One of our family members lives in the middle of a Nebraska cornfield. Flat cornfields surround the house, garage and large barn. There’s a small veggie patch next to the garage.

The views aren’t beautiful but in the summer evenings the multitudes of fireflies put on a flashing light show that fills the in-your-face night sky with sparkling diamonds. After any rain that is followed by sunshine, the full, complete rainbows make you want to run to find the pot-of-gold.

The spring, summer and fall skies become glorious at both dawn and dusk with some of the most spectacular displays you’ll find anywhere on earth. This past fall was no exception and the picture of the day below tells the story:   Sunrise Over The Nebraska Cornfield.

Photo credit goes to me and it is copyrighted! You may share if it’s a non-profit!

The Oregon Coast has some of the most beautiful bridges found anywhere. Most of them are older with railings of concrete. Since they are on the coast, they must accommodate boat and ship traffic. They either draw (up) or as in the case of the one at Reedsport, swing. It is fascinating to watch the process and see the ships go through.

It doesn’t seem like an imposition when we have to stop and wait for them. We park the vehicles, turn off the engines and get out in order to see more. My favorite is the one at Reedsport. Not because it’s beautiful—it is though there are prettier ones—-but because it was my first encounter with a swing bridge. It swings perpendicular to the road until the ship passes through and then keeps swinging around until it again becomes part of the road.

I got this night shot through the window. You can see the stop lights.

Because of their age and following the tragic Minnesota Mississippi River Bridge collapse in 2007, the Oregon Legislature decided to have extensive repairs done on all of the state’s bridges. There is one inland at Elkton—and maybe others—that was completely replaced. But most of them, because they are historic, were and still are being carefully repaired and restored. The process has improved bridge safety.

At North Bend/Coos Bay, the historic McCullough Memorial Bridge had badly deteriorating concrete guard rails. They found the original molds and replaced all of the old ones with brand new ones that are exactly the same. The work has taken years and some still goes on. Tragically one worker was found in the water during construction. No one knows exactly what happened.

This bridge is 5,305 ft across and spans the Coos Bay with panoramic views all the way across. Conde McCullough designed all of the 1920’s bridges on the Oregon Coast Highway 101.

The tallest bridge in Oregon is the Thomas Creek Bridge in Curry County and is within the boundaries of the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor (see previous blog on this site) on Highway 101. It is difficult to get photos of this bridge due to how it lays between landings and I don’t have one. But you can check it out on Wikipedia.

The longest bridge in Oregon is the Astoria-Megler Bridge (see previous blog on this site) and spans the Columbia River between Astoria, OR and Point Ellice near Megler, WA. It is 4.1 miles long and will sway in a good wind.

The world’s smallest port is at Depot Bay, Oregon on the coast. The bridge spans the mouth of Depot Bay on the south edge of town.

Newport, OR is one of our favorite, fun places to visit. I spent a weekend there a few years ago and snapped this photo of the Yaquina Bay Bridge from the bay side.

There are many more bridges in Oregon and more on the coast but we’ve hit the high spots here. In Florence, OR we have a master photographer in Ken McDougal (http://www.kenmcdougal.com). Ken captures some of the most beautiful and spectacular coast photos we’ve ever seen. He was kind enough to permit us to use this one of the Siuslaw River Bridge, another bascule (or draw) bridge at Florence. Thanks, Ken!

New Years Eve Day, New Years Eve and New Years Day are times I prefer to stay home as opposed to going out to celebrate. For me it seems a dark and dangerous couple of days with so many out partying. But, I also like to welcome in the New Year. So I dance. With others a day or two after New Years Day.

Here on the Oregon Coast many of us celebrate the New Year in dance. International Dance to be specific. If you’ve been following this blog you have read a post or two about International Dance in Florence. Sunday afternoon, January 3, 2016, several coast communities came together in Florence to ring in the New Year with dances from Israel, Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and more. The absolute joy of dancing in the New Year follows here in pictures.

We started with some social time at the Best Tai Restaurant (www.bestthaiflorence.com) where the food is great before heading to the local Elks Lodge for dancing. The first dance was an easy but peppy Serbian dance, Se Villa Sa Bella Losa.

The quality of the photos isn’t great and I apologize for that. The lighting is not conducive to great pictures but you will get the idea of the fun we had from the smiles on our faces.

Into the middle….

And back out…..

Our dance instructor friend from Coos Bay, Stacy Rose, leads one……

You can identify the Florence dancers by their red vests, white shirts and black skirts. These are European Balkan village colors that the Oregon Coast International Dancers, based in Florence, wear when dancing ‘out’ or performing.

 Carnavalito is a dance from Bolivia. Heads down!

 Zemer Atik is an Israeli dance depicting a camel caravan crossing the desert.  Dancers in motion!

This same dance also asks for blessings from Heaven with fingers snapping…..

Florence, Oregon is home to many different kinds of dance including International, Middle Eastern, ballet, ballroom, swing, Flamenco and Country Western Line Dancing. Our International Dance events include our local CW line dancers who add their great energy, music and fun dances to our dance celebrations. Pat Wheeler and her dancers are very gracious in bringing their expertise to our events. That’s Pat in the front.

Orient, a dance from Serbia, becomes very energetic with our Coos Bay dancers in the lead. That’s Paul in the lead. In this group are also dancers from Port Orford and Roseburg.
It was awesome to have dancers from Port Orford, Roseburg, Reedsport and Coos Bay join in our New Years dance celebration. Plus there were experienced dancers and ‘newbies’ alike into the mix with something for everyone!

In Florence we close every International Dance session with an Israeli dance, Mechol Hashaket. It is a ‘slow’, cool-down dance that is easy and includes some singing if one is so inclined. One of the Florence dancers titles it our “lullaby” dance. I didn’t get a photo of this dance because I was dancing! The consensus was that we want to do this again soon.

When in Florence, Oregon, you can partake of this dance and many others on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm at the Lane Community College dance studio. It is an easy 36 mile drive from www.umpquahaven.com.

Christmas on the Oregon Coast carries some traditions with it. Rain is one and there was plenty of it leading up to the holiday. But on Christmas Eve the rains stopped long enough for our traditional family visit to Shore Acres as seen in the previous blog post. What you didn’t see were the two newest light displays. They generally have at least one a year and additional lights strung among the plants and trees each year also. But the two new displays can be seen below.

These critters in the middle on a portion of wood fencing are the newest addition.

And the Lady Bug amid the flowers is also new this year.

It is traditional for us to stop at the Umpqua River Lighthouse looking out over the mouth of the Umpqua River into Winchester Bay on the way back from Shore Acres. This beautiful lighthouse is even more so at night as it casts light and red butterflies out onto the trees and ocean night guiding any ship at sea into port. The full moon wasn’t too shabby either!

Christmas Day turned into glorious sunshine after many days of rain. Traditionally we don’t like to cook and clean up and find someplace to go for a mid-day Christmas dinner. This year it was to Newport to Georgie’s Beachside Grill. This was the view from our table.

The food was as fabulous as the view and the price was reasonable.  We recommend Georgie’s any time you are in Newport!                        www.georgiesbeachsidegrill.com 

Outside the restaurant were ocean waves and sunshine!

We left Georgio’s and traveled to the famous Nye Beach. We love the beach but it was so sunny eyes had to squint.

There was a great view of Yaquina Head Lighthouse (from a previous lighthouse blog).

We traveled back on the scenic ocean view road and stopped at the whale watching shelter. Whale watching officially starts on December 26 but they can be seen either side of that. We didn’t see any but we did see the Coast Guard fly by close to the beach to entertain some teens jumping and waving and dressed in costumes on the beach.

We then headed back to the state park where we had this great view of the Yaquina Bay Bridge.

While there weren’t any stores open, we went to Bay Street to see the sea lions on the docks. They are very entertaining with their antics.

With regret we left Newport and headed back to Umpqua River Haven stopping at Devil’s Churn for a short hike.

It was a gloriously beautiful Christmas time on the Oregon Coast. My family awarded me the Ugliest Christmas Sweater award of all time, hands down! Comment and let me know what you think of the sweater! Did it deserve this award???!!

Shore Acres Botanical Gardens just outside of Charleston, Oregon on the coast is lit up for 30 days over the holidays. Starting at Thanksgiving time, this beautiful coastal place is filled with lights, light displays and decorated Christmas trees. The Friends of Shore Acres do most of the lighting work and man the cottage and grounds during December every year. Various groups such as the local Corvette Club decorate the trees.

We will start at the entrance to the gardens as we are greeted by the lighted tall ship.

 Just past the tall ship we find this display from under the sea.

Moving along the garden lights open up for a full view that is spectacular to take in.

This post is about the lights. Following are some of our favorite light displays.

As you walk in past the Under The Sea display these sea lions are diving into the water and will make a splash of light.

In the opposite direction are 2 whales. One leaps and the other one, a grey whale, spouts.

Continuing around the walk is a somewhat new lighthouse display.

 The plants here are filled with colorful lights creating their own display.

Continuing on you will come to the Puffins.

And next is the pond. I am just giving you an idea of the displays. You really need to visit here during December to take in the full beauty of all the various displays and decorated trees. The frog actually leaps from one side of the pond to the other creating a splash when it enters the water.

As your walk around the pond you will come to the place that makes the ‘Ribbit’ sounds. It’s a bit of a surprise when you hear it!

 The pond supplies endless, lighted views. The cranes and salmon are no exception.

Shore Acres sits up on a cliff above the Pacific Ocean a short distance past Charleston, Oregon. The core of this property originally was the home of pioneer timber baron Louis Simpson who built a large mansion with formal gardens overlooking the ocean. The State of Oregon purchased the property in 1942 and added land as it became available. The gardens were let go until 1970 when they were restored even grander than before with flowers and plants from all over the world. One of our favorite parts of the gardens is hidden a bit. There is an area with rows of all kinds of roses!

The mansion no longer exists but there is an observation area where it once was where you can read all the history. However, the caretaker’s cottage survives and is now the Garden House. It, too, is filled with all things Christmassy and is on the tour.

Inside you can sign the guest book and then head on upstairs to visit the front bedroom, Santa’s bath and the back bedroom. You can sign up for the raffle to spend New Year’s Eve in the front bedroom with catered breakfast.

 There is a Christmas tree in the bedroom also.

And the view out the window is spectacular!

And don’t forget Santa’s bath.

As you pass from the front of the house to the back you are greeted by many volunteers giving out cookies, hot apple cider, punch and coffee which you can enjoy there or take out to the pavilion.

You can sit and sip and enjoy the evening’s entertainment. There are a variety of groups that play/perform/sing on any given night and there’s often a sing-a-long. One year this bell choir performed beautifully.

If you are on the Oregon Coast during the month of December do not miss the opportunity to visit Shore Acres Holiday Light Display! There is a $5.00 charge for parking worth every penny. Don’t forget to visit the gift shop on the way out. Shore Acres State Park, 80939 Cape Arago Highway, Coos Bay, OR

One of the most fascinating things about the Western United States is its history of exploration, discovery and settlement. One can travel the Oregon Trail via paved highways and actually see what the hardy pioneers saw and stop to rest in the same places that they did. Landmarks like Chimney Rock in Nebraska, Register Cliff and Independence Rock in Wyoming and the wagon wheel ruts nearby attest to the long, arduous route these settlers traversed.

But it is the Lewis and Clark Expedition’s journey’s end at the mouth of the Columbia River that blazed the way and that stands out when visiting Astoria. Located on Cape Disappointment in Washington State is the 621 acre Lewis and Clark State Park. To get there one must cross the Astoria-Megler Bridge that spans the river from Oregon to Washington.

It was a somewhat stormy day with clouds, fog, rain and wind. Heading across the bridge was an adventure unto itself.

At 4.1 miles, this bridge is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America and was the last finished portion of U.S. Route 101 between Los Angeles, CA and Olympia, WA. And it moves. When the wind blows strongly enough here the bridge sways perceptibly. And it’s a bit scary. Committed to get to the Washington side and head to the L & C state park, I ventured across probably frustrating those behind at the slow pace I was going. 4 miles is a long way when the road underneath is moving side-to-side.

Once across the bridge you take a left turn to travel on a very scenic road that is mere feet away from the open ocean. Remember, though, that this was a cloudy, rainy and windy day. The ocean comes right up to meet you as the waves wash over the road. Not huge waves but still lapping up onto the pavement. I drove for a short distance and then considered how much fun hiking in the state park in the rain and wind would be. Not much. I found a place to turn around and drove back through ocean waters to the bridge.

This bridge is safe. It is designed to bend in the wind so to speak. I had just never been on a moving bridge before. Back across on the Oregon side I headed south and a bit east to Lewis and Clark’s winter camp, Fort Clatsop. From December 1805 until the return trip home starting in March 1806, the Corps of Discovery took refuge from the winter winds and storms that hit land on the Pacific Coast and at Astoria. Not far from Astoria, this National Historic Park provides a replica of the original fort built in 1950.

The replica is detailed and depicts how they lived that winter. There are several short hiking trails out from and around the fort and interpretive center.

There is a statue honoring their Native American Shoshone guide, Sacagawea, holding her baby.

You will discover a lot of interesting information about what occurred during the winter months here.

The Corps paddled up the Netul River to what is now the Netul Landing. The river has been renamed the Lewis & Clark River but the landing retains the original name. Today you can launch a canoe or kayak to paddle along the 146 mile Lewis & Clark Columbia River Waterway. Or take a guided canoe tour.

 The landing is a 1.5 gentle hike from the Ft. Clatsop visitor center. Here is an example of what the Corps traveled in.

Pretty rugged looking.

I found a variety of mushrooms along the trails.

The fort is a fascinating place where you can spend hours, especially if you are a hiker. This day it was raining off and on. I hiked between rains but eventually got wet enough to hop back in the buggy and head back to the motel.

The winter quarters are not easy to find even with all the signs. Generally you just head out of Astoria  south on U.S. Highway 101 and follow the signs to Fort Clatsop. Or from Seaside, head north on U.S. 101 and follow the signs. For more information, call Lewis and Clark National Park (503-861-2471. Sanitary facilities are available. Entrance fee is $3.00 per person 16 and up.

There is a lot to see and do in and around Astoria and we’ve just touched on some of the highlights so far. We are going to visit one more place before we leave and that is the Columbia River Maritime Museum.

But before you enter the museum you can tour the Columbia. She is a retired Coast Guard Rescue Boat and the tour gives you an idea of what life was like on this older boat. The instructions for showers reads: Marines: Hot water is in short supply. Navy showers only!!

Inside the museum is the history of the Columbia River Bar. Remember that Captain George Flavel was one of the earliest and most successful bar pilots here. He was successful because it takes extreme skill to cross this bar. Pilots must be schooled and trained and specifically licensed to cross the Columbia River Bar in either direction. Unless a vessel’s captain is a certified bar pilot, before a ship can enter or leave across this bar it must wait for a licensed bar pilot to be brought on board, usually via helicopter, to pilot the crossing. The ship is then returned to its original captain and the bar pilot returns to port.

Due to the winds this bar is arguably the most dangerous in the world. 2,000 ships and boats have been lost here. It is dubbed “the Grave Yard of the Pacific” because of it. The wrecks are beached or underwater to prove it! In the museum you will find a map of 50 of these wrecks. It is both tragic and fascinating.

There is a lot more to see here as there is a good deal of Coast Guard history and more. The museum is considered the museum of the Pacific Northwest and is the best museum in Oregon. But I will leave you to discover more for yourself, and, with this video that is self-explanatory as to why so many vessels perish here.

With its mild Oregon climate, Astoria on the north coast is one of the most interesting places in the state. In fact, there is so much to see and do there that there will be 2 separate posts about it. Fort Astoria was established by John Jacob Astor – think Waldorf-Astoria Hotel family connection – as the American Fur Company in 1811, a trading post.

Born in Germany in 1763 the third son of a butcher, Astor made his way to New York and eventually Oregon to create the first permanent U. S. settlement on the Pacific Coast. Here, too, was the first U.S. Post Office west of the Rocky Mountains.

There is much history associated with the establishment of Fort Astoria which became just Astoria and it was a very important center for exploration, timber, fishing and more for many years. Hardy folks from Finland emigrated here to fish and the Chinese emigrated to work in the canneries. While it has become over-shadowed by Portland and other places, Astoria is still the trading center for the lower Columbia basin and a major port of entry.

Timber and fishing have long since dwindled and Astoria’s main economic venues now are tourism and light industry. One big tourist attraction is the Astoria Column, a tower 125 feet high. I took this photo from the base of the tower on a very foggy day.

The Column was built on top of Coxcomb Hill overlooking the town by the Astor family in 1926 to commemorate the area’s early history. There is an inner circular staircase you can climb for a panoramic view of Astoria. The fog prevented me from making the effort to go up.

One of my favorite places in Astoria is the Captain George Flavel House Museum. Captain George somehow found his way to Astoria in the 1840s and soon became one of the earliest and most successful Columbia River Bar Pilots. This was a big deal and there will be more about the Columbia River Bar in post 2.

Captain George also got into real estate and owned much of the town of Astoria to the point that it became a kind of ‘company’ town. In 1854 at age 30, he married a 14 year old girl and they had three children. In 1886 he built his 11,600 square foot mansion and carriage house. The mansion, carriage house and grounds are now a museum on the National Registry of Historic Places owned and operated by the Clatsop County Historical Society. Visit with a docent as they are a wealth of information about the house and family histories.

Being a fan of beautiful houses, I spent a great deal of time touring this one with its many rooms, framed braided hair pictures and the luxurious feminine bedrooms of his two girls. Many items in the house, including clothing on display, have been donated by Flavel family descendents.

The Carriage House on the grounds with buggies and more is also interesting and the place to buy tickets.

At the front of the mansion is the tallest tower where Captain Flavel would go to watch his ships come into port and his daughters would wave them off when they left. But you can also see the “Big Tree” in the yard that has survived many years. It is a Port Orford Cedar.

Let’s go to Historic Downtown Astoria. As can be seen in the photos, it was a cloudy, foggy and even typically rainy weekend. So I spent one day downtown perusing the several really nice antique stores. I found a few treasures that weren’t over-priced as is often the case in antique stores. I seldom have time for this kind of shopping, which was mostly window shopping, so it was a treat.

But the biggest treat of the weekend was happening upon the Drina Daisy restaurant. Pure Bosnian in food, atmosphere and staff. Mom does the cooking and son serves. Bosnian radio is playing. That’s real Bosnian music on Indira Radio. Because of my background in International Dance and Music the music was a delightful surprise.

I couldn’t decide what to order. I love goulash but the entire menu looked delicious. Son-server and I discussed the menu and he recommended the goulash partly because he knew I already was a goulash fan. I’ve never had better. Sumptuous doesn’t describe it. Too much does describe it. Son-waiter said mom-cook tends to over-do on proportions. That was ok. I took half of it with me to enjoy another day.

I was the only patron in the restaurant and received lavish attention. When I left it was with hopeful thoughts that this unique ethnic place at 915 Commercial St. would become popular and thrive. Apparently it has as it is still there. If you get to Astoria do not miss the Drina Daisy!

 www.drinadaisy.com

 Watch for the next post about Astoria, Oregon, coming soon!

When I started this blog I promised to show you more than just beautiful pictures along the Umpqua River and Oregon Coast, but to also give information about the various activities and events available. These would include fishing, dune riding, crabbing, boating, hikin and more. In addition there are a variety of music and dance venues up and down the Oregon Coast including folk dancing, contra dancing, old time fiddling, jam sessions, orchestras, chamber ensembles, plays, musicals and top quality professional entertainment.

One of the many hats I wear is as a review writer for Seacoast Entertainment Association’s concerts presented monthly at the Florence Events Center in Florence, Oregon. As a means of letting you know some of what goes on in Oregon’s Coastal towns, I will be posting my reviews here on the blog. It will give you a good idea of what is available for you to do when you visit or live here. The most recent review follows:

 A NIGHT ON THE ROAD TO CARNEGIE HALL AT FEC

The sounds of upbeat music from piano and double bass rang out as Ken Lavigne walked out clapping his hands and encouraged his audience to join him Saturday, November 21, 2015, on stage at the Florence Events Center.

Dressed in concert black, Lavigne sang full out one of Luciano Pavarotti’s favorite songs, the Neapolitan tune “Funiculi, Funicula” written in 1880 by Luigi Denza and Peppino Turco. It is risky to perform works favored by famous and well-loved singers. But Lavigne has a powerful voice and amazing timbre and carried it off well. The audience continued to clap along at the appropriate times and the piece ended to resounding applause.

Lavigne had a good start to an evening of songs of mixed ethnicity and genre. Between selections, Lavigne took the audience along on his Road To Carnegie Hall with tales of his dream to get there, his struggles at times with the dream and the many on his team that assisted with his eventual performance on stage there.

And tales they were. Lavigne is an accomplished and multi-talented performer who has honed his many talents to near perfection. He is as intriguing as a storyteller as he is as a classically trained singer. His true-to-life stories were compelling and his fun sense of humor often peppered them with spontaneous laughter from his audience.

One audience member said she would have opted for more singing and less talking. After hearing Lavigne talk about his personal singing dream, another attendee was challenged to question if she had any dreams and discovered that she did. No doubt Lavigne’s story-telling talents became thought-provoking throughout the hall as he sang Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion’s 1965 hit from “Man of La Mancha” – “The Impossible Dream” – beautifully.

Early in the program Lavigne again took a big risk singing Maruo Malavasi and Andrea Sandr’s “Dell’amore non si sa” which was made famous by Andre Bocelli. Lavigne had a bit of trouble reaching some of the high notes in this one. It may have been that his voice wasn’t warmed up enough because the rest of the evening he nailed all of the many high notes that were to come.

One outstanding period in the evening was when Lavigne spoke of his discovery of Robert Goulet as a Broadway singer in “Camelot.” Lavigne performed Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s “C’est Moi” as well as anyone has. But it was his surprising musical theater presence and animation that caused him to delightfully shine during this song.

Any singer is only as good as his backup band and Casey Ryder on both double bass and guitar and Patrick Courtin on keyboard were barely noticeable. They were that good. Attention is focused on the solo performer and except for a couple of mini-solos along the way, the two instrumentalists played so well that they didn’t stand out. That’s a good thing. Singers do not always perform a piece exactly the same way every time and musicians must be attuned to every nuance, pause, breath, entrance and possible hiccup a singer may make. And they must do it perfectly. Courtin and Ryder did just that.

Lavigne was admittedly inspired to classical training by Luciano Pavarotti who Lavigne believes is the greatest male opera voice of all time. Pavarotti ended every concert singing the 1898 Neapolitan song “O sole mio” written by Giovanni Capurro and Eduardo di Capua. Lavigne took another risk singing this one but was totally up to the task and received a standing ovation for his efforts.

There were some wonderful Elvis Presley interpretations, some actual 1940s style crooning and more but space runs out to report on it. Lavigne, Ryder and Courtin were impressed with Florence and very much wish to return. When they do, be sure not to miss them.

Ken Lavigne was one of Seacoast Entertainment Association’s 2015-2016 series concerts. Don’t miss SEA’s next exciting concert with award-winning guitarist Jesse Cook, on Friday, January 29, 2016. Join SEA for the pre-concert talk at 6:15 PM and the performance at 7:00 PM. For tickets phone the FEC box office @ 541-997-1994.

Left to Right: Pianist Patrick Courtin, SEA Producer Sandy Kuhlman, Ken Lavigne, SEA Producer Karen Smales, Double Bass and Guitar, Casey Ryder

For us at Umpqua River Haven, Thanksgiving is a traditional family time. We often have some or several family members visiting and we do some traditional things. This year, 2015, there were just 2 of us as the family is coming for Christmas this year. But we followed the traditions for this day and headed from URH the short distance to the coast.

Our first destination was the small burg of Lakeside, Oregon just a few miles south of Reedsport. While considered a coast town, Lakeside is located on Ten Mile Lake—one of Oregon’s many small inland, but still coastal, lakes. Lakeside Lodge serves a very traditional, plus extra goodies, Thanksgiving turkey dinner with all the trimmings. A reservation is required but we always plan ahead for it.

We arrived a bit early and they weren’t quite ready but almost. However, we ran into some Lakeside residents that are close friends and were able to visit while we waited. Soon enough we were able to get to the buffet tables and pile on the traditional cuisine and more. This was our view as we partook of our holiday fare.

It’s always enjoyable to walk out on the dock afterward and be close to the water as we watched a flock of small ducks that were creating sunshine sparkles in the water as they swam.

Soon we headed back north taking a detour to one of our favorite spots to watch the rolls on the ocean in front of us out over the Dunes.

Behind us from this view stands the family’s favorite lighthouse. The Umpqua River Lighthouse is the one that sends red butterflies out into the night at dark.

We then headed down the hill into Winchester Bay and caught this shot of the end of the crabbing dock which extends off into some old pilings.

As you can probably tell it was an absolutely beautiful day on the Oregon Coast. One of those days that is a gift, especially this time of year. But all of our family Thanksgivings have been so and we are grateful for them.

The sun was especially brilliant and it’s not a sight we are used to seeing so much of this time of year. Again we were grateful for the sunshine today. Before you see the photo of today’s sunshine we at Umpqua River Haven wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving and hope yours was as pleasant as ours was.

In the 1930s Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area’s native salt marshes were drained and freshwater then irrigated the grasslands here. Local farmers began using the land to graze their cattle. In 1991 the Bureau of Land Management in conjunction with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife took over the management of this unique open area along the Umpqua River.

The O.H. Hinsdale Interpretive Center was immediately built and contains several viewing platforms along with rest room facilities. And what views!

There are 440 acres of open pasture, some of it wetlands, visible from the highway. The other 600 acres are forest of conifer and other hardwood trees. Across the highway is the Umpqua River with Reedsport just a couple of miles west.

The main attraction here is the herd of 100 Roosevelt Elk that reside protected here year around. Oregon’s mild climate and the abundance of food lend to the elk being here all year long.

They can be seen across the way, up close and sometimes on the roadside. Fences don’t mean much to the largest elk in the world. Elk watchers pull in to the safety of the extended viewing areas but many just park alongside the highway to watch. Some set up cameras and video cams on tri-pods and shoot away oblivious to the highway traffic. The Elk have been here since the 1930’s but are not the only wildlife that reside here. They are joined by seasonal flocks of Canadian Geese, beaver, muskrat, coyotes, red-legged frogs and the Great Blue Heron. Migrating ducks stop here on their journeys and resident waterfowl nest during the summer months. An Oregon black bear might wander through now and then, too.

During mating season the male Elk put on many spectacular shows with the sounds of their clashing horns echoing across the valley.

Across the highway during the spring the O.H. Hinsdale Rhododendron Garden bursts forth with multitudes of vibrant ‘Rhody’ colors. Be sure and stop at this day use area to take in all that it has to offer on your travels along the Umpqua River. And stop in about 16 miles east to say ‘hello’ to us here at Umpqua River Haven. Let us know what you think of our beautiful Umpqua River Valley and Oregon Coast. www.umpquahaven.com

Our friend, Mark, took all of these great photos of the Elk.