Around Elkton, Azalea Drive and Mehl Creek Road

Elkton is a really nice town...

 

...and as very charming place ...

... with great barns

  ...splendid vineyards...

... this one with a Yurt for it's tasting room (very Oregon)

It is hard to tell with a small picture but at the top of this barn you can see ...

... a Plein Air Painter on the road to that Yurt Vineyard

 

We loved the Elkton Bike Station and talked very briefly witrh the owner, a really nice...

 

... and creative young man.

Driving out Mehl Creek Road was really nice until we had to wait while this truck backed into a road to unload some heavy equipment...

... which was really a short wait and then on we went into this tunnel of trees...

... along the Umpqua River...

to another wonderfully green cavern.

I have a lot of pictures of this classic white barn taken from the Elkton RV park across the river but really couldn't resist getting this view and the chair hung on the fence.

I did get a picture of a structure beneath a hill that had been clear cut that I did what my son Matt calls Phainting or the cross between Photography and Painting. All in all it was a very good day.

Fort Umpqua in Elkton, Oregon

 Construction of the Fort Umpqua complex is a work in progress.

Currently the stockade is complete as well as two of the three buildings that were part of the original fort design.

 As the southernmost outpost of the Hudson Bay Company, Fort Umpqua represented the British claim on the Oregon territory during the time of western expansion.

 When beaver pelts, collected by trappers, were no longer used for trade items...

 Fort Umpqua remained as an agricultural center.

 There are gardens surrounding the Fort and even a small garden has been created within the complex.

Sharyn talked with one of the men working on a new building within the grounds while I ran around taking pictures.

 There is a museum in one of the current buildings...

 ... and many wonderful exhibits.

 I especially liked the lookout towers.

 Fort Umpqua is credited with being the first white settlement in southern Oregon...

the first farm...

 ... (love the scarecrow)..

 ...and the gardens are fantastic...

 ... and all the plants are identified

 Across highway 38 was this cool looking orchard...

 

 ..and on the perimeter of the fort is this stand that looks like a nesting perch but I never found out for sure.

Araucaria araucana (commonly called the monkey puzzle tree, monkey tail tree is an evergreen tree growing to 130 ft tall with a 7 ft trunk diameter. The tree is native to central and southern Chile and western Argentina. Araucaria araucana is the hardiest species in the conifer genus Araucaria. Because of the great age of this species it is sometimes described as a living fossil. Its conservation status was enhanced to Endangered 2013 due to its declining numbers.

Drain, Oregon

Drain, Oregon isn't far from home but it is an interesting place we always enjoyed driving through on many of  our trips to the coast. Today while Sharyn ran into the grocery store to get some snacks I took a few pictures like "The Two Fat Ladies Bake Shop" ...

... a couple of pieces of railroad ...

... Equipment ...

... The old historic Charles Hasard  1902 Victorian home that is now a candy store...

... and a really nice looking Coca~Cola distribution truck.

We did find a pretty mural that says "On to Drain" on the covered wagon

I couldn't help but snicker at this building's name reminded me of the saying "Draining the Swamp" but this is a great little town that I am sure has wonderful people working for the city.

Living in Creswell, Oregon I had to get this picture of a memorial to Mike Creswell,

Although the official date of construction of the current Pass Creek Bridge is listed as 1925, members of the Umpqua Historic Preservation Society attest the span was constructed in 1906.

 

The original bridge at this site was built in the 1870s along the Overland Stage Route, as Drain was an important junction which linked the Willamette Valley and Jacksonville. An 1895-era photograph shows the wagon bridge and adjacent railroad bridge, both being covered. The wooden rail span was replaced soon after.

Old timers recall the Pass Creek Bridge provided excitement when a horse-drawn wagon crashed through the floor around 1920 while hauling supplies for a Thanksgiving turkey shoot. Although the wagon dropped below the decking, the only casualties were the words uttered by the driver, the drowning of turkeys and splashing of supplies into the creek.

I just couldn't believe the beauty of this huge tree.

 

Finally Oregon always remembers how we got here from back East.

Catching Up 2012 Oct Nov December

I have been lax in posting so I'm going to review some of the posts I missed doing starting with the end of 2012.

Halloween was fun as usual and this year I added a pumpkin head to my dad's old raincoat to decorate the front porch. The pumpkin was painted by my artist son, Pete, and it looked great even if it had no neck.

Umpqua Aquaculture’s oyster farm is located in the triangular breakwater of Winchester Bay, Oregon, where the mighty Umpqua River meets the majestic Pacific Ocean.

Aquaculture grows oysters using suspended long lines, which means they never touch the ocean floor. Submerged twenty-four hours a day in a mixture of cold ocean tides and clean river water. Umpqua Triangle Oysters are sought after by renowned chefs as well as everyday connoisseurs of the good life.

With Christmas coming on we also took a trip to see the lights at Shore Acres State Park gardens and as impressive as the Christmas lights there are I always love seeing the huge trees lit up next to the gift shop.

We also took a nice drive to Mt.Angel where we saw this great statue...

... and got some great sausage here...

... the went through Silverton. It was a beautiful day in Oregon.

Close to home we saw some interesting yard art...

... and a great full moon.

One of our bike rides took us to the pedestrian bridge over the Willamette river behind Valley River Mall and I got this nice seagull shot.

The Red-Tailed hawk was back in the Cottonwood tree ,,,

... and the goldfinches were at  the backyard feeder .

We did go through Yachats and got some good Brown Pelican shots...

... and a pretty cool blowhole.

This isn't even near the coast but an inland rural community but maybe they use this boat for rounding up the sheep.

Just another hawk in the cottonwood tree.

A beautiful sunset with a jets trail visible through a space in the clouds.

Pumpkin farm

Back at Mt. Angel again...

Then it was Multnomah Falls during a visit from Matt and Holly both now stationed in Europe in Italy and Germany respectively.

We were graced with a visit from a Peregrine Falcon in the Cottonwood Tree who was enjoying a nice dove meal.

This thing doubles as a car and plane. I was amazed the other day to see it in my rear view mirror
.

But my favorite picture during this period was this one of the Red-Tailed Hawk again its in the Cottonwood tree.


Quote of the Day ~
From Foyle's War 

[Andrew has joined his father on a fishing trip]
Andrew Foyle: I can't see the attraction of standing ankle deep in mud, trying to catch a fish too stupid to come any where near us.
Christopher Foyle: Don't underestimate the intelligence of the average trout, and besides, they can hear you from forty feet away, so please try and keep quiet!