My Trip to Oregon

Here are a few pictures of my trip to Oregon. My dad, Frank, took me on a geology tour of the Florence, Oregon area one day because my dad is a retired Professor of Geology, and still loves to immerse himself in his passion. Florence is right in the middle of Oregon’s coastline. It is such a beautiful area with lots of lakes, trees and sand dunes.

We headed north on Highway 101, stopping off at the Sea Lion Caves sight to see if our “pals”were lying on the rocks below. Sure enough, there was quite a gathering of huge bodies lying on around, making barking noises and rolling off into the water. Here is a picture o

f my dad with his back facing north towards the Heceta Lighthouse, one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world.

We then turned south of Florence towards Siltcoos Lake, taking back roads to out-of-the-way places. We stopped to look at Scottish cattle in a beautiful green pasture. Their faces and demeanor was so sweet and gentle. They came right up to the fence, unlike other cows that run away.
Right next to the pasture we saw a beaver dam. I

t looks like a big pile of sticks, but believe me, it’s anything but a pile. Several years ago my dad’s wife Shirley and I had to take one down on their property, and it took us forever! The beavers have a way of weaving branches together that is next to impossible to take apart.

OK, on with the tour. We then stop at Siltcoos Station, which is an old railroad stop along the lake. The train doesn’t run through anymore and it’s been turned into a small resort with cabins. I took a picture of my dad next to a tree that had two bat boxes mounted in the branches. I really want to get a bat box and support bats in my area; I’m just not sure where to put it. I actually saw one flying around our house the other night.
Traveling with my dad is always interesting because he likes to stop along the way and get to know people. We

were driving along on a dirt road in outer-whatever, and he’ll say, “Let’s stop over and see Mrs. So-n-so.” Then he’ll proceed to tell me her life story. If this were one time, I wouldn’t be surprised, but I swear he knows everybody in the county. On our trip we talked at length with a forestry guy, chatted with a gentleman and his wife from the UK at the Sea Lion Caves, discussed fishing with the resort owner at Siltcoos Lake, and asked workmen all about the remodel of a dock. I also got the

skinny of Oregon’s geology.

I want to end this by showing some pictures of Sutton Lake and the view of it from my dad’s home.

I got up early one morning and took this very serene picture of a mallard on the lake.
PS – For those of you who know me well, I did get all the huckleberry pie I wanted, thanks to Shirley. Yum!