Checking off another state capitol.
Salem's building has no security check point. The only other time we found that was in Montpelier, VT.
Salem's building has no security check point. The only other time we found that was in Montpelier, VT.
The Oregon state capitol is an imposing building, late comer, built in 1938. The rotunda is surrounded by lovely murals depicting the history of the state. The one Ed is looking at is a telling of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
As expected there were lots of school groups touring.
The Senate Chamber
The House of Representatives.
We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the Wild Pear. We'd heard good things so we clawed our way across the street and around the construction topes, over the new concrete and piled into the front door. It did not disappoint.
There's an older more detailed charm about the downtown area. This pure art deco building impressed us enough to end up in the blog.
I think the antique mall we cruised was once a Kresge's Department Store. Center island window out front and wide stairs going down right inside the door. No one there could confirm this, but they were all a bunch of young whipper snappers who lack the wisdom that comes with age and good
LONG term memory.
Our good friends, Lisa and David Holloway suggested we visit the Willamette Heritage Center at the Mill (that's pronounced Will-lamb- it, dammit!) It's been designated a National Park Service American Treasure - so we knew it would be special...and it certainly was!!
The Center is made up of historic homes, a church, and, most notable, a woolen mill.
Jason Lee, a Methodist missionary, came to the Oregon Territory in 1834 with hopes of converting the natives. This is his home. (We were given a key to unlock all the buildings.) It is furnished in the decor of the time.
I was carrier of the key...
Water was diverted from the river to power the mill...
...and large water turbines kept the machines going.
We were able to view all aspects of the operation of a woolen mill.
Our self guided tour began in the machine shop. Ed's first comment: This is a REAL machine shop. They were so far from help that they needed to be able to fix things themselves quickly! These were top rate craftsmen.
This cleaning room is where "stuff" was cleaned out of the wool - which was then washed in acid to burn off the rest of the "stuff" - then dyed and dried.
Wool was spun....
....and woven into cloth.
The cloth was soaked, needled, shaved depending on the thickness and texture desired. (Wool garberdine smooth and thin, wool blankets hairy and thick.) Shaving was done by machine but once was the job of skilled men wielding 40 pound tools.
This mill produced army and other blankets and bolts of fabric.
Lee's daughter had worked beside her father. When she married and moved to Pendleton, she and her husband purchased a defunct mill and created Pendleton Woolen Mills. The same Pendleton that Ed can't wait to visit!!
We had visited a cotten mill in Lowell, MA. We noted that all the machines in the
factory were made in MA.
Finn spent most of the day at the Dog Bark daycare. This is what an exhausted pup looks like. He piled up two pillows and promptly passed out...Little Prince. It's always fun to watch him arrange his nest.
Ed took off for the Everygreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville. It is owned by Everygreen Aviation International. (They are the guys that send out the 747 to help fight forest fires.)
The museum opened in 1980 with small exhibits and grew to one of the largest private museums in the U.S. covering the history of aviation from its earliest days to the present. The "star" is the Hughes
H-4 Hercules. We all know it as the Spruce Goose. It was moved from Long Beach, CA where it had resided since the '60's.
Here it is in all it's glory housed in a specially built HUGE hanger.
The Goose was conceived in 1942 when the convoy losses were at their height. The idea was to be able to transport as many as 750 U.S. troops to the European theater. It was built of wood to minimize the use of strategic materials. Hughes Aircraft Corp. was selected by the U.S. government to design and build the prototype in partnership with the Kaiser Corp. which had built the Liberty ships.
Howard Hughes flew this one of a kind aircraft in 1947. It was airborne off the California coast - for about a mile - at 50 feet above the water. Hughes than put it in storage and kept it in Culver City in a special hanger until his death. He claimed the government owed him money. It was moved to Long Beach along side the QMII where it remained until Evergreen moved it to Oregon.
The plane was powered by eight engines. The propellers are 17 feet in diameter. The plane was designed to cruise at 250 mph. with a 3000 mile range.
These are the mighty R-4360 Pratt and Whitney engines that powered the Goose.
Each engine developed 4000 h.p. at take-off. They are the largest piston aircraft engines ever developed in the United States. (The Russians have larger.)
This is the engine in its nacelle.
Looking toward the tail inside the Goose: As wide as a 747. and just BIG. The wing span is 320 ft.
It dwarfs everything around it.
The museum has two massive buildings. One houses the Goose and the other houses missles, rockets, and jet aircraft.
The vertical rocket is a German WWII V-2 and the yellow is the German WWII V-1, forefather of the cruise missle.
mid-60's and are still the fastest flying aircraft in the world. They are now retired. Ed says this is one of his personal favorites.
This is what a rocket looks like from the business end. It used liquid propellant engines. These were used in the 1960's cold war. They are nuclear ballistic missles. This is the Atlas II.
Here's the same missle erected in a silo ready for launching - as it would have been
during the Cold War....
....propelled by these engines.
The Saturn V took a man to the moon. Here's a cross section of the structure with
one of it's engines. Amazing how real this all becomes when you stand beside it.
This is one of the most amazing structures at the museum complex. It's a real 747 installed on top of a water park. One of the entrances to the pools is a slide from the door of the plane through the roof of the building into the water. Ed forgot his bathing suit or he would have tried it...
We took a day trip with our good friend, Lisa Holloway. We were invited by David Schargel to take one of his company's walking tours in Portland. And what a blast we had!!!
Portlandians must think they are the center of the world and all begins in Portland. We didn't argue.
Our 2 1/2 hour walking tour was an introduction to the city. Our guide, Mariann was non-stop information and humor. We laughed our way through the entire tour.
We loved the wide sidewalks, open vistas, abundance of street art, the culture and diversity of Portland that Mariann made sure we were aware of. I can't not mention how engaging it is to see how the locals enjoy a good laugh even at their own expense.
Public art is everywhere. Even in front of a hotel where we found this British Bulldog bubbling fountain. Gotta love a pet friendly town...
Meet Portlandia - the most misaligned statue in Portland. She sits high above the street in a position that rocks with humor. Residents have hung a cable spool from her finger causing her to look like she was holding a giant yoyo and in another stunt set 2 huge dice on the sidewalk turning her into a craps player of the illegal kind. She's really quite lovely, if misplaced, but cannot be moved, officially photographed, reproduced in any form thereby cheating the city out of using her as a trademark. Just think of all the lost dollars from items like teeshirt sales with her likeness. The restrictions are imposed by the artist who must have dealt with a less than slick city board. What were they thinking?? The building - that's another story. Designed by a man by the name of Graves whose latest incarnation is as a designer of toasters and other trivia at Target. Portland could have been saved from this building had Target gotten to Graves sooner...
There's that cute guy again...following me...
It doesn't end with street art...there's also street entertainment. Here a Marine band was preparing for a free noon concert. Pretty good saxophonist...
We called David after the tour and he hopped onto the fare-free train to meet us for lunch. We
"did the trucks." (Portland is home to 400 food trucks.) What a smorgesbord of food choices!! We each had something different.
What a treat to spend time with David. Can't wait to spend more time with he and Pegi next week!
Portland highlight - known of in advance - the booklovers haven - Powell's City of Books.
It's a city block wide, a city block long, and Ed was itching to get inside. Here is a photo
of a happy man! Lisa and I drank coffee and did girl talk in the cafe while Ed got acquainted.
He will be returning there next week when we move on to Portland for a few more days.
Each day has been an adventure in another direction. We drove the coast from Newport to Florence. It's even more spectacular than we had imagined. Words cannot do it justice. Ooohhh and Aaaahhh work much much better.
It's a rainforest that grows right down to the water's edge. So lush....
I couldn't resist. This bird flew and returned if Finn got close to it, but it posed perfectly for me and allowed me to get within a couple feet - as long as Ed kept Finn at a distance.
Cooks Chasm is the name of this little bit of water. It rolls in and out with tremendous power blowing
water through it own little blow hole...
...and this is Cook's Chasm Bridge. There are many many bridges over Hwy. 101 mostly
built in the 1930's. They are maintained as historical sites.
I had to try out one of the special effects on my telephone camera. So here's my artsy
fartsy take on the Oregon Coast.
Lisa suggested a trip to Bob's Red Mill to take a factory tour. It's a company that makes healthy whole
grain stone ground products. They are in almost every market in the country including the Merc at home. What's amazing is that every bit of the stuff they sell is manufactured right here in Milwaukie, OR. It was a fun tour.
It's a spotless, well run, very successful company and one has to admire what
Bob has accomplished.
Here's Bob! And Bob was there while we were. Really! He's 83 yrs. old and works every day. He was giving a tour. When he turned 81, he gave the company to the employees to assure that it could not be taken over by the big boys. There are about 250 employees.
This is Bob's first stone grinder. There are
a few more today. And, yes, he wears red and is on every box.
We mossied on over to the restaurant and store after our tour. Lunch was delicious (Red Mill products, of course,) and then we cruised the shelves for items we don't see at home. Ed loved the Buckwheat pancakes and I loved my bean and grain soup. We are bringing both home along with the recipe for
the most delicious biscuits we've ever had.
The interior of the store/restaurant
Bob's parting shot: This message over the door as we exited the store.
That kind of guilt pretty much insures I'll be back...
We began our final day in Salem by exploring a couple wineries and a cheese shop. First stop was at the Willamette Valley Vineyards. Finn was invited in.
It's a beautiful place - sits right at the top of a hill with a commanding view of the
surrounding countryside.
Aaaahhhh... We tasted just their Pinot Noir - didn't like it very much.
The company was begun in 1983 - making it very young for a vineyard. It's large - their
vines cover all the surrounding hills.
We made a short stop at the Salem Saturday Market where Finn met tons of dogs. Most surprising to us is that people tend to know his breed and identify him properly. I haven't seen ANY Pit Bulls or Pit mixes - though Ed said he saw one - and he had been muzzled by his owner... Just sayin'...
The Market was great and we bought a recycled glass bird feeder and two birds to adorn our yard.
Quick stop at St. Innocent Winery. Lovely...
Favorite stop of the day: Willamette Valley Cheese. They had the cows, the babies, lots of dogs, and make all the 31 cheese varieties on site. YUM! We bought a few to bring home.
Ed made friends with a couple of the cows but we already have a pet...
We leave Salem in the morning and move on up to Portland. We've enjoyed a wonderful week here. We certainly understand why the Holloways' are so happy here. It's beautiful! It offers so much to tickle the senses. The people are wonderfully friendly. Everything not in Salem is just 45 miles away in Portland. They seem to have a wonderful life here, and we couldn't be happier for them. We've loved every minute we spent with Lisa and David. I've decided NOT to say "goodbye" to Lisa. Just - till we meet again... and we know we will.
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