ROAD TRIP! The End....

Even though there's disappointment sometimes, it's better to know. My fantasy, or I should say, my idealized version of southern Oregon as a possible refuge has been greatly modified. There was a lot to be said for all the places we visited. It IS beautiful country. The shifting light, flowing mist, wild rocky shore, peaceful farms - the neat, sweet small towns of Albany and Ashland; the towns in general are smaller than the megalopolis of San Sacramento Jose, with much less traffic, and less stress. The people are so darn nice! Approachable, helpful... It all just seems much more unspoiled than here, though I don't know how long that will last.

Albany Library

AND, it was gray a lot of the time. Not Bay Area-gray, which seems back-lit, but a much darker shade. When I woke up to the light of a California morning, I was...grateful. I didn't realize how addicted I am to that brilliant golden light. Since I lived briefly in England when I was young, I didn't think this would be a concern. Wrong again.

image: A.N. Smith-Lee

 I think the biggest issue for me was made real when we drove into the Cascades along the Willamette River. It doesn't take a genius to predict that water is the next big issue in central and southern California. I hoped that wouldn't be the case farther north. It may be true MUCH farther north, but southern Oregon doesn't look to be better off than we are here in terms of aridity AND flammability. Western Oregon is burning too. It's downright sad to see what we've done to our beautiful planet.

image: A.N. Smith-Lee

I'm sure the great state of Oregon will be delighted to hear that there is one less family coming to Californicate them.

ROAD TRIP! Morning Glory, a Big Duck, and a Most Beloved Carousel

For breakie, we took a tip from my nephew and his wife and went to the Morning Glory Café (left). Score! Great vegetarian place, excellent food - it is SO good.

We decided to cruise the University, as no visit to Eugene is complete without a visit to the Big Duck on the University of Oregon campus. 

U of O also has a reputation as an arboretum, and many of the beautiful trees on campus were greeting fall in their best colors.

In the workshop

We headed north to a place my daughter had seen on TV, and a perfect example of what people who love where they live can do: the Albany Carousel Museum. In 2002, members of the community came up with the idea of a carousel museum and subsequently volunteered over 160,000 hours to create something magical.

The Albany Carousel Museum was fortunate to have a 1909 Dentzel Carousel Corporation mechanism donated to the project. The Dentzel family became a major supporter; the Dentzels were the first manufacturer of carousels in America, opening their business in Philadelphia, PA back in 1870 (more about the Dentzels and their wonderful business in my Pennsylvania Handbook). The Dentzel family, through the American Carousel Corporation, supplied the antique 1909 mechanism consisting of 52 animals on three rows. 

Bill Dentzel, great grandson of Gustav Dentzel, the founder of Dentzel Carousel Corporation, heard of our project and supplied valuable knowledge that markedly assisted in the restoration of the mechanism; he also carved with volunteers to help make the animals of this community project a reality. Modern carousel animals are usually cast in metal or plastic. The Albany carousel animals are made the old-fashioned way - hand carved and painted. They are gorgeous!

This Big Boy's name is Sampson

It's Quigga!

Volunteer support has ranged from animal and mechanism and building component sponsorships to outright financial contributions. Initial donors were given an opportunity to “buy” an animal of their choice – hence the clever and imaginative animals. 

A local veterinarian commissioned Quigga, the Quagga (and extinct half-stripped zebra). Volunteers come in to assist with carving, painting, tours and the gift shop.

 

 This carousel consists of 52 animals with a variety of animals ranging from a seven foot plus tall giraffe, dogs, cats, zebras, unicorns, dragons, lions, tigers, and bears, (just to name a few. See a more complete list here). The animals are in three rows; the outside row (large animals) are “standers” while the middle and inside row animals (medium and small sized respectively) are “jumpers.” Each row also has two replacement animals (the animals are rotated out for a period of time) and there are also five seasonal animals, bringing the total to sixty-three animals. Admission to the carousel studio tour and gift shop is free, and the carousel itself is only $2 a ride. Don’t miss it!

When we returned to Eugene, we stopped at an extraordinary bakery famed for its mix of gluten and gluten-free baked goods. I wanted to order one of everything, but settled for just a few. Sweet Life is justifiably delicious! We would have pictures of the goodies, but they mysteriously disappeared.

image: A.N. Smith-Lee

A spin around the river walk was on the agenda after snacks, and it was literally right outside our hotel room. The upper part of the walk sometimes butts up against the busy freeway, and there are a disconcerting number of folks popping out of their temporary homes in the bushes alongside the river (yes, there are homeless of all ages in Eugene, including a few young druggies who end up sleeping extra rough on the damp sidewalks. However, since this is Oregon, everyone we met - no exceptions -was friendly and courteous, homeless included). It's life in America these days. By contrast, the far side of the walk skirts a pleasant park and the exceptional Owen Rose Garden which was in full bloom when we visited.

The next morning, we planned to set out early for home, so, after an unexceptional meal at a local fast-food joint, we decided to get a closer look at something that fascinated me since we rolled into Eugene: a pedestrian bridge over one of the freeways. It's lit with bright red neon, and led from one housing tract to another. The picture doesn't do it justice.

All images, unless stated, are by Joanne Orion Miller 

ROAD TRIP! Setting up House in Eugene

Image: A.N. Smith-Lee

It being Saturday, the first thing we wanted to do was 1. Eat breakfast 2. Go to the Eugene Saturday Market/farmer’s market downtown. The Saturday market was filled with craft items such as tie-dyed T-shirts (a big fashion item here, judging from the number of people wearing them on the street), earrings, paintings, essential oils and several booths with glass pipes – pretty, but I wonder how hot they would get once lit. We cruised the produce side which was full of gorgeous stuff, from Thomcord grapes to 10 different varieties of peppers. No doubt, this is a fruitful growing region!

After wandering around scouting for a breakfast place, we came upon an extremely popular waffle place (waffles are as ubiquitous as tie-dye here, and infinitely more digestible – or so I thought). The name was Off the Waffle (there’s some kind of pun here, but I’m not getting it. You’re off your waffle if you eat there?). Our waffles were undercooked – raw in the middle – but I wasn’t sure if this was some hip Eugene style and I was too uncool to appreciate it or....I asked our seatmates, and found out, no, not supposed to be raw. The waffles were topped with an undercooked egg (in fairness, they did ask me if I wanted it hard-cooked). Within the hour, I had all the symptoms of mild food poisoning. I’m sure this isn’t the norm for the place, as it really was packed (and they offered me a $30 coupon when I told them about it – no, thank you very much).

We returned to the hotel (and the wonderful hotel bathroom…sorry, TMI), and attempted a late lunch at Sweetwaters on the River after things had calmed down a little. Great salads, though they were short-staffed that day and we spent way too much time looking at the (admittedly pleasant) view.

A novel fence in the Whit    image:A.N. Smith-Lee

We cruised the latest up-and-coming (and somewhat funky), neighborhood, the Whiteaker, known as "the Whit" by locals, notable  for it's artists and murals.

Next, a trip to Springfield, home of the Simpsons! No, not really – just a fair-sized town east of Eugene. We decided to take Rte. 58 along the Willamette River out to Lowell to see what a covered bridge looked like out here in the west (saw plenty of them in Pennsylvania – another fixation, like lighthouses). Unlike the covered bridges I saw back east, this one didn’t seem to have the same function; though useful for keeping snow off the road, the ones in Pennsylvania usually were privately built and came with a toll. Whether that was the case here, I couldn’t find out.

The Dexter Reservoir outside of the town of Lowell captured the light beautifully, but as we drove east along the river into the cascades we were missing something: a river. It was shallow or dried up the farther we got into the mountains. This was shocking, especially since I imagined Oregon to be considerably wetter than central California. The concierge at the hotel said they had experienced “a California summer” – meaning no rain since May. Apparently, those who poo-poo global warming don’t travel north much.

Somewhat discouraged, we decided we needed beer – dinner at McMenamin’s North Bank was everything we had hoped, and after a beer flight and burgers, we were downright cheerful.

It was our last night in Eugene, in our lovely room at the Valley River Inn. The Inn was the largest Hotel and convention center outside Portland when built in the early 70s, and played host to Elvis Presley, the Bolshoi Ballet, Bill Clinton and other celebs. It’s still the town’s big ticket, and the location is great.