…a Glorious, Marvelous, Wonderful day (Saturday). That’s the gushing sound of an Oregonian who has been wrapped in a cold, wet, penetrating, blinding fog for days, and who has been blessed with two three(!) back to back days of bright sunlight and mild temperatures.
The last two days have been an unexpected gift. We usually get a few warm, dry days in February but not so much in January. We had to take advantage of these last two days to get out and soak up some sun. We spent both days in a little town about an hour south of Eugene called Sutherlin. It’s easy to miss as it is about 10 miles north of the larger city of Roseburg, a major population area for this part of Oregon. Most folks breeze right on past Sutherlin.
Sutherlin boasts a population of just over 7000. We originally went down there to visit the Escapees park, Timber Valley. It’s a nice place but I forgot to take any pictures. If you are an Escapee, I think you would like staying here.
We drove around town and then to the Cooper Creek Reservoir. It is less than two miles from downtown Sutherlin on a paved, but somewhat curvy and narrow road. It has a boat ramp, a fishing dock, restrooms and good parking. It also had something I didn’t expect to see…
Not sure what this is float plane is used for but it appears ready to go at a moments notice.
There are several “arms” to this reservoir, which is used for flood control. We were on the end where the dam is located. We had a hard time orienting ourselves as to where we were until I noticed that North was down rather than up like it is on most maps. Okay, now it makes sense!!
It’s small by most standards but interesting all the same. This is the intake area.
This is the spillway. Nothing going over on this day but it was still a long way down.
The lake is beautiful and was especially so on this warm, sunny day. The water was clear and calm and there were several boaters and a couple of people fishing off the dock.
Isn’t this just gorgeous?
The lake is kinda nice too!!!
Russ tried to make friends with a local resident, but was rebuffed when he didn’t offer anything to eat.
Today (Sunday) makes three days in a row of beautiful sunshine and mild temperatures. Alas, that is slated to end tonight and the clouds are set to roll in tomorrow. But that’s okay because sunshine in January is a gift and we made the most of it.
Some changes are really simple – like the changes I made on the blog. I have been offline for several days while I fiddled with some things. I finally got a check from Google Ads. I made $104. in three years!!! So the ads are gone. I would have taken them down sooner but I was determined to get that $100 by golly and they don’t pay until you reach that threshold. I also cleaned up my blog roll. I had blogs on there that haven’t posted in several years so it was time to go. Hope I didn’t delete anyone who is still active.
I messed with the template and colors and in the end decided I like what I have so I’ll just leave it for now. Might change it later.
Some changes are just strange! Since we live in rainy, cold Oregon, Russ and I decided we needed to get some exercise indoors…so we went to the mall. Now understand, we are NOT mall people and it has literally been years since we walked around Valley River Center, Eugene’s main shopping mall. WOW!! Talk about change. It was like entering a different world. The lights, the smells, the displays…all were fun to look at since we were just walking and not shopping. We found the perfect companion to Al’s Spencer. Al and Kelly, I think you guys got a real bargain on Spencer!!
We saw some very colorful wigs and hair extensions. Did you ever wonder what you would look like in green hair? Me neither!!
The mall is full of slot machines. Put your money in the slot and you get something EVERY time. Good thing there is room to walk it off.
And then there were the fashions. Man O man, am I ever out of it. Can you imagine paying $68.50 for something like this? When I was a teenager, we called these rags and wouldn’t be caught dead wearing them.
But of course, our parents probably despaired over our bell bottoms, mini-skirts, and tie dye! Remember these?
I’m not sure how anyone can walk in these but the salesgirl assured me they are the height of fashion.
I did find one thing at the mall that I especially liked. I tried to buy him but the store said he was priceless! I had to agree.
One thing that really caught our eye was the display of wind spinners. (music added)
But there was one thing that I just could not understand. This is something I have never seen before and I was amazed. The video is from a promo tape they were playing. There were no live customers. (scream added!)
I suppose that process is no more painful than waxing, but I wouldn’t want to do that either.
Well, we can’t say our trip to the mall was boring. We laughed a lot and had a good time just being old geezers. It’s amazing how places change when you are away from them for a while. But then I guess change is something that always happens, in all areas of life, ready or not.
…and I think we might have found it at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon. Oregon State University has a large marine science study center here and the science center is the public part that welcomes visitors. Although it is geared mainly to children, with many hands-on exhibits, we adults had a good time there too. There are several artificial tide pools where visitors are welcome to touch, but not disturb, the sea creatures.
Russ did not understand that the creatures were not harmful and tried to rescue Brian from the menacing beasts.
A docent demonstrates how sea urchins catch their food. They have stingers that disable their prey. The docent was not stung as the skin on human fingers has too many layers for the stingers to penetrate.
Brian put his archeology degree to the test at the sand table.
And although Russ could not swim with the killer whales, he could certainly compare choppers. The sign says to count the rings on the whale's teeth to estimate his age. Russ would not let me count the rings on his teeth.
There were quite a few hands on demonstrations that we played with and several exhibition tanks with small fish. It is not an aquarium but rather a part of an active research center. It is geared to education and not entertainment. We spent a pleasant hour there and saw everything. Admission is by donation with $5 for adults suggested. Would be a great place to take children.
After that we went south on Hwy. 101
to Yachats and checked into the Overleaf Lodge. This is our favorite place to stay on the Oregon coast if we are not in the motorhome. We had planned to stay three nights but from the looks of our luggage, you would have thought we were staying for a month.
I guess this is why we should travel in the motorhome!!
We even got our favorite room, #118 on the end. The room has four large windows as well as a patio door and is right on the ocean. This is the view from one of the windows.
The coastal 804 trail follows the coastline here and is a safe and easy trail. It’s great for walking in just about any season. We had a beautiful sunny day but after exploring the Hatfield Science Center we had worked up an appetite and headed over to the Adobe for an early dinner.
This is our favorite place to eat in Yachats and again is right on the ocean. The waves were putting on quite a show for us and we had a great view as the walls in the restaurant are nothing but windows.
I love the coast. It refreshes and revives me. Back at the room, we were treated to a magnificent sunset. Pictures were taken from our patio.
Although we had planned to stay three nights, we were all feeling unreasonably tired and decided to head home the next day. Still it was a wonderful trip and a wonderful birthday surprise for me. In fact, I had such a good birthday that I’m thinking of making an annual thing of it!!
By the way, if you love our beaches and public spaces as much as I do, head on over to Erin's blog for a challenge she has posted. Good read.
