A Sunny Day for a Visit to Oregon Garden

Dave and I are visiting Silverton, Oregon for a few days.

Monday, the day we arrived at Silver Spur RV Park in Silverton, was sunny, with rain predicted for the rest of the week.  So we got settled into our site at this Passport America Park just outside of town ($17 for full hookups including free wifi) and headed for the 80-acre Oregon Garden in Silverton.

Our tram tour guide, Marnie

The Oregon Garden was created in the year 2000.  This was our first visit to this lovely garden.  We paid the senior price with a discount from the RV park, so it cost us each $8 for the entrance fee.  First we took the free tram ride around the gardens, then we explored for about an hour on our own.

Axis Fountain with a view of the Willamette Valley in the background.

By the way, I returned my new camera, the Canon SX500, and bought a Canon G15 instead.  I liked the other camera, but it was too big to fit in my pocket or the fanny pack that I use for a purse.  I am very happy with my new purchase and it's the top of the line of the Canon point and shoot cameras.

A water lily in the wetlands area of the Garden.

Bosque--the reflecting ponds

Lupine Fugue Sculpture

 

Part of the Sensory Garden 

A separate part of the Oregon Garden contained the Gordon House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and moved to this site from Charbonneau, Oregon. An appointment can be made to tour the inside of this 2100 square foot garden house.

The Oregon Garden is worth many more visits, but on Friday we are headed for our annual Memorial Day weekend trip to Mallard Creek Golf and RV Resort in Lebanon, Oregon. 

Chelatchie Prairie Railroad trip

Sunday is our 34th wedding anniversary.  To celebrate, Dave and I took a ride on a steam train.  The train and tracks are over a hundred years old.  We were on the Mother's Day ride, so each woman received a rose.

We left Yacolt, WA at 2:30 pm.  There was no place for the train to turn around from the noon run, so we backed up for the first nine miles of the trip.  Since the train only goes 10 mph, that took almost an hour.  We went forward on the nine miles back and stopped for a half hour at scenic Moulton Falls on the east fork of the Lewis River.

Waiting to board the train.

Everyone that works on the train is a volunteer.  Here, volunteer Jerry punches our tickets.

Below are a few of the sights from the train ride.

Entering the tunnel!

It was a short train, and the track wasn't very curvy, so this is the best I could do---

Lewis River

Steam!

More steam!

Moulton Falls

Unlike modern trains, this train had a caboose.

Video of Molton Falls

We had a fun ride on the historic Chelatchie Prairie Steam Train!

More Oregon Sightseeing

Dave and I are home from our trip to Newport, but before we left that area we visited the Yaquina Head Recreation Area (free with a national pass, Devils Punchbowl, Depoe Bay, and walked on the estuary path between the aquarium and the Hatfield Center.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Cobble Beach

This is what is was like walking on Cobble Beach and looking at the tidepools.  Dave had to help me with my footing, just like this couple helped each other. 

Depoe Bay boasts that it has the world's smallest harbor.  I didn't have a good enough angle to get a picture of the mouth of the harbor, but it was small!

Devils Punchbowl was fairly quiet since we were there at low tide.

View of Newport's beach area from the Punchbowl

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ship

Estuary walk

Bridge through the estuary.

The Port of Newport was having their annual Loyalty Days when we left.  The carnival was in the dry camping area across from where we stayed.  We were amazed that we didn't hear any of the carnival noise.

There's a lot to see and do in Newport.  We plan to come back to this area!