Westfir Casey's Riverside

Casey's Riverside RV is a cool place on the Willamette river East of our home. Little touches like this hammock.


The River is pretty full and fast here and the views all around are very special.


This double swing is in the perfect place to view the convergence of the North fork of the Willamette and THE Willamette.


The musemobile seems to be happy here with good Satellite TV and WiFi connections.


The drive we took today started out in the town of Westfir driving under a railroad trestle that takes trains over the river.


Then through a forest with ever increasing (in size) pines.


We stopped at a pullout and were greeted with this beautiful forest sight.


The pullout was the trailhead for a nice forest hike and it was called Constitution Grove, because these giant old growth pines were young trees when the Constitution of the U.S. was signed.


Click on this picture to enlarge it and read the inscription.


Many of the trees have signs with the names of the signers of the Constitution this one is George Washington.


... and this one is James Madison (looks like someone disagrees about his State)


... Alexander Hamilton


...finally Ben Franklin


At the head of the trail there is a sign to appropriately start the hike with the Declaration of Independence.


From there you can go to find more signs with the signers names and walk among the 250 foot tall pines and cedars.


On the way back we stopped by an old swimming hole but found no skinny dippers at this one.


That shot was taken from this bridge with directions back to Constitution Grove.


The river is lovely here


People even fish here and it's a great spot for wild or domesticated trout.



But sometimes becomes a disaster as this fill stream carved a chunk out of the hill and the road below.



On the way back we saw this painting on a wall outside of the town. Pretty cool but I have no idea what it means.









Then there is the Westfir Covered Bridge, the longest covered bridge in Oregon and a beautiful one at that.


The Westfir Inn a beautiful B&B is for sale if anyone is interested - it's next to the covered bridge and a beautiful place. If any of our friends from Massachusetts want to move it's the perfect place. It's also just downstream from some of the greatest "Wild Trout" fly fishing in the country. See the guy in the next picture.


Fishing for his boots several boulders away.


Scrabble Score - Scrabble Queen 323 - the Contender 301 (I knew I needed to give up this game)

Quote of the Day ~ "Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight." ~ Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790) Little known fact:
Benjamin Franklin wrote the first Declaration of Independence!

In 1775, Franklin, disgusted with the arrogance of the British and appalled by the bloodshed at Lexington and Concord, wrote a Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson was enthusiastic. But, he noted, many other delegates to the Continental Congress were "revolted at it." It would take another year of bitter conflict to persuade the Congress to vote for the Declaration of Independence written by Jefferson -- with some astute editorial suggestions by Franklin.

York PA

Statistics & Facts

The population of York is approximately 42,192 (1990).
The approximate number of families is 18,407 (1990).

The amount of land area in York is 13.48 sq. kilometers.
The amount of surface water is 0.144 sq kilometers.
The distance from York to Washington DC is 74 miles. The distance to the Pennsylvania state capital is 23 miles. (as the crow flies)
York is positioned 39.96 degrees north of the equator and 76.73 degrees west of the prime meridian.

York city served as the first capitol of the USA in 1777 and 1778
The first national Thanksgiving was declared in York in November 1777

For all the history and great old buildings in the area there is very little way to photograph the buildings to show their beauty. Above ground wires, cables, signs and stop lights abound. Much of the city has been desciminated by the downsizing/rightsizing/unsizing or better phrased the wage adjustments being made by corporations in the US hit the East Coast long before rolling across the country to the Midwest, southwest and far west. It shows most in the many small cities like York that prized their history and older homes that were once kept in great condition. With the lower wages the income necessary for upkeep dryed up much like the wood frames and wooden siding that made the homes prized in the past.

So here I am trying to get a picture of a steeple whose lightning rod/cross is being painted (note the ladder at the peak. Too many wires, signs and lights to get a good shot but at least I tried.


At first I thought someone was selling a rock but on closer it was a downtown office being offered. It's a great location for an Attorney across from the Courthouse. If you decide to rent or lease this property please see that I get an appropriate finders fee by telling Dave that Paul sent you.


Some of the old buildings are pretty cool if you want a city apartment this would be a great spot.


I like the touches we used to put into buildings, the bricks, the ornate but uncluttered trims and the cylindrical corners. It would be called wasted space or too labor intensive these days. Maybe we just don't care to be moved by creative designs any longer.


But then again some do realize the adventure of apartment loft living and move in to create a world within the world of old York.


Well I did a little research and found a great place for Stromboli type Calzones and it's called Marcello's Downtown Pizza. So I got a small Stromboli which is at least a foot long and probably closer to 15 inches long and and half a foot wide. It was filled with 4 kinds of meat, bell pepper, onion and mozzarella cheese. It was a magnificent sandwich and I still have half of it left for a midnight snack.


Most of the northeast is very patriotic and York is no exception with American Flags flying on every street corner in the city center,


Around the corner and part of the brick building shown earlier there is a tower, not cylindrical like the corner but squared and peaked like the turret of a castle.


Drawing back you can see both and a courtyard in front of the building with a really inspiring statue of an eagle.


Looking south from Marcello's you can see a Lutheran church under renovation and a cool wrought iron fence.


Of course being close to Lawyer Row there is the usual upscale coffee bar but since it's back east it's not a Starbucks it's a local business (a lesson California needs to learn) so the money stays local and the product and services are not "cookie cutter" nation wide clones.


Some of the downtown is prospering but still much of it has seen better days.


Still on the drive back to my hotel I took some shots of the interesting structures you can only find back East.


I even got this one with only one wire blocking the view.


So wouldn't you love for this to be your home - the only drawback is it's a funeral home. I noticed in many towns back east that some of the most beautiful homes were now converted to give loved one's a send off in the home they always dreamed of owning.


Quote of the Day ~ "I love abandonments. When I was little my grandparents had a cottage. It sat empty for most of the year when nobody was staying there. So it had this smell to it. I loved that smell. I have found that abandonments have the same smell only stronger. Also, abandonments have a sad beauty about them. They are falling apart, paint peeling, dust on every surface, falling into nothingness alone inside." ~ Trixie Sparrow a member of an online forum called Infiltration responding to the question "What so special about Urban Decay?"

Inner Fireworks

I always loved the 4th of July
And the fireworks displays
That filled the skies

Black sky and golden fire


Lacey embers flying by


Somewhere this year beginning with the fireworks


We visited with Matthew and Diana


and our dear granddaughters


We toured the Oregon coast down into California


To Yosemite and Mount Lassen


Then back home


Then the middle east continued on it's downward spiral


Our grandson required medical attention and is still in very serious condition


A war erupted and in it more children are being killed than combatants


The western half of the US scalded in the heat of the sun


Then a cool wind blew to calm me inside


The world is not even close to the end of days


We have just drifted into life as it really is


And I can either despair or begin to heal inside


I wonder if my prayers will be answered


I heard today some of the victims in Qana (Cana) were from the family Shalhoub


That was my grandmother's family and my cousin Emile and Monk's Tony


Why do we (mankind) insist on blood wars when there is already so much suffering


And then there is the finale and all is peaceful again

Quote of the Day ~

"Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset." ~ St. Francis de Sales quotes (French Roman Catholic bishop of Geneva, active in the struggle against Calvinism, 1567-1622)