Oregon Coast & Down

Leaving Wallace, Oregon was in our sites! Rebecca and I were both keen to reconnoiter the Oregon coast with a view to a future trip to this area. Oregon is renown for its many lighthouses, Art Deco bridges, and of course the largest tree in the USA – the California redwood.

Unfortunately, time was not on our side so not much time was spent in Oregon, other than driving south along the coast road and visiting the Yaquina lighthouse, America’s tallest lighthouse, which began operation as a in 1822 and was reverted to mains power (no lighthouse keeper) in 1966.

The interior of the lighthouse is as it was when in use and a tall spiral staircase leads to the brass encased light at the top of the structure.

At the base of the lighthouse, harbor seals use the rocks as a hauling out area. The seals are edgy and care must be used when approaching them otherwise they will stampede into the water.

One aspect regarding Oregon which surprised me was the quality of the food at some of the local eateries – the food was exceptionally yummy after the rather bland diet further east. The eatery we dined in had a local gal singing who was quite good and I dined on dungeon crab and shrimp which was a far cry from my usual SubWay vegetarian roll.

Humorous Experience

One humorous experience was when Rebecca went to fill her car with gas at the gas station. As she was pumping the gas, a man in an orange waterproof jacket approached her and asked if she needed a hand. Rebecca replied that she was fine and why would she want a hand. The man persisted in his intentions and Rebecca began to think that the guy was a “fruitcake” as he continued with his questioning. Rebecca thought “should I grab the thaser and “zap” him. Then, the man leaned toward the car and said “I see you are from out of state, referring to the California license plate. It then became apparent what was happening. In California you pump gas yourself. In Oregon, the gas is pumped for you. The man was the gas attendant and was only doing his job.

Dennys Restaurant, New Mexico

OK it isn't really a restaurant, but I was receiving continual harassment from Rebecca to visit this so called American institution which began sometime in the early 1950's. The Dennys I visited was located in an 1950 Art Deco style diner, similar to the diner known from the TV series "Happy Days". The interior of the restaurant had been renovated in a 1950 theme and 1950/60 music was played from a jukebox in the corner. There were even red stools lining the bar area and one of the waitresses sported a 1950 hairstyle - yikes!

I was "told" to order the Grand Slam which consisted of scrambled eggs, crispy hash browns, 2 pancakes, coffee, and grits. Grits are a southern food made from sifing corn! All I can say is that they are "real tasty-like & ya oll af to come back for moore". (Jane - you will need to find this recipe).

Route 66, New Mexico

The road north from New Mexico to Colorado parallels the old Route 66, the highway used during the the 1930’s to the late 1960’s. This route was the main highway which joined the east coast of America with Los Angeles on the west coast, and was made famous by several songs and Hollywood movies. Some of the road is still evident today and it’s possible to drive along some of the abandoned pavement (bitumen). The bridge in the image was built in 1933 during the heyday of Route 66.

Of interest is the disparity between many of the states, such as California, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. Although much of the wildlife is similar, this is where the similarity ends. The geology, geomorphology and vegetation is completely different. Sandy deserts give way to rocky deserts which in turn become flat top mesas and jump ups before becoming high snow covered mountains - all this within 500 miles! Further, within each area there are subtle ecozones. An example being the desert region on New Mexico where prairie style grasslands change to sandy regions within a very short distance. I found this subtle changes within a short distance to be exceptionally interesting.