with a stick and a long (50-60 feet) fly fishing line.


It's also a thing of beauty.


The amazing thing is the distance each cast in a decent wind. Just look at the line fly.


Along the shore of Lake Marie where Jim fished was this delicate Oregon Dogwood flower.


There were also these two delicate flowers on the shore.


We left Lake Marie near Winchester Bay for Sunset bay and a really low tide where I found this starfish waiting for the water.


Low tide exposed these ancient roots of a long gone tree. The roots were easily 20 feet from one end to the other and there were about 10 of these old trees languishing much of the time below the bay.


Just up the road was Shore Acres Botanical Gardens with this beautiful Japanese Garden. Remember to see a larger version of the pictures just click anywhere on the picture.


I especially liked the reflection of the Herons on the pond.


The entrance to the Gardens is always a wonderful way to enter this botanical paradise.


The shoreline next to the gardens is spectacular.


My two "creative" pictures of the day was a close up of the surface of a fountain at the gardens and.....


... an old mill pier at the Mill Casino in the Coos Bay/North Bend area. We ate dinner at the casino before a late drive home and it was great. To top off the day on our way out Doreen won $0.71 on her way out of the casino.


No scrabble - way too busy.

Quote of the Day ~

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." ~ Ben Franklin, Statesman, Publisher, Inventor and I am sure much more.