Welcome to Oregon!
Grants Pass:
We’re on a roll now of factory tours!
Terry, one of the volunteers where I used to work, told me that her dad
used to take the kids on factory tours when she was young. Although some of the tours today cost money,
they are a great way to understand the area.
While staying in Grants Pass, we made the short drive to Medford,
Oregon, home of Harry & David. Known
for their gourmet gifts and baskets, I thought it would be fun to take a tour
of their factory. We did not visit
during the busy season, so they were primarily making and packaging their
regular products.
We did see production of Moose Munch popcorn. Yum! Yum!
They were also making their traditional fruit cake that day!
When I think of Harry & David, I think of their famous pears. I was lucky to be the recipient of these
pears one Christmas (thank you Edward) and they are so delicious! After our tour, we visited the store and was
able to sample the pears, other fruit and the varieties of Moose Munch. Then we drove around and saw the famous pear
trees.
We found some tasty wine in the area as well:
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| Schmidt Family Vineyards |
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| RoxyAnn Winery |
We continued our northern route up the Oregon coast.
We stopped in Florence to experience the Sea Lion Caves and saw Stellar
(northern) Sea Lions:
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| These 2 sea lions are barking at each other |
Salem:
We spent a few days in Salem, Oregon.
This small city is the state capital and home to Willamette
University. The University has a lovely
museum, the Hallie Ford Museum of Art.
I really enjoyed the special exhibition, Force Fields, featuring works by Lucinda Parker:
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| Catchment by Lucinda Parker |
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| Sur Peint by Lucinda Parker |
I love the title of the above work. It's a play on the French phrase "painted on" and the English word "serpent".
One of the highlights at this museum was their collection of local and Native American art. This exhibition, Ancestral Dialogues, was excellent. Here is one of our favorite objects:
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| Raven rattle, ca. 1900 |
Since we are in Oregon, I feel that it's a must to include this painting of Multnomah Falls by William Samuel Parrott (ca. 1890):
We also checked out the Oregon State Capitol building:
Look at this beautiful sunset -- a treat after a rainy day!
On a personal note, my mother began her teaching career in Salem at the
Chemawa Indian School, where she taught the Navajo. I wanted to visit the school since I had
heard so much about it from my mom.
Since she didn’t know the Navajo language, she had an interpreter. She learned later that the interpreter had
been one of the Navajo Code Talkers in WWII.
Although my mother was there to assist in the “assimilation” of the
Navajo youth, it was very apparent from her stories that the students were
treated with respect and were happy. My
mother had many cards and drawings from her students depicting their homes and
family. They were able to return home
during the summers to be with their families.
Here are two beautiful examples of chalk drawings made by her
students:
We made a day trip from Salem to McMinnville, Oregon to visit the Evergreen
Aviation & Space Museum.
One of the
highlights of this museum is Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose!
Hughes was afraid that his “Flying Boat” might sink in a major
accident, so he filled the void spaces in the lower hull and in the wing with
inflated rubber bladders and beach balls.
