Archives for category: Nature

Okie in Oregon #2

October 12, 2014 //

Traveling coastal Oregon along Highway 101, there are signs that we just don’t see in Oklahoma. We have tornadoes, earthquakes, and thunderstorms, but we don’t have tsunamis. Everywhere you go, there are warnings and I find myself trying to figure out how I’m going to get high enough to escape the giant waves. In Oregon, the forests reach the coast, often on high cliffs. You’d have to scramble to get up, up, up!

The “run like hell” sign is a joke, but that’s basically what you do. Not to be messed with. But most of the highway is delightful and scenic with beaches and trails around every turn, different each time you visit.

I love the beauty of Florida beaches with their smooth white sands, unique shells, gorgeous sunsets, and warm sun, but there is a dangerous element with the Oregon beaches that brings ever-changing surprises. You never know what the beach will hold. This year, we had the mildest, most perfect weather imaginable with only a few hours of drizzle preceded and followed by warm sun and calm seas. You still enter every beach by passing by the instructions and warnings for visiting. And then, you’re at the ocean on small beaches, long beaches, wide beaches. Surfers, beachcombers, sunbathers, picnickers, dogs and children. Perfect beaches. Coming from Oklahoma, I eat all the fresh seafood I can get. I haven’t had a bad meal on the coast yet. Here are some of my favorite places that we add to our list every time. There’s Mo’s with locations up and down the coast, but we like the one at Otter Creek. Mo’s is famous for their clam chowder, but a friend had a wonderful Oregon shrimp sandwich.Gracie’s Sea Hag in Depoe Bay is right on Highway 101 and our favorite place on a Saturday night, eating in the bar, when there is entertainment, dancing, and bartenders playing tunes on the liquor bottles. It’s a perfect seaside vibe, right across the street from the sea wall. We have several favorites in Newport, although I’m sure there are many more. Lunch at Port Dock One is a must because your dining companions are sea lions, at least in the fall, when the males come up from California and you can be seated right beside them. They are constantly entertaining, but then I don’t have to listen to them all day. The food is good, too!I love Gino’s, with the owners from a fishing family. The popcorn shrimp is delicious and the soups scrumptious. It’s on the bay front without a water view, but they make up for it with their masses of colorful buoys. It’s clean, fun, good. Love Gino’s. And you HAVE to stop on Highway 101, south of the Newport bridge for crab. It’s a fish market, restaurant, convenience store combo. Yum. For the nicest dinner possible, go to Depoe Bay and visit Tidal Raves, again on Highway 101. You must have a reservation as there are few tables, but an outstanding view and incredible food. I love the Seahawk bread, which could be a meal in itself, and the Rock Fish. Oh my.
If it’s raining or you’re just in Lincoln City, sit near the fireplace at Pier 101 for more seafood! Can you ever get enough when you’re on the coast? I had the Cedar Plank Salmon, which was crusted with a maple bourbon sauce. Need I say more?
Enough with the food. I’m ready to fly back now, although I have to admit that I went for a hamburger as soon as I got home to beef country. Oregon is known for its greens, forests of pine trees carpeted with masses of ferns and decorated with moss and lichens. The coast gives you the contrast of the blues of the ocean with the colorful nautical elements. Besides the buoys, there are the crab cages stacked by the fishing boats and the containers ready for the ships in port in Newport.

The famous bridges designed by Conde B. McCullough are elegant in their Art Deco beauty. I discovered the one in Florence on this trip, but they are everywhere in the state, including Newport. Here’s the one in Florence.
North of Florence is Cape Perpetua with cliffs, forests and extraordinary views. The park encompasses the mountain and the coast for a sample of the natural wonders of the state. With the Heceta Head lighthouse at the south end The view from the point is endless, especially from the World War II lookout where you can stare out to the open seas.Back along Highway 101, you can see the raging wonders of The Devil’s Churn, where the waters froth like fresh cream… …The Spouting Horn spurts up as the waves rush in……and the pounding waves sink into Thor’s Well in an ever fascinating rush of water.

Our glorious days on the Oregon coast ended with a different sunset every evening…

…and our final night in Depoe Bay found us watching half a dozen whales spouting and leaping in the orange waves. The perfect ending to our days on the Oregon coast.

Watch my blog for our final days of this trip.

Tags Cape Perpetua, Depoe Bay, Devil's Churn, Florence, Gino's, Lincoln City, Newport, Pier 101, Port Dock One, The Spouting Horn, Thor's Well, Tidal Raves

Categories Friends, Memories, Nature, Photography, Places, Reflections, Seasons, Travel, Uncategorized

Okie in Oregon #1

October 11, 2014 //

This Okie girl likes to travel just about anywhere, near or far from home. On my third fall vacation on the Oregon coast, I found my favorite places, discovered new ones, and brought home all the photos and memories I could jam into 12 days.

My friends and I fly into Portland to spend the night before heading for the coast. Our traditional beginning is to stop at the fruit and vegetable stand and stock up for the week. It’s not that we don’t have good fresh items at home, but it’s fun to see the bounty of Oregon. The fruits and vegetables delight, as do the dahlias. We see fields of them blooming, ready for picking in September.

This year, we stopped for some wine tastings along the way. The vineyards are gorgeous and lush in the Oregon valleys, even with the droughts that have plagued the state. We visited Raptor Ridge, Adelsheim, and Stoller – all wonderful vintners whom I have worked with in Oklahoma. It was fun to see their vineyards in person. Not only are the vineyards and orchards full of ripe fruits, but the hazelnut harvest is underway in the fall.Our other favorite stop is always Farmer John’s for some strawberry shortcake and more fruits and vegetables in another beautiful Oregon valley.

On the way out, we noticed this reminder of the fires that are always a threat to this beautifully wooded state.Our next stop is the ocean, traveling through valleys that end with the sea, heading south to Depoe Bay, located on the central Oregon coast, our headquarters and home for the next week. The sun was shining, the air was warm and our view of our little cove on the north end of Depoe Bay’s sea wall was magical.It was a homecoming this time, all of us familiar with the setting. We spotted whales from our balcony, spouting close by. That was a first for us, even though this is the whale watching capital of the world. Our day ended with the sunset seen from the sea wall before we headed to the comfort of The Spouting Horn, overlooking the world’s smallest harbor, for our first taste of seafood, followed by homemade pie. I had Marionberry pie because I can’t get that at home. The lady who makes the pies is in her 80s and I take advantage of her skills at every opportunity. We ended our first day in front of the fire, enjoying the warmth as the evening cooled. We were back in Oregon, ready for our next adventures. I woke early the next morning and went walking along the point, looking back to see the fog come in over Depoe Bay. This Okie girl feels right at home, even though it couldn’t be further from my beloved Oklahoma. It has a special place in my heart.

Come back for more Oregon adventures tomorrow.

Tags Adelsheim, Depoe Bay, Farmer John's, Oregon, Raptor Ridge, Stoller, The Spouting Horn

Categories Friends, Nature, Places, Reflections, Seasons, Travel

Watching the Whales

September 29, 2014 //

When I get to the sea, I’m constantly reminded of all the wonderful creatures, beautiful and unique, who glide through these waters. I know whales are out there, have seen a quick sighting in Alaska and a couple of closer encounters two years ago in Oregon. Ve stayed on the coast these past three years, in Depoe Bay, the Whale Watching Capital of the world along with boasting the smallest harbor in the world.

This time the weather was perfect, we are seeing whales spouting from our balcony all day long and we went back out to get up close. I can feebly try to put words with the experience, but my photos tell the story in a much more exciting way. We are all visual people, aren’t we?

We rode on Zodiac boats, like the coast guard uses, with a whale scientist as our leader. Here is her boat with her whale hunting dog on watch.On the way out, we stopped at the bay’s buoy, where sea lions rested in the sun.We spotted our first whales and the sun made rainbows in their spouts.
The day was a delight for children, seasoned whale watchers, our guides, anyone alive! At one point, we had four whales all around us, with three of them playing between the two boats, chasing each other.
Having two grey whales come up beside you, within twenty-five feet is quite a thrill.
We learned so much, like watching for the Fluke Print, the flat water left when the whale submerges and displaces the water.
By the end of our trip, we had seen at least ten whales, most of them regulars to this area, known by name. Only an insensitive soul wouldn’t be touched by the grandeur of these giants, gliding by, leaving us in wonder with a flip of their mighty tails.
My Whales’ Tale is a joy to be shared!

Tags Depoe Bay, Oregon, whale watching

Categories Friends, Memories, Nature, Photography, Places, Reflections

The Joy of Discovery

July 18, 2014 //

I hope I never outgrow the joy of discovering new things, new people, new experiences. I find myself, in my, hmmm, late 60s (GADS!) rediscovering things I remember from past years. I’m sure my perspective is different now that I’ve got more years behind me than before me and I’m not distracted by taking care of kids or working all the time. I’m more relaxed and more open to all there is out there.

Last weekend, I took my youngest grandchild, not quite 5, on a short road trip to the Oklahoma City Zoo and then on to the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History on the campus of the University of Oklahoma in Norman. I’ve taken my other grandchildren, but it’s been a few years, so it was refreshing for me to revisit these places again. Watching a child, you have to wonder what goes on in their heads…

Seeing a wild bird, a lorakeet here, up close, and feeding it… feeling it sit on your arm…watching a rhino baby nurse…or looking into the eyes of an orangutan…Is the concept of dinosaurs more real when you stand next to one?And doesn’t a strawberry milkshake help the brain process all the new experiences?I’m always looking for new places to go and old ones to revisit. And then I come home and wonder at all I’ve seen in my life. Lovely.

Tags discovery, lorakeet, Oklahoma City Zoo, orangutan, rhino baby, Sam Noble Museum of Natural History

Categories Entertainment, Family, Memories, Nature, Places, Reflections, Travel

Love the Mommas

July 15, 2014 //

My 4 year old granddaughter and I went to the Oklahoma City Zoo last weekend for a little road trip. I love zoos and watching human families as much as the animals, so it’s fun to have another round at going with a little one. Our special treat was to see the 3 week old Indian rhinoceros baby.It reached 100 degrees that day, but, like all mommas, this one had made sure her little one was covered in sun screen or mud.He was still nursing, so he didn’t get far from Momma Rhino. Bless her heart. She didn’t look too happy at the crowd watching, but that had to be the least of it since she’d carried him for 450 days and he’d been 120 pounds at birth. He’s still her baby. And, what a cutie he is…One of the gorillas had a new baby, too. A little older than the rhino baby, but she was leaning over it very protectively when we got to the window. She watched the crowd then laid down beside him, watching her precious child sleep, as we’ve all done. One of the best part of learning at the zoo is getting to experience such tender moments with the animals. They love their babies and protect them just as we do. We learn that we’re all here on this planet with the same goals as parents…give them birth, watch over them, give them tools to survive, and then let them go into the dangerous world out there.

Love the Mommas. And the Daddys. Of all species.

Tags gorillas, Mommas, Oklahoma City Zoo, rhinos

Categories Family, Nature, Places, Reflections

Day Two – Out of the nest…

June 12, 2014 //

The mockingbird family I wrote about yesterday is now completing its first day with the babies out of the nest. There were four babies yesterday, scattered around the neighboring yards, the parents frantically trying to watch them as they flapped their baby wings, too short to lift their fat bodies very far. By night, they had gathered them in one yard, the only yard for several houses without cats or dogs. They found a spot in the corner with a chair covered by a mat beside a birdbath with hedges close by. Perfect. A thunderstorm blew through last night and I picture the mother cuddling with them again under the mat, this time without the nest she had so carefully built.

Today, I looked out and there are only three babies. I can only imagine that one flapped too far away and maybe didn’t make it. At least its body didn’t show up on my doorstep as a present from my cats. Now there are three. I relate.And they still don’t know how to take care of themselves and still have fuzzy heads. When I spotted them, they were staying together, flying to the ground and then hopping back up the mat. They weren’t straying too far.I should have known it was breakfast time. They could hear their mother’s wings and all stood up, spreading their wings and opening their mouths…Of course, Mom and/or Dad were out there getting something for them to eat. Just because the babies left the nest doesn’t mean they know much about taking care of themselves, including where to find food. Am I putting myself into this story too much? One got distracted, which means he or she will be at the end of the line for the next bite.Yep!
But there will be more. The babies started chirping, getting more impatient.The mother is doing the best she can for these little ones. While I stood at the fence shooting these pictures from a yard away, she landed right beside me and looked up. I understood that she might have been checking out my motives, so I didn’t say anything and she flew away, ever mindful of her motherly duties.This last shot reminded me of the frantic nature of being a parent. You can’t get it all done fast enough and yet you keep doing it. And the kids keep chirping and hopping around and falling down. Oops! I mean baby birds, of course.The babies were starting to get fuller tummies and were awake now, so when I looked back, there were only two. One had flapped into another yard where there is a dog, one was on the ground, and the other clung to the place where he should stay. I glanced again and all three were in different directions. For this mother, like all mothers, the day has just begun.

Tags mockingbirds, mothers and fathers, Out of the nest

Categories Nature, Reflections

Leaving the nest…

June 11, 2014 //

For the past few weeks, every time my cats decided to sunbathe on the deck on their favorite chair or glider, a Mockingbird would fly down and perch about a foot from them, giving them a warning round of chirps. The bird was pretty intense andthe cats just laid their ears back and took the abuse. I knew there was a nest nearby and the cats were getting warned.

Today, it happened. I don’t know where the nest is, but the babies all appeared in my yard, four of them, flopping their short wings in an attempt to fly. When I stepped outside, the mother was watching overhead, trying to help them as she could. The first two I saw were by the fence, hopping and flapping. This one finally made it down the yard, through the fence and up to a branch about a foot off the ground in the yard next door where my dogs can’t get it.

The second one hopped in the opposite direction and made it along the fence where a puppy was following it with its own baby curiosity. It went through the fence into another yard where there was no dog, thank goodness. But now the mother had two babies in different directions. My own mom instincts were pretty high as I attempted to reassure her that I was trying to help herd them. I couldn’t think where they could go where there was no danger.

Two more appeared. I still don’t know where the nest is. This one headed for the fence by the puppy and they stared at each other for a bit until I herded it away. It flew at me, came up two steps of the deck and fell under the deck. I guess it’s hopping around still.

The next one flopped around, heading for the deck and stopped to pose. All I can think is that they are too young to leave the nest. Their heads are covered in fuzz, their wings are too short. There is too much danger lurking right here in my yard, much less the rest of the neighborhood. The mother is now looking at me and getting puffed up. I understand that completely.You can’t imagine how much I relate. I had four kids and they went in all directions. Not on the same day, thank goodness. I’m picturing the mother bird’s day, flying from yard to yard, trying to oversee their first day on their own, maybe even feeding them if they haven’t figured that out yet.

All those emotions are coming back to me, watching my bird counterpart out there. My oldest grandson leaves for college next year. I don’t know if he’s ready, even though his wings are definitely long enough. But there’s all that danger out there, all those unknowns. Even knowing you can’t protect them forever and they have to get out from under their mother’s wing sooner rather than later, it’s stressful for moms. And dads. And grandparents.

It’s nature’s way for our young to leave the nest. They may fall out too soon, they may be adventurous and fly out on their own, or they may get kicked out. We’re all in this together, birds, animals, humans of all races and ethnicities. We all want our babies to survive and fly. And soar.

Tags baby birds, leave the nest

Categories Family, Nature, Restaurants, Uncategorized

Ode to California

May 13, 2014 //

California – I keep going back there. Not that it’s the most beautiful state or has the greatest history or the greatest people or the greatest anything other than maybe the greatest diversity of everything. I’ve traveled all over it in winter, summer and spring, seen it in its many colors, met the people along the way. It’s a place where everything changes as you go down the road. You leave a city and are in a desert or on a mountain or on the shore. It’s got it all in one big melting pot of people who vary from region to region. California could be three or four states, each individual. It’s bounded by the Sierras on the east and the Pacific on the west with bountiful valleys and mountain ranges in between.

After driving over 1,800 miles around the state in the last few weeks, here are some of my favorite spring images that speak better than I can write.

In the Spring, the hills that are golden in the summer have a fresh green…

El Mirage still holds that never catchable lake in the distance…

Death Valley is still desolate…

…but there are flowers where only baked rocks exist in the heat of summer.

The Sierras suddenly come into view, rising out of the ground in a never ending ridge north.

And skiers rush to mountains that received 22 inches of snow the night before – in April and May… There’s the perfection of Lake Tahoe…

the beauty of the Sierras with the spring thaw filling the creeks and rivers… …and flowers that bring color to the hills.The buildings of the little mining towns give a sense of the excitement of the history of the area from San Francisco to Sacramento to Nevada. You can visualize the wagon trains, the Pony Express riders, the stagecoaches, and the first railroads that brought people from the east. You can see the places Mark Twain made famous and picture the characters who lived this life.

And then you reach the coast and its giant Coastal Redwoods. My visit to Muir Woods was a complement to my visits to Yosemite and the Sequoias in past visits.And then it’s the California coast, from the bay area… …to the beaches…from Pacifica to kite surfing and sailboarding meccas… to sunsets…to Big Sur in all its beauty…

The wildlife is abundant, seals, otters, whales, and the ever delightful elephant seals……and animals we were promised but never saw…
Southern California beaches had birds and dunes to climb… Here’s to the best restaurant name ever – in Lompoc. Too bad it closed.And back to Los Angeles, city of dreams, freeways, and endless fascination.Cheers to California with all its natural wonders, it bounty of natural resources, and the people who make it even more interesting. Spring with the California poppies blooming everywhere is truly a delight.

Tags Bay Area, Big Sur, California, Lompoc, Los Angeles, Muir Woods

Categories History, Nature, Places, Reflections, Seasons, Travel

Sky Shots

April 25, 2014 //

Driving trips are my favorite, but sometimes you must fly. I’m fascinated by the landscapes below and the patterns from above. I click shots, trying to place what I’m seeing from a high perspective. Flying west in America is a constant study of geology, geography, and art. What cataclysmic events caused this upheaval of the planet, what up thrusts of rock, what cutting by glaciers left such jagged marks, which change so abruptly?

From Denver to Burbank, I was crossing territory I had driven several times. The beauty that mesmerized me on the ground created artistic designs from an airplane window. My iPhone and iPad clicked away.

The snow covered Rocky Mountains in April…