Oregon by Greyhound • Chitwood Covered Bridge

The Adventure Chitwood Covered Bridge

Location LAT 44° 39' 15.2" N LON 123° 49' 03.9" W

Date July 125, 2009

Weather 79°, sunny

Distance 73.3 miles

In the early 1900s, the small logging community of Chitwood was a bustling town. The sign on the bridge was removed from the old railroad station.

Buddy was most happy to get out of the car to pee on a tree and cross the bridge.

Yes Bud, those are the railroad tracks.

Steam locomotives stopped in Chitwood for water and coal as they traveled between Yaquina and Corvallis. The tracks are still in use, but the trains no longer stop in Chitwood.

The original bridge was built in 1926 and rehabilitated in 1983.

The 96', single-lane bridge spans the Yaquina River.

Chitwood bridge is the home to a million sparrows. They enjoyed swooping in and out of the covered bridge during our brief stop.

Yup

Have you noticed? It doesn't really matter where I put my tongue. It's still hot.


I have a really long tongue, but even if it hangs all the way out, I'm still hot.


Off to the side doesn't help.


Not letting it hang out, doesn't help.


Curling it only makes me hotter.


So I let it all hang out,


And damn, I'm still just as hot.

Extreme heat tips

Does your tongue hang low?


Does it wobble to and froe?


Have temperatures reached unbelievable highs?

Then let the garden hounds suggest a few cool tips.


Roxy highly recommends the soak and


shake method. An all over body dip is sure to cool even the hottest hound.


For those with a little more decorum, Buddy recommends the suck and


shower. The tickley water droplets are not quite as refreshing as the soak, but they do cool things down a bit.


And if you are really adventurous, Buddy would like to recommend a speedy trip out to the coast.

On Saturday, June 25, we made a mad dash out to the coast to catch the sunset. At 6 p.m. when we left Salem it was 93°. Two hours later at Yaquina Head in Newport, it was 57°, very foggy, 13 mph winds and 94% humidity.

Buddy thought for sure his nuggets were going to freeze off.

What a difference 50 miles can make.

Oregon by Greyhound • Drift Creek Falls

The Adventure Drift Creek Falls

Location LAT 44.93338 N LON 123.85062 W

Date July 18, 2009

Weather 63°, sunny

Distance 65.9 miles


Ready for the 1.5 mile hike into Drift Creek Falls.


Drift Creek Falls is a very pretty waterfall, but it's real claim to fame is the suspension bridge built by the National Forest Service in 1997.


The 240' bridge spans over 100 feet above Drift Creek. Very safe for a greyhound to cross, but a little eerie when it moves.


View of Drift Creek Falls from the bridge.


Karen playing at the water's edge.


Base of the falls.


The falls plunges 66 feet over the gorge wall with a view of the bridge crossing above.


An old growth log covered in moss.


Drift Creek Falls is about 10 miles inland from the coast. Can't be that close to the coast without a quick trip to the beach.

We made a quick stop at Boiler Bay.


Looking north from Boiler Bay.


Completely enchanted by the ocean, I was thrilled when a whale appeared for a very brief moment before disappearing again. Apparently there was a pair that had been playing in the bay. I only saw one, and he wasn't around for very long.

Oregon by Greyhound • Drift Creek Covered Bridge

The Adventure Drift Creek Covered Bridge

Location LAT 44°59'35.1" N LON 123°53'11.2" W

Date July 18, 2009

Weather 63°, sunny

Distance 53.1 miles


At long last, Crystal steered us towards another covered bridge. Drift Creek covered bridge spans, oddly enough, Bear Creek.


The 66 foot bridge didn't start out there though. Originally, it was built south of Lincoln City 1.5 miles from the coast. Until the mid-sixties when it was bypassed, the bridge serviced the main north-south traffic. By 1988, it had to be closed to pedestrian traffic due to it's deteriorating condition.


Slated for demolition, a local family rallied support and took position of the dismantled timbers and moved the timbers to their property 8 miles north to cover a concrete bridge that accesses their property. They have graciously donated the public easement back to the county for the public to enjoy.


Bear Creek


The original bridge was built in 1914, destroyed by a flood and rebuilt in 1933, and dismantled and moved in 1997.

Pin-up girl for July

Look, yet another picture of Minnie.


Yeppers, it is still all about me!

Yup, you know it's summer when...

Digging in the cool dirt is more fun than anything else.

The greyhounds love nothing more than to walk through the cool and clean pools before they go off to find a dusty hole to dig in. For some of them, wading in the cool and clean pools with dirty feet is just as fun!


Adam with his beautiful white coat loves to dig awhile and then lay down in his prized hole so that the mud dries just right on his feet.


Minnie is more of a watercolor girl. She likes her feet really wet so that the dirt blends with her fur.


And Blender loves the Oreo cookie look. The neat nick paw in the background belongs to Moose. He is such a clean guy. He would never think of getting his feet dirty.

Oregon by Greyhound • Murphy's Field of Flowers

The Adventure Murphy's Field of Flowers

Location LAT 44.942662 N LON -123.05606 W

Date July 2, 2009

Weather 68°, cloudy

Distance 5.3 miles


The udder mudder had told us about the beautiful field of flowers behind her clinic in West Salem. Murphy had to see for himself.


Without a doubt, the little periwinkle colored flowers were my favorite.


And they were perfect mixed in with the pink sweet peas.


And the white lacy things.


The day was so still that whatever flower had gone to seed remained on the stem.


A pair of periwinkles.


Another flower gone to seed.




The bees were covered in pollen. I was amazed at the amount of time that passed just watching the bees.


Another greyt field trip right in our backyard.