Archives for category: Places

Views from the hills…Oakland, California

June 26, 2015 //

This month, I returned to Oakland, California, to visit an elderly aunt and cousins of a friend of mine. As an Okie, California is the land where people from my state went in hopes of a better life when the seemingly never-ending days of dust storms and depression wore them down. Today, I survey the crazy state of California with love and wonder and, always, a shake of my head. What a place of natural wonders, bountiful harvests, oceans, mountains, deserts and total craziness. That’s just the Okie in me speaking, of course.

Oakland is across the bay from San Francisco and my friends live high above the city, up curvy, narrow streets, in the Piedmont Hills area, maybe beyond that. These Okies moved here after the war, World War II, and purchased the place for $15,000. They also purchased the lot next door and planted the giant redwoods that tower above them today. The lots seem to go straight down. I guess all the coastal people who live on the sides of hills want to be there, even though it’s a long drive up, not to mention bike ride or hike, to the nearest store or, coming up the hills, for help to arrive in case of emergency. But Californians are outdoors people. They ride horses, bikes and hike everywhere. I’m digressing because I really want to share this fun trip with you. I got to do so many interesting things that it will take a few blogs to do it justice, things that aren’t always on the top of the tourist list. This was more about exploring.

First, I want to share the beauty of the home we stayed in. When you drive up, all you see is the garage. When you look out the front door, here is the view…where is the street? Just keep going up the stairs…maybe 30 of them. Imagine getting your groceries down there – or furniture or anything else. The other side of the house shows the three levels. There is an apartment 10 steps down and then the main level another 15 steps down. You can get to the bedroom level down another staircase and then to the rest of the yard, which then goes down, down, down into thick growth. Here are the stairs that I walked up over and over in the dark and rain from the main level to the apartment to the street. You do adjust…You know what? It’s a magical place. The trees alone are incredible, planted by arborists when these hills were first populated. Before then, the hills, these steep hills were clear. I can tell you that planning a house on a steep hill is something that doesn’t appeal to me, no matter how many beautiful homes I’ve seen in the Hollywood Hills, San Francisco, Oakland, Seattle, Oregon. I’m not enough of a mountain goat. But, then there are these signs we passed every day, curving up the road to the house… And the wonder of hearing a rustle beside you as a mother and fawn wander into the patch of yard…And, the best part of this place is the incredible view, the view that mesmerizes you every minute of the day as it changes and changes and changes. I couldn’t walk anywhere without my camera, trying to capture any of its beauty. My hostess said she has never tired of this view she grew up with. You look over Oakland, over to San Francisco, with Oakland Bay bridge and the Golden Gate bridge in the distance. And, sometimes, this was the view…I’ve been to Muir Woods and heard my hosts talk of the big Redwoods right up the hill from their home. For some reason, we didn’t realize that there is a park, a beautiful regional park, a few blocks from this home where these now middle aged Californians, born of Oklahoma parents, grew up, riding their horses and hiking all the day long. In this park are the remnants of some of the largest California Redwoods, once so tall that they were seen from the sea and used by the sailors to navigate the area. The trees were logged after the San Francisco fire and after the quakes, but are now protected. This was a hidden gem during our stay, a place to walk where the big trees once stood and where their offspring shoot up around the former stumps, forming circles of trees, called “Fairy Rings.” Once you understand why the trees are in circles, you can stand inside the ring and envision the size of these giants. You can look up to see the light and stand in the forest, imagining the forest as it once was.
And so the latest California adventure began…with the view and in the trees. Hope you’ll share the rest of the trip with me.

Tags California, California Redwoods, Oakland, Oakland Bay, Piedmont Hills

Categories Friends, Nature, Photography, Places, Reflections, Travel

Waiting for Star Wars

June 12, 2015 //

Here we are, almost 40 years later, waiting for the next Star Wars movie to open. When the original was released, I read about this phenomenon in the newspaper and took the family to see it. My youngest, my son, was only about 1 1/2 years old, so it was his first movie. I remember spending part of the movie walking around the back of the theatre with him, little knowing how much it would affect his and our lives. From then until now, I can’t remember a time that Star Wars wasn’t around me – or under my feet.

There were the movies, anxiously awaited by the entire family. The first thing we recorded when we got a VCR was Star Wars. I still have the tape somewhere. And the toys! Packed in my garage are the figures and the tiny guns that I picked up so many times that I can’t count. The toys I waited in line for, the special figures only available from some cereal or by mailing off something. Some are stored in the big Darth Vader carrying case that’s out there somewhere. There’s the Millennium Falcon and the At-At and the Storm Troop Carrier (it actually spoke when you pushed the button) and planes and one of those big snow creatures they rode and no telling what else. My son collected lunch boxes and his Star Wars box is a prize. Later, we had Star Wars talking figures and large collector figures and whatever else came along. By this time, my son was in college and my daughters were marrying guys who had also grown up with Star Wars. One of my sons-in-law has his figures intact with their guns, packed away for safe-keeping. Nothing to snicker about either. This is important stuff.

They re-released the first three episodes in theaters when my oldest daughter was pregnant with her first son. She could feel him jumping as we watched our favorite scenes. Another generation has come along and all eight of my grandkids are familiar with the stories and the characters. I was at a 2 year old’s birthday party, a child named after my son, and he knew Darth Vader in his limited vocabulary. Good job, Dad! Here’s my son with one of my grandsons many years ago, passing down the fun…

So here we go again and I couldn’t be more excited. The next series will start and the comparisons to the old ones will be rampant on social media and we’ll all be swept into this wonderfully fun world again. Last week, I traveled to Oakland, California and was amused to hear all the references around the Bay area. First, I spotted this book in a gift shop. Where was this series when I needed it for my kid?

Then we drove by the entrance to George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch, pointed out by a local. She remarked that the woods we were passing through were the setting for the Battle of Endor (she didn’t say that and I had to look it up). You know the one where the rebels and the Ewoks fight the stormtroopers in the woods. Of course, you know. That great scene where they rode those fast things that raced through the trees. Anyway, I could see what inspired it and where it was filmed (except for the computer stuff, of course). It looked like this area…

I learned that the cranes that we kept passing on the way across the Oakland Bay Bridge into San Francisco were the inspiration for many of the big machines in Star Wars. After all, George Lucas passed them all the time. It makes sense. From then on, I tried to capture the images as I was driven by them. Can’t you see them marching across the movie screen?

I guess I’m getting too excited. There are still months to go and more trailers to entice us and more products to show up in the stores and I know that we will all be in that theatre, waiting for the music and the opening and the familiar heroes. I’m excited that there’s a new generation getting their own episodes and new parents walking around picking up the beloved toys and just crazy fun for this old grandmother to share. Silly…

Tags Endor, Ewoks, Oakland CA, Star Wars

Categories Entertainment, Family, Friends, Memories, Photography, Places, Reflections, Travel

Imagining…

May 19, 2015 //

When I was a child, we would drive by the most exotic place I could imagine – exotic for Tulsa, Oklahoma anyway. I had no idea what went on in there, even when I was old enough to know that it was a bar. It was called the Green Dragon Lounge and on the outside wall, the Green Dragon followed me as I stared out the car window.

Even when the door was open, all I could see was darkness with a few lights and people. What in the world was going on in that interesting place? By the time I was old enough to go inside, it was gone and only the memory stayed with me.

I found this photo of the dragon and it all came back to me. I’m imagining myself as a little girl, staring out the back window of the car, watching for it to appear and then following it as we passed. I never asked my parents. I quietly imagined and wondered.

Sometimes in life, having an imagination is better than the reality.

Tags 1950s, Green Dragon Lounge, imagination, Tulsa OK

Categories Memories, Places, Reflections

Spring

May 3, 2015 //

Winter evolves into Spring with the most dramatic and the most hopeful of changes. In the city, there are beautiful flowers and trees, but most of them have been specifically planted for the effect. Not that I don’t love seeing the gorgeous azaleas and flowering trees and popping flowers. I love them!

I’ve been through some long sad winters in my life, life changing seasons when I had to trudge through loss and hope I could make it into the next phase. But Spring always comes along to brighten my outlook. Always.

This year, I’ve had the lovely experience of driving a state highway at least once a week, making the changes in the countryside even more dramatic. One week there was snow, the first week in March. A couple of weeks later, I noticed the trees were fuzzy, small leaves pushing their way out. By the end of the month, we were having warm days, punctuated with the kind of clouds we watch explode in the sky, the ones that show the atmosphere is in turmoil and we have to watch carefully. The beauty of the massive clouds can easily turn into dark skies with swirling tornadoes dropping towards earth. A week after I see the leaves pushing at the ends of branches, I’m overwhelmed by the sense of the baby green colors of the trees around me as plant after plant shows its new colors.

Then the redbuds bloom in the forests, our state tree showing its colors, fuchsia and white, wild along the roadways.

The ground is turning from brown to green for the babies, calves and colts, that arrive. I drive into a mass of young green…the lacy profile of the branches from winter is filling in…

We still have wild skies and are enjoying a rainy season, needed for all that grows from the earth…The Cimarron River is filling and the trees along its bluffs are softer…I call this the “Sky Barn,” a place I see from the road at a country intersection.

And then, there was color along the roadsides, Indian Paintbrush starting to bloom.

Over the past two weeks, the flowers are spreading and growing brighter as I suddenly see fields of the wildflowers…

And other flowers are coming, purples and whites and yellows along the way.

The baby greens of early spring are now lush shades of deep green, the trees full. And my heart is full of hopeful new feelings. Welcome Spring!

Tags Cimarron River, Indian Paintbrush, Oklahoma, spring

Categories Nature, Photography, Places, Reflections, Seasons

Return to the Library

December 12, 2014 //

I had some time to kill at Oklahoma State University yesterday and there was a subject I wanted to research, one that OSU has in their archives. I’d walked past the library earlier in the day, always a beautiful sight, admiring the Christmas wreath and garlands. I’d been actually dreading going into this beautiful building because I have such warm memories of spending hours with the card catalogue, digging through shelves of periodicals for an article I needed for a research paper, copying notes onto index cards. There were no copy machines or computers in those days. You either checked out the book or did the research on site. There was comfort in the shelves of books and periodicals, the dark wood tables and chairs. I grew to love the search and the activity it took to find the information I needed to support my thoughts.

I knew it would be different – I’ve been in local libraries after all. I understand the computers and having everything online and that the experience has changed. I’m not against it, but I wasn’t quite ready to really see it in person in this building.

Approaching the building, the incredible chimes were playing the OSU alma mater, which was comforting. I walked in the front doors… …loving the brass doors. I went through the security scanners and up the stairs with the beautiful brass handrails. Reaching the next floor was like coming into a new century, to say the least. There were tables and chairs and couches and lots of students with laptops. I didn’t see any books at all. There were some offices and a wonderful room decorated old style where students lounged and studied for finals.

I wandered around, wondering how you find anything and went back down the stairs to the lower level where there was an information desk and lots of tables with computers. There was a space in the back of one corner where there were shelves of periodicals. Yay! Something familiar. I realized I was supposed to find a computer, but wasn’t really sure about how this worked, so I approached the desk.

Me: “Hi. I haven’t been here since 1969.”

Student: “Well, welcome back!”

She was great, turning her computer to show me the website. I told her I had a log-in and could take it from there, so I found an empty computer and logged in. I maneuvered around and found the information I was looking for, which I also accessed from home. I was looking for more, but there it was.

I finished up and left. What can you say? I hadn’t wandered down a row of shelves or handled a book. That was weird, at least for me. It’s the library and I’m happy that students are in there, soaking up the information. As I walked away, the chimes were playing “Frosty the Snowman,” which rang across campus and I passed three girls smiling with their arms around each other, singing to the music. Their finals were over and they were probably heading home for the holidays.

It’s all good. We’re moving ahead in our technical world. But my memories of those long ago days in the quiet rooms of dark wood and shelves of books is still sweet. Sigh.

Tags Oklahoma State University library

Categories Books, Memories, Places, Reflections, Uncategorized

Make up your own story…

October 31, 2014 //

Here’s a Halloween treat for you. I was driving on a rural Oklahoma road today and turned around on a dead end where there were three or four trailers that looked a little shady. I don’t want to be judgmental here, but they could be people who are just down on their luck, meth dealers, independent souls, or whatever you can imagine. While turning around, the last trailer had a large dog chained in the yard, jumping towards us, although not barking. Just watching us. As we went by the trailer, something caught my eye and I jerked my camera up to catch it, not even knowing if it was real or not.

Here’s what I saw. I hope you can see the pink bow and the red nail polish on the fanciest living thing in the neighborhood.

Let me know what you think the story is…

Happy Halloween!

Tags Halloween, make up your own story, Oklahoma, rural road

Categories Pets, Photography, Places

Ingalls, Oklahoma

October 25, 2014 //

Highway 51 between Tulsa and Stillwater was the route I took in college, driving it so many times that I knew the landscape by curve in the very curvy road. They’ve straightened it out, as it was way too dangerous for a road that was driven by college kids in all states of a hurry. They’ve added a turnpike which lets you out on the other side of town and is a nice drive, the one that I usually take. Sometimes, I take the old route, just for the heck of it.

This week, I had seen a bit of an old movie, “The Doolins of Oklahoma,” made in 1949 and starring Randolph Scott as Bill Doolin. The real Bill Doolin didn’t look like Randolph Scott, being a rough looking little guy. The only photo I’ve seen of him shows him dead with about twenty gunshots in his chest. Lovely. He was also not any kind of a hero, having formed his own gang, The Wild Bunch, the same one of legend status. And those guys spent a lot of time in Oklahoma, along with the Dalton gang and others. We were the wild west, after all.

Just outside of Stillwater, right off Highway 51, it turns out that the town of Ingalls was the site of one of a big gunfight, the Battle of Ingalls. You can look up the details, but it seemed like I needed to see what was there, knowing it wasn’t much. It was just about 2 minutes off the road, a road I’d driven so many times over the past 50 years.

I turned onto Ingalls Road and headed for the one intersection that is left, passing Dalton Lane, a scattering of houses. Nothing much to speak of out here. Ingall was a land rush town, one that never really took off. At the time of the infamous battle, the population was 150. All that’s left now are a school, a fire station, a few houses, many with cars in the yard, and a bit of history.

Here’s what’s left of the main drag from the late 1800s. When you turn the corner, there is a little general store.

Two dogs ran to greet me from the new house behind and waited to see what I was doing, licking my feet as I snapped pictures. Surely they’ve seen other visitors, although the residents haven’t done anything to make this into a tourist stop. Nothing at all. Beside the drive was the rest of the street, left as it was…the Ingalls Hotel with hitching post out front, livery barn and saloon. That’s all that’s left. The hotel is big for this little town. I guess it was full of desperados, hanging out. Who else would be coming here? The livery barn next door has only the front left, but you can see how far back the hotel goes. Not very plush, even in its heyday, I bet. Then, there’s the saloon. You can paint your own images of this place when it was alive. Not very big. But then, I’ve seen lots of old saloons and they aren’t anything compared to the Hollywood images we grew up with. Here’s the guys hanging out at another Ingalls saloon, back in the day. Of course a town like this had to have more than one saloon. It was a pretty day, so I drove past the R & M Saloon, where the road turned to dirt and turned around at the sign that said Private Property, Do Not Enter! That was tempting. Going the other way up the street, I spotted what looked like a monument, and drove towards it. There was a fire station on one side of the street with a sign in front of it and a house on the other corner with a monument. Otherwise the town had a few houses and trailers scattered. Here’s the monument. And the sign that tells the story from the citizens of Ingalls point of view. I bet the people in Ingalls appreciated gangs. Nothing else would ever happen there. Leaving town, I looked back at the hotel, rusting in the sun with the little general store by its side. Nothing else is likely to ever happen in Ingalls. Ever. I drove past Dalton Lane on the way back to Highway 51, then turned and passed Doolin Road on the way out. They named streets after the outlaws, not the lawmen. Isn’t that interesting?

I wonder what other bits of history I’m driving by every day. It’s fun to discover them, more fun than learning the dates back in some dull history classes I sat through. No wonder I’m all for historic preservation. We all need to listen to the stories these buildings can leak to our imaginations. Treasures all around us…if we look.

Tags Battle of Ingalls, Bill Doolin, Dalton gang, Ingalls Oklahoma

Categories History, Photography, Places, Reflections, Travel

Okie in Oregon #3

October 13, 2014 //

It was hard to leave the central coast of Oregon but time to come back. I never tire of watching the waves crash around me, so we went up the coast to get back to Portland this time. One more look at crashing waves, please. We drove up the coast, leaving Highway 101 to hit the coast drive to Cape Kiwanda… and Cape Lookout, both with their views and beach warning signs. Believe me, I wasn’t planning on going off any cliffs.The final Cape was Cape Meares, which was the most delightful of all. Besides the views…there was the Octopus Tree, a 300 year old Sitka Spruce tree that fits into my memorable trees collection.And the shortest lighthouse, at 38 feet, on the coast.My tour was interesting, giving me insight into the life and work of the lighthouse men of our past. Not an easy job. This one had the original glass for the clear sections, beautiful in the sunshine. We headed back to Highway 101, stopping in Tillamook, where barn quilts decorate buildings all over town. I wasn’t familiar with this until this summer, so now I’m looking for them when I travel. Here are a few I saw. I can’t go to Oregon without getting Tillamook Ice Cream, the creamiest ever. Besides they have wonderful flavors like Marionberry Pie and Huckleberry. Tillamook Cheese is a destination, a farmers’ co-op where you can watch the cheese being made, shop and eat, tasting all the flavors of ice cream, milk and cheese. I can get the cheese at home, but not the ice cream! I always have to stop, joining the crowds who share my passion.Our next stop was at one of the amazing beaches in the world, Cannon Beach, home of Haystack Rock. On this particular day, it was sunny and warm. People were sunbathing in Oregon in October. I had to stop at both ends of the beach for the beautiful views of the rock. Here’s looking from the south to north. And north to south with the rock shining in the late afternoon sun. You can’t imagine how big this thing is. And how big the beach is. Incredibly beautiful. And fun.I got a clear shot of Tillamook Lighthouse, perched on its lonely, dangerous rock, from the beach, looking north.Although I could have dawdled all day on the beach, we were trying to reach Astoria by dark, so we headed north. It was late in the day, but we were able to go to the top of the hill where the Astoria Column, concrete carved with the history of the region, sits. I was too tired to climb the 168 steps to the top, but the views from below were incredible and the column is an incredible piece of art.Looking towards Astoria, you see the bridge that takes you from Oregon to Washington, and you feel chills thinking of the Lewis & Clark expedition charting these waters. Looking to the view, where the mighty Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean is breathtaking in its importance. On the other side of the hill, the Youngs River and the Lewis & Clark River enter Youngs Bay before joining the Columbia. The charming city of Astoria is the oldest settlement in America west of the Rockies. I’ll return for more. I did love the trash cans in Astoria, symbolic of one of the major industries of the area.We headed east to Portland, leaving the coast behind us. The next day, we went into Portland for the underground tour, which was very little underground, but a lot of colorful history of the wild and wooly days of early Portland. Very fun.I’ve been to Portland various times in the past five years, enjoying the diversity and casualness of this beautiful city. We had a wonderful tea and late lunch in one of the few Chinese restaurants left in Chinatown. I really wanted the Hung Farlow to still be open, but they are saving the sign. Portland has the signs saying “Keep Portland Weird,” just as Austin has signs that beg us to “Keep Austin Weird.” I’m thinking “weird” is just a word for being open to everything. There were more homeless than I remembered from my last visit, but just as many colorful people, trying to be as weird as possible or to fit in however they can. It’s part of the charm really. We finished our tour and joined local friends for a fun Thai dinner, watching the sport of Sepak Takraw, a combination of hackey sack and volleyball, on the television. We’d passed the famous Voodoo doughnut place on our tour, but stopped at the second location on the other side of the river to stock up on the notorious doughnuts. We HAD to have this Portland experience and included one Voodoo man doughnut in our box for fun. The next day, our final day in Oregon, we traveled to Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood. It was a beautiful day, warm even at 6,000 feet, and the views were spectacular.Timberline is an old WPA lodge and everything inside is hand made from local materials, including the furniture, drapes, hand wrought iron, carvings. The building, used in the opening shots of “The Shining,” is a tribute to the craftsmen and women who worked in the program, not only grateful for jobs during the depression but showing deep pride in their creations. It was a total delight. The six-sided fireplace, made of local rocks, runs up through the three stories of the main lobby, with three fireplaces on two levels.I loved the scenes carved in linoleum on the walls of a meeting room.The views of Mt Jefferson and Mt St Helens in the distance were lovely.And the mists over the hills gave us the layers of blue against the clear sky. The top of Mt Hood was rocky, but they continue to manicure the dusty snow for the skiers we passed coming and going up the mountain.Our Oregon trip ended with meals with friends before we headed back to Oklahoma the next day. This Okie left with more lovely Oregon memories to fill my senses. Okie in Oregon. That’s me.

Tags Astoria, Astoria Column, Cape Kiwanda, Cape Lookout, Cape Meares, Mt. Hood, Portland, Tillamook, Timberline Lodge, Voodoo doughnuts

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

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.