A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and we are going to go out and enjoy it while it lasts.  Of course we will be well bundled up as the current temp is 27 degrees!  So we're going to load up the dogs and the cameras and see if we can find adventure...or at least something interesting to shoot.  See ya'll later.

Couldn't get out of the driveway without getting a shot of the frozen leaves.  The Sweet Gum tree is the last to leaf out in the spring and bedevils us with dropped leaves well into January.  But at least the frost made for an interesting shot.

First stop was breakfast.  Ye Olde Pancake House has been in Eugene longer than I have - and I've been here for 40 years.  It's a gathering place for many locals and shows its team spirit by supporting the University of Oregon Ducks.  The food is plentiful (too much so!) but the breakfast is tasty and they know how to make the hash browns CRISPY.  Although it is a pancake house, I prefer the pancakes at the Original Pancake House across town (sense a little competition here?).  The pancakes at Ye Olde seem to be a little "flat" in their taste, like there is not quite enough baking powder or ???  Anyway we had a good breakfast to start the day.


One thing I like about Ye Olde is you get your own coffee pot.  No waiting for refills.



Russ got today's special, country sausage and eggs.  Note the CRISPY hash browns,
but you have to ask for them that way.

Ye Olde sits right on West 11th, one of the town's main east/west streets.  This street
begins on the east end of town at the University and becomes Hwy 126 west of town.
It continues as Hwy. 126 clear to Florence on the coast.

One thing about Eugene is that everyone has an opinion and no one is afraid to express it.  The NO Build sign you see is in reference to the city's desire to put in a dedicated high speed bus lane right in the middle of West 11th.  This would be the death knell for many businesses along this route and almost all oppose such a measure.  When I see so many half- empty buses chugging around Eugene, I have to wonder....

Now that breakfast is over, we are off to Orchard Point Park on Fern Ridge Reservoir.  Fern Ridge (or Fern Ditch as some locals refer to it) was built by the Army Corp of Engineers for flood control of the Long Tom River.  It is a large shallow body of water that is great for boating and especially for sail boating.  Many people swim in it but I wouldn't put in so much as a toe!  Have you ever heard of giardia?  You don't want to get it and you're taking your chances if you swim in Fern Ridge.  Yet it is a great place to walk and just enjoy the beauty.  Currently, the lake has been drawn way down for flood control and so walkers and dogs are all one sees at the parks.  Since the sun was out today, the park was crowded with at least 6 cars in the parking lot!  We purchase a season Lane County Parks pass each year for the scandalous sum of $15 (with a Golden Age passport).  The regular price for younger folks is $30.  This gets us into any Lane County Park day use area for an entire year.  The regular day use fee is $3.00 per visit.  If you are in Eugene for any length of time, it is a REALLY good deal.

In the summer the water goes more than mid-way up the concrete sides.  In the
fall when the lake is first drawn down, the lake bed is a popular place for metal detecting.

This photo was taken in the fall shortly after the water was drawn down in early October.

There is a campground at Richardson Point but it closes in the winter.  This is the
restroom and shower building.  The campground is very wooded and right on the lake.
There are picnic shelters, playgounds, day use area, and boat ramp at Richardson.



Entrance to the campground at Armitage

 Another nice place to camp in Eugene Is Armitage Park.  It is right on the McKenzie River
and only about two miles from Costco!  You would never guess you were so close to town.
This is a Lane County park so the parks pass is good for the day use area.  The camping fee is $25 and includes full hook-ups, including cable.  There is a boat ramp, large picnic areas and a large, fenced off-leash dog park. 

When the puddles are dry and the leaves are gone, this is a wonderful picnic area.

The boat ramp at Armitage.  As cold as it was today, there were at least a dozen boat trailers in the lot.

This photo was taken last fall from atop Skinner's Butte.  I include it here simply
because it gives a nice overview of this city I love so much.