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Published: June 11th 2009
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Oregon Coast
There is no doubt that the Oregon coast is really beautiful. This is a shot of what they call "Face Rock," located about two miles from where I stayed in Bandon Although this blog starts in Northern California the majority of it is based on my experiences in Seattle. There is so much to do there. The pioneers who made it across the continent were a wild bunch....women and men alike. They were so determined to "make a go of it." Hats off to them!
Unfortunately after three lovely sunny days at Klamath River the clouds rolled in and a fine drizzle, alternated with pouring rain for the remainder of my week there! I did manage to visit other coastal towns and see some of the huge trees in the surrounding redwood forests. The campground was about three miles from an overlook where I watched grey whales (rain or shine.) The one day there must’ve been six feeding there. I guess the river inlet churns up the krill they need.
I left Southern California therefore in a light drizzle and headed into Oregon—surprise still raining - only colder! I was to meet up with three of my SOLO friends in Bandon, Oregon. Roy was staying on property owned by a couple with who he has been friends for many years. They have a house set on ten acres in a beautiful
Driftwood
The amount of wood that gets washed down the many rivers that flow into the Pacific in Oregon is amazing. spot and have extended an open invitation to fellow RVers. Bandon itself is a very nice small seaside town, it was nice to share it with friends, and I enjoyed my stay there very much.
My trip into Washington State was a lot more pleasant, the weather improved during my journey considerably. I stayed just northeast of Seattle in a membership park. This is Microsoft country, plenty of big homes on large plots of land! The surrounding countryside is really beautiful. Some years ago the gorse bush was imported to try to stabilize the hilly terrain. The gorse has now taken over and although I’m sure the gardener and farmer alike curses the stuff it adds some beautiful colour to the scenery.
I took advantage of being here to take a week to fly to Louisiana to visit Debbie and family, which was very enjoyable. Ben graduated from kindergarten and Jacob was promoted to the fourth grade and is moving on to junior high school in August. I also visited with Brother Al for lunch one day, and another couple of SOLOS for lunch another day and my friends Marilyn and Dave came for the weekend. My time in Washington
Pelicans
My friend Dee had never seen a pelican before so I had to take this photo. State has gone quickly.
One excursion I was determined to make was well worth the effort; the Seattle Underground Tour.
Seattle’s founding fathers selected a terrible place to start a town. It was a little 8 acre spot of dry land which at its highest was only 16’ above sea level —on good days!
In 1882 the City Health Commissioner announced that the sewer system were operating a full blast but could no longer take the load. Twice a day, when the tide came in, the sewers flowed backward. The toilets became fountains! Most visitors to the city were unaware of the tides and should they use the toilet at the wrong time they got an unpleasant surprise. The merchants tried to rectify the problem by creating a dais on which the toilet was installed, but no one wanted to climb a ladder in order to use the toilet. It was said that a person could smell Seattle two miles before you could ever see the city.
The cliffs behind Seattle blocked expansion and continued to throw mud into the downtown every time it rained—which in the Northwest is often! The streets were a very mucky mess
Bandon Lighthouse
The coast is so craggy it is no surprise that there are so many lighthouses -- a person could spend a whole season just going from one to another. throughout the winter in fact the local sawmill simply pushed logs and cut wood down the hill to where it would be shipped; it became known a “skid-row.” In the summer the wooden buildings and sidewalks were tinder dry, so it was inevitable that in 1889 a fire destroyed the downtown. The City Council, comprised mostly of downtown merchants and business men decided to rebuild the city exactly where it was, but the citizens protested loud and long. The merchants rebuilt their shops and offices where they were but the protests of the citizenry forced the council to have plans drawn up to elevate the city. The centers of all the downtown streets were raised by bringing in tons and tons of earth. Ladders were positioned on the corners of all of the streets so that shoppers could cross to the other side!! Eventually of course the downtown business men extended their buildings, and sidewalks at the street level were built, which in places was about three stories higher than the original.
Around this time gold was found British Columbia's Klondike area and Seattle was the best place to launch a trip north to the gold fields. The exploding male
Rhododendron
I grew up with these beautiful shrubs and have been more than delighted to see them from Northern California all the way up to Washington. They grow wild. These were in Dennis an Cora's garden where I stayed in Bandon. population brought with it the usual “problems.” Seattle’s underground became a flourishing red-light district.
Today Seattle is a beautiful city built on seven hills; most of the roads are one-way and are extremely steep—not good going uphill with a stick shift car I can tell you. That being said, I like Seattle. I hope to come back one day and do some more exploring.
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