Northwest coastal

Over the next month or so I’ll be posting pictures from a trip to the U.S. Northwest (coastal northern Calif, Oregon, and Washington) from August (and some July) of 2016. My plans for the trip were met – the scenery, historic architecture (focused on New Deal), and evidence on changing economies (from declining fishery and lumber, to tourism) were more than I expected. There was, however, a consequence that I did not expect – the surprising amount of very public and visible evidence of homelessness, near-homelessness, and untreated drug, mental, and physical health problems in the small towns across the region. Since I typically don’t take pictures of people, there won’t be pictures of those who are no longer part of the main society, but the ‘lost’ folk will be discussed with pictures of nearby areas. .... It won’t all be serious though. As this photo (from Aberdeen, WA) suggests, there were many quite interesting interactions with local folk along the way. Commentary on those interactions will be included. Note that postings of photos will occur over quite some time – I will be posting the photos and commentary as I process them, which I’m just beginning.

Far too much of this trip up the NW coast was on roads with significant repair. It's good that we're spending money on infrastructure, but it really makes traffic much worse. Almost every hour I'd encounter a section that was one lane and flag man controlled due to maintenance. Since it was summer and a fair number of travelers, that would mean that traffic would get backed up into long lines of 50 or more cars waiting their turn to go through the one way section. The consequent grouping resulted in long sections of heavy congestion, but if you were lucky and missed getting caught in a group, there would be pleasant open road.

Unfortunately it's difficult to get the picture of what is going on here. This bridge is the tallest in Oregon, from roadbed down to Thomas Creek. But, you can only get a sense of that height from either hiking down to the beach (270') or looking over the bridge as you drive across it. The following webpage has good views of it: www.highestbridges.com/wiki/index.php?title=Thomas_Creek_Bridge

Windy Point, Arch Rock viewpoint off US 101 north of Brookings, OR.

Windy Point, Arch Rock viewpoint off US 101 north of Brookings, OR.

Windy Point, Arch Rock viewpoint off US 101 north of Brookings, OR.

One of the points of this trip was architecture, particulaly that which is more elaborate than we now think of when thinking of rural architecture. Rather than being the modern bland that would fit anywhere, this (built in 1958) includes symbolism that tells you someting about the county and has simple, but welcoming, lines for those who must use the courthouse. See link: arcweb.sos.state.or.us/pages/records/local/county/curry/hist.html

The Rogue River / Isaac Lee Patterson bridge at Gold Beach. Going north on US 101, the first of multiple architecturally distinct bridges on the route. What impresses me about this bridge (completed in 1931), and later ones further up the coast, is the monumentalism and the attention to aesthetics put into the pedestrian portals. A note to architecture buffs -- I think 'monumentalism' isn't quite the right word here, but couldn't find another word to describe the scale and theme of those components.

The Mary D Hume, in Gold Beach. The ship started as a whaling vessel in 1889 and later became a tugboat, retiring in 1978; it was built just a short distance from where it now rests.

The Rogue River / Isaac Lee Patterson bridge at Gold Beach. The bridge is famous for the construction methods used to create the supporting arches: www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION3/pages/pb_history.aspx

Floras Lake, near Langlois, OR. The lake is actually oceanfront -- the ocean is just to my right, over a beach that looks to be no more than a sandbar.

From Cape Blanco (lighthouse) state park, the lighthouse is over my right shoulder. It was cold -- very high winds, temperatures in the high 50F's.

Cape Blanco lighthouse, access to the park was free, access to the lighthouse was only $2. I was surprised to discover that most Oregon state parks are free or close to free. California state parks are typically $8 to $10, which isn't much, but enough to always make me wonder if it's going to be worth it.

Built in 1870, the headlands is 245' above the sea and the light is visible for 22 miles at sea. Cape Blanco is the westernmost point in Oregon.

Just behind the trees is the remaining house for what was once a large dairy farm on the cape.

The lighthouse was built for guiding ships into the harbor at Bandon. It was a relatively short-lived lighthouse, operating from 1896 until 1936. It ceased operation because the town/port of Bandon was destroyed by fire in 1936 and economic activity on the Coquille river had declined sharply.

The Coos Art Museum, in the former US Post Office. The post office was built in 1936 with funding from the New Deal; the interior (adjacent picture) very nicely preserves the art deco detail. livingnewdeal.org/projects/coos-art-museum-coos-bay