It was a this and that week. A little bit of this and then some of that and so on. In other words, nothing big was planned and nothing big happened. But, y'know, life went on things were accomplished, some a little more than others.
And I kept on a-Questing!! At the end of this week, I had five Quests done. Almost. You''ll see what I mean later on.
But for a semi-historical Quest, I went downtown for the Oceanlake Quest. You remember that before LCO became LCO, it was six small cities strong along the coast in a span of just a bit more than seven miles. Which, given the times and the transportation available, logical.
However, the little cities grew up and the cost of running six little city governments became too heavy so they all consolidated into one entity...LCO. The Quest today concentrated on one of those small cities, Oceanlake, and as I traversed the route for the Quest, I learned a bit about this old city.
Like this motel stands on the site where beach cottages were once rented out. Just down the street from an old auto camp which was located where the first missionary couple camped way back when.
The called them the "First Tourists" to visit LCO. The commemorative sign was first erected by the owner of the Auto Camp and then updated as the camp was divided into house lots.
Each of the original cities has this type of arch proclaiming their past individuality to all who drive under it.
That was an interesting and easy walk through the business district of LCO and, haha, another notch on my trail to get a Questing Patch.
And then it was back to the house to meet up with Don, the Charter Rep for our Boy Scout Troop. He and Carol are collaborating on a Scouter Volunteer Recognition Dinner. They've been working on it for a couple months now and it is all starting to come together.
As part of the recognition, these Scouting Volunteers are getting a "Spark Plug" Award because, as we all know, the engine can't get started without a spark plug to get it fired up.
They took spark plugs and then tied on a strip of leather and glued it. Then they're going to add a brass strip that says, "Spark Plug 2016". This way if the person gets another award next year, they can just add the brass strip to their award.
It's not as easy it it may sound, making these awards. Both Carol and Don have put a lot of time into this Dinner.
There's Don, looking laid-back in his Hawaiian Shirt. He's been involved in Scouting for over 50 years now.
Another day and another adventure. And this was a great day, weather-wise, for an adventure.
Following my Questing nose, I headed out to the Taft Pioneer Cemetery for another informative Quest.
And this one was fun. Plus, I discovered it is a great place for getting a long view of the Oregon Coast. I'm thinking that this would be a good place to be during the whale migrations. With a pair of powerful binoculars, a camera and a tripod. And lunch, too.
One of the Fun Facts mentioned during this Quest was that in the Olden Days, cemeteries were often used as scenic parks for picnics. Makes sense, right!?!
From the southeastern corner of the cemetery looking northwest. It's not a large cemetery but it is kept neat and clean and, y'know, you've got a good view for eternity when you're planted here.
I like the effort the creators of these Quests put into them. Like taking this picture. It allows the Quester to search around and find the angle the picture was taken at and then matching it up to the real thing. Hey, that's fun!! Hahaha, you make your own fun, y'know!!
Looking down to the southwest.
The Mighty Pacific.
The whole point of these Quests, besides having some fun and getting some exercise for both the body and mind, is finding the hidden box at the end. Inside there's a stamp to stamp your book with and a small pad of paper where you can record your name, the date, and a comment.
Keen fun.
Except today. The final clue was that the box was in the plants alongside the south side of the stairs.
I think you can tell, a little bit, how much I rooted around in the #&@#$$& plants on the south $@$$&#^ side of the stairs and, yet, I came up a cropper.
It wasn't there. And, Boy Howdy, I moved every doggone leaf of every doggone plant alongside that set of stairs.
Nada.
Hahaha, Ol' Smilin' Jack wasn't smilin'.
NoSiree!! The air was a bit blue for a while.
Finally I resigned myself to the fact that I just wasn't going to find that Bad Boy, at least not today, and I reluctantly decided to leave.
But not before I got this shot looking south down the coast. Great place to come out, sit a while, take in the sights and just relax.
And watch the Canada Geese flying north. And making a noticeable racket as they were winging their way up the Coast.
Still smarting over not having found the box and gotten another stamp in my book, I decided since I was out that way, I'd do the Taft Stormwarter Quest. This one was put together by the kids in the 5th and 6th grade classes at Taft Elementary School. Which was, incidentally, where the Quest started.
The Quest involved following the water features around the school and learning a bit about this science as I went along.
Finally, after a good walk and following the flow of water as it moved on its journey to the sea, I found where the Quest Box was hidden.
At the intersection I was told it was at the base of the post with the green sign on it next to the concrete blocks. Haha, it'd be pretty hard to screw this one up, right!?!
But, dammit, there wasn't a box!!
The %@*#%@ stupid #$!!^@$ box wasn't there.
I ripped through the blackberry bushes, with their attendant thorns, and rooted in the dirt around the post and got...bumpkus.
Nothing.
I was 0 for 2 for the day.
Me and Quests were having a rough day.
So I sat down and called the good folks who maintain the Quests and left a restrained message concerning the, uh, missing boxes and the stamps.
We'll see what comes about.
OK, so I was sorta done with Quests...for a while, anyway.
But I'm still trying to get out and walk some. And I'm trying for some significant distances which, for me, now, is between four and five miles.
I tell myself I'm in training for my Grand Emerald Isle Tour. What I'd like to do is go to Ireland and spend some significant time there. I'm thinking I'd like to try and stay there for around two months. And, to do this, I have to severely economize. That means public transport (i.e. busses and trains but mostly busses) and my own two left feet.
So I'm trying to get myself into good enough shape that I can do four or so miles in the morning and then again another four or so in the afternoon. It's all just conjecture right now and I've got one HUGE problem to overcome before I even consider going to Ireland. So, big hills to climb.
And that's why I found myself strolling along this country road on a beautiful Spring day in Oregon.
And to make the whole thing even more pleasant, when I parked and walked over to the river the very first thing I saw was this Common Merganser, Ol' Daffy Duck hisself, paddlin' on down the river.
Hahaha, what a treat it was to see this bird.
Here's the Salmon river as it moves down the valley towards the ocean.
See the shore to the right? You can tell the depths of the river by the different shades in the water. The deeper parts are demonstratively darker. Anyway, right there is a natural alcove where the water is relatively calm and shallow and it is there I want to bring the Grandkids when they come visit. We'll pack a picnic lunch and the Littles will get to go swimming in a river.
Hooah!! Keen fun!!
Like every other waterway I've seen in Oregon this one is clear and oh, so inviting looking. Were I a younger man, I'd be cooling a six-pack in the river while I got my toes wet.
But I was there to walk and walk I did. And I enjoyed the sights along the way. I still marvel that I am living, essentially, in a forest. On the beach. Haha, in either direction I can be deep in the woods in a matter of minutes.
Or in some rural community where the time goes by quietly.
And leaves its rusty imprimatur on this old truck.
Hahaha, I'm still working on that mailbox shot. Although, for the life of me, I can't explain why. I mean, I've shot some dozens of mailboxes and they've all been, uniformly, flat.
Dull.
Boring.
And yet I still keep on trying. What's that they say about the definition of insanity? It's doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. Haha, nailed it Albert.
There are enough sunny, pleasant, calm and dry days to totally justify hanging this hammock out in the yard. Looks inviting, doesn't it!?!
And what Smilin' Jack Blog would be complete without some kind of vegetation, right? Including these backlit leaves.
Then I came across this which was, for me, kinda cool. That's a '49 Chevy and just the other day, I was thinking how I wish I had the '50 Chevy back that I had my senior year of high school. The '50 had a shorter rear end but the front end looked much the same.
Oh, I'll tell you, if I had the Fun Money, I'd be getting this thing up and running.
Next to the Chevy they had a '53 Ford (on the far left), then a '49 Rambler Ambassador. Oh, man, the leg room you had in that old tank!! That's a Ford, I believe, to the right but to be honest, I was so taken by the Rambler and that '53 Ford that I didn't even pay attention to it.
I'd like to get that Ford up and running, too.
OK, I admit, my first thought was why did they have a stepladder there in front of the Rhododendrons? Wasn't like they needed it to pick fruit. Still, it made the picture work and so, I gotta say the ladder was in a good place.
There were plenty of old trucks and cars left along that road. Including this old truck whiling away the time next to an old barn.
The kids in rural communities still have school and the Ol' Yellow School Bus.
Here's another scene where something left out helps to define, to give a sense to, a picture. This small ride-on mower helps to define this scene and make it more enjoyable. Don't ask why, it just does.
Rhodies.
Hahahaha, I got nothing to say.
But he's got hisself one heckuva mail box there.
It's me. Whadya expect!?! Of course I'm gonna sneak in a flower to two if I see them.
It wasn't a busy street.
I'd been out and back. Here's the bridge where I started. I parked just beyond this bridge on the right. And, brother, was I ready for this walk to be over. I had forgotten to change my shoes and had on my OLD pair of sneaks...and they don't like my feet for the long haul.
My dogs were talking to me and not in a nice way.
Look at that. I imagine that river is at least 10' deep. Shadows here tend to mislead you about the depth.
I'm on the bridge looking down at the place I want to bring the Grandkids. C'Mon, few modern kids get the chance to go swimming in a river. It'd be a great memory as well as great fun.
Just don't dive in, 'Kay?
And I was happy seeing the Ol' Faithful Mini.
I was feeling the walk right around this time.
But I still had enough to get this shot from the other side of the bridge.
Looking good, Salmon River.
And just like that, I'd finished another walk around the area. Maybe next I'll park at the other end of the North Bank Road and walk it a different way. The whole personality of a place can change if you just turn around and look at where you came from. A different place altogether.
I had a good time. I enjoy ambling along shooting this and looking at that. Fortunately, this area is made for doing just that.
And while I'm amblin' along, I can't help but think, Life is good!!
Hooah!!
No comments:
Post a Comment