Coos Bay to Redwoods

My morning began in the 1960's.  At the gas station I enquired for a place to get a good breakfast in Coos Bay.  "Oh, just around the corner...they have a bit of everything."  Not only did they have a bit of everything but they also were in a time warp.

The diner was straight out of the 1960's: Naugahyde bench and stool seats, vinyl wall covering, plastic amber and clear crystal hanging lights. It could have been designed for the 1964 NY World's Fair.  The stools wobbled...but they didn't fall down.  I don't think there had been any facelift to the place in 50 yrs.  Even the servers looked like most of them had begun working there in the 60's, too.  The food was good, however.

After breakfast as I was walking back the car, I noticed that in the lot I had parked was a farmers' market.  I figured I could pick up some things to munch on in the car and went over.  Only two farmers were there by then.  This one guy had mostly apples.

I thought it would be the usual varieties: Macintosh, Cortland, Delicious, Fuji, Macoun...but I was astounded...he had none of those.  He did have Lady, Liberty, Coos River, Braeburn, Esopus Spitzbergen, Winter Banana, and that old time favorite...Olive Barber Power Station.  The farmer was so engaging and wanted to share all his knowledge about his orchards.  He has some 50 varieties of apples and does a lot of grafting in order to get varieties he doesn't have.  The grafting however sometimes produces apples that are a blend of the root tree and the graft.  Some are sweet, some tart, some taste like banana, some like citrus, some are great pie apples, some eating...he has them all.  I couldn't to wrong with the price either 8 for $1....so I got $2 worth.

Heading south I came to Port Orford.  The main road (US 101) turned left but on the hill straight ahead painted on the pavement was a huge arrow with "Ocean View" written above it.  Not one to pass up a great view I took the road less traveled and went up the hill.  This was what I saw:

After seeing this opening view of the ocean, my trip was rather one stop after another.  Around each bend in the very twisty coastal highway was another view I wanted to see, if not photograph.

My distance to the Redwoods was only 150 miles but it took me nearly six hours to get there.  Along the way, I stopped at one beach to practice my kelp swinging.  I am hoping to be next international kelp chucker champion.

My goal today was to reach the Giant Redwoods in northern California.  The Redwood National Park was closed but the California state parks were open...thankfully.  The Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park had some incredible trees.  Driving along you see the immense trunks...you stop and get out of the car.  What strikes you at first is not the huge trees but the incredible quiet.  It is like being in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris...the soaring pillars all around you and the incredible quiet brought on by the vaulted ceiling and the reverence paid by those around you.  In this case there was no one around...just me and these fantastic natural creations.

I frolicked with the giants for a while then drove on to see the "Big Tree" 304' tall, 21.6' diameter, 68' circumference, 1500 years old.

With still some daylight available I drove to the top of the Redwood National Park and looked out across the park to the Pacific and the setting sun, which I was able to watch set at sea level.  On the way to the beach I stumbled upon a field of elk grazing for their evening meal...there must have been 75 or 80 of them.

A Beautiful Day

Oregon has an amazing coastline.  Craggy headlands, massive sand dunes, busy estuaries, charming seacoast villages, twisting narrow roads, expansive beaches covered with churning waves, inspirational vistas...it's all there, mile after mile.  I got up this morning to rain and fog and grateful that I had gone to the beach last night as I wasn't going to see much today the way it looked.  The weather reports were for rain all day.  However, by the time I was washed and ready to head out, azure skies were breaking through.  I took a look again

at Haystacks but it wasn't long that I realized that there were many such rocks off the coast farther south.  Huge rock faces overlooking these isles.  Around every corner was a more majestic view than the last.  The lushness of the vegetation made me think of parts of the UK...which also has a marine climate like Oregon's coast.

Tsunamis are something to think about out here.  All along the coastal highway there are signs letting drivers know when they are entering and leaving tsunami areas and how to get out of one should you find the need.

I wound my way south to the village of Wheeler where the river was nearly clogged with fishermen coming and going to catch the salmon that were on the run.  All the way down the Oregon Coast Highway (US 101), marinas were filled with eager fishermen and their friends and children.

Garibaldi harbor with its extended docks were also filled with boaters...the temperature was nearly 60˚ so there was little reason to not go fishing.

Among the many pull off viewing areas was on near Florence that looked across the bay to a white lighthouse perched on a tree covered headland...it was a gorgeous view.  I took some photos of it.  But then as I pulled away to head back to the car, something made me stop...it was a barking noise...sorta barking.  I looked straight down the bluff I was standing on and saw the rocks below moving and

making an ar, ar, ar noise.  The rocks were covered with sea lions laying in the warm sun, enjoying each other's company.

From here it was a short drive to Coos Bay, a shipping and ship building town and home of Steve Prefontaine.  At the Coos Art Museum there is a room dedicated to Pre...medals, trophies, photos, poems, and a video about this life.  I got there with only minutes before it closed but the woman at the front desk, took me upstairs to the gallery and showed me the 40 minute video.  So much for my Pre pilgrimage.

So between the majestic vistas of the coast to the gallery of Pre's things, it was a good day.

Pre

This morning the house was emptying out...I to the Oregon coast, Matt to Idaho for a soccer game.  My first destination was Eugene, home of the University of Oregon and Hayward Field.  Hayward Field and Oregon was a huge influence in my life in the early 1970s.  It was the scene and home of Steve Prefontaine the

preeminent runner of his era.  "Pre" was more than a runner.  He was a counter culture sort of hero.  He pushed the buttons of the running establishment and had a lot of charisma doing it.

At the time I was a track coach at The Leelanau School and followed Pre's career pretty closely.  The photo here gives a brief summary of his short career.

  He died at 24 in a car accident leaving a cult behind him that continues to today.  When you go to Hayward Field you see two enormous photos of him on the walls around the field.

There is a Prefontaine Classic each spring at the field also that attracts the best runner from around the world.  There hasn't been a runner since who has captured the imagination of the country as Pre did.  I have always wanted to see the field...40 years later, I made it.  Also at the field is a statue of Bill Bowerman, Pre's coach.

You will notice in the photo of his shoes that the plaque reads..."and then there was that waffle iron."  Bowerman was the founder of Nike along with Pre.  He made the soles of his first shoes from a waffle iron.  Had Pre lived he wouldn't still be living in a trailer as he did in college.  Walking around the Oregon campus was fun on its own.

From Eugene it's a short hop up to Portland, the state's largest city.  Portland is known for being bicycle friendly and there is evidence of that everywhere with bike lanes going down the middle of major streets.  Also in downtown is a great artsy area known as the Pearl District filled with great galleries, eateries and shops.

Near the Pearl District is a parking area a full city block in size that is bordered with food carts selling a huge variety of cuisine: Afghan, Thai, Chinese, Mexican, German, Indian, Iraqi, Burmese, Japanese...all are there but if you want a burger and fries you will be disappointed.

After a brief wander of the downtown, I was off to Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast and home of the Haystack Rocks.  I got there after sundown so this is the view I got.  This is how I ended my day.

What goes up, must come down

OIT - Oregon Institute of Technology Mens' Soccer

The Hustlin' Owls

Unlike the background in these photos, the mens' soccer team is far from setting in the west.  To the contrary, they have a winning season so far for the first time in their history.  Funny how that happened one year after they got a new coach from New Hampshire who used to live with me.

My last blog entry had to do with the sunrises in Klamath Falls; this is what the sunsets are like.  I am taken by the sunrises and sunsets out here.  They bring Georgia O'Keefe to mind.  The colors are spectacular and worth at least one ooo and one aaah.

 the Coach

A new day is dawning.

Matt's home is on an eastern looking hillside, therefore he gets the sunrise each morning, currently about 7am.  The city of Klamath Falls is spread out on the far side of Lake Klamath and sparkles all night awaiting the dawn.  Below are three recent mornings.  Watching the rays break over the distant hills is a great way to begin each day.

Lake of the Woods

My Goal

Northwest

The northwest of the US and southwest of Canada is a remarkable area.  The mountains coming down to the ocean and making island and inlet harbors seems to attract outdoor types.  It's a youthful area.  Vancouver is a young city; its whole waterfront has been redeveloped in the last thirty years.  Granville Island has attracted entrepreneurial businesses and allowed the influx of Asians to develop food businesses.  Always looking toward the Orient, when Hong Kong was returned to the Chinese by Britain many Hong Kong residents, as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations with Canada, moved across the Pacific to the Vancouver area.  I did notice that Chinese people walk on the left which often created a traffic problem with Canadians who walk on the right.

Philipp and I took the Aquabus back to Granville Island for breakfast and then wandered the shops before taking a hike along the harbor.   Our Aquabus

captain this morning was an interesting guy too.  He is retired and lives in Vancouver from April to October driving the Aquabus but then spends the winter months in Bali on the beach...not a bad life.  It really is a beautiful city.  By that time, it was time for me to head back across the border to the US.  A short drive from Vancouver is the US line.  As I pull up

the customs officers first words were, "you sure took a wrong turn somewhere."  After his usual questions I was on my way south to Bellingham.

Bellingham was where we stayed in 1986 when we came to the Vancouver Expo.  Home of my long time friend, Steve Senge, it is a bustling small city and home to Western Washington University, where Steve has been a professor.  Steve was my first friend after college when I moved to northern Michigan.  He was in my wedding back in '76.  He holds the distinct honor of being the only person to beat me in Trivial Pursuit - Genus Edition.  He also remembers more of my past than I do.  It had been along time since we had sat and laughed at our stories.  He is an invariably positive person and good for me to listen to over a chicken fajita.  His house is amazing.  Built by a furniture maker, it has wonderful details rarely found in houses today.

My stay with Steve was short as I reordered my plans to get to Klamath Falls for a Friday afternoon soccer game.  Steve gave me a sampling of his world famous brownies and I was off in the morning with a nine hour drive ahead of me.  With the help of the national parks being closed, I was able to skip through Washington without much difficulty.  Portland, Oregon looked like it would have been a fun city to explore but I was on a mission now to get to Klamath Falls.  Down the Willamette valley and over the Cascade mountains I arrived at the soccer field at 5pm just as the game was starting.  Matt wasn't expecting me.  It was a treat to see his team pull off a win against the team that had just beaten the conference champion team.  A year ago the OIT Owls had a lock on last place in the conference.  A short year later they were in 4th place and poised now to possibly be in 2nd place if next week's game goes well.  Watching Matt maneuver his team though the game was impressive.  Even at the height of the game when refereeing was questionable and the college president started marching on the field impassioned to take control, Matt was in control and told his boss that he needed to get off the field...which he did.  The game gave me an opportunity to shoot some photos of his players.

It is good to see Matt.

Vancouver on Sea

What a delightful city.  Philipp (another former student) and I got out of his apartment rather late, some people like to sleep in.  But we had our bacon and avocado omelettes breakfast at that all-Canadian establishment... Denny's.  May, our server, made it memorable with all her rushing around to be sure we had what we needed.  Due to our late start, Margaret, a Vancouver friend's suggestions for the day quickly evaporated...maybe tomorrow.

After breakfast we were going to take in the main shopping district.  We couldn't find the Pacific Centre shopping mall so I asked a gent sweeping a public square.  He began to tell us where it was but then said, "oh never mind, come on, I'll show you."  He took us through this large building to the far side, about a block in length, and stood on the sidewalk to show us exactly where to turn up the street.  I was dazzled by this guy...stopped his work, walked us 75 yards to show us were to shop.  When did that ever happen to me before? Never.

Our time downtown revolved mostly around Philipp (who just moved here) obtaining job applications for weekend jobs.  We stopped for a snack.  It was tasty but clearing was nerve racking; they recycle everything here.  Four different containers with signs saying what to and what not to put in them gave me a challenge.

Across the street was the Vancouver Art Gallery.  Not one to pass up a good gallery, we went in.  A former court house, the gallery was in between exhibits and didn't have a full display going on.  But they did have a show of Martin Honet's work.  His "English Teacher" reminded me of a lot of the English teachers I know.

We also wandered to the Canada Place on the waterfront.  In 1986, I fell in love with Vancouver there.  I had brought Matt and Trev to Expo '86 here.  Canada Place had been built for the exhibition.  But it was the view across the harbor to the mountains that were dusted with snow that sold me on the place.   When a year later, I had to make a decision where we would go after our time in Michigan, it was difficult to not move here instead of New England.  It hasn't lost any charm for me.

We decided to go to Granville Island Market for dinner.  To get there on takes the Aquabus from David Lam wharf.  These Aquabuses are nothing short of "cute."  Operated by a skipper they hold 12 passengers and putt their way around False Creek which separates downtown from Granville Island.  Our skipper was, Max.  A twenty-three year old world wise traveler.  His dad is an Italian diplomat and Max led the life of a diplomat's son.

Conceived in Vancouver, where Max's dad met his mom, he was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.  Soon after they moved to Atlanta, then DC, followed by a stint in Rome.  Dad was then assigned to Mexico City and then Santiago, Chile.  Finally he was back in Vancouver where Max has been a Aquabus boat captain for the past five years.  His dad is back in Rome with his next assignment either Amsterdam or Cairo...Max is pulling for Amsterdam.  So prior to 18, Max had lived all over the world but found the simple life of a harbor captain to his liking.

Granville Island was mostly closed by the time we got there at 7pm.  But we are going back in the morning for breakfast and probably on to the Maritime Museum.  The Vancouver skyline from the island is nothing short of spectacular.  Reflected in the gentle ripples of the harbor's boats, the towers glisten.  Our boat docked next to The Erickson.

Named after its architect, Arthur Erickson, this building was the last one he designed and has the second most pricey apartments in Canada.  The penthouse sells for $20,000,000 Canadian.  Even to make an appointment to see a unit you need to cough up $10,000.  It's a pretty sweet place if you run in those circles.  I prefer the Aquabus.

I want to stay a lot longer but tomorrow I head for the border...what will US Customs have to say to me this time?  Will there even be customs officials on the border?