We've been there!

There is got to be something fishy about people who end up this far west of the Mississippi. Yesterday, while shopping in Coos at 3B's Nursery across the Coos River, we met Steven Michael, a young man with a penchant for talking and native plants.  He helped us choose woodland plants for an area frequented by deer.

He impressed me with his knowledge and helpfulness, and his interest in all things. He is a photographer and a traveler.

Fishy Ah?  A traveler who ends up by the westernmost point and has been everywhere. I wish I could say the same. Once, we wanted to travel all the time.

Now, we have too many requirements. We have become travel Divas.

Still, when we watch a movie like Iron Man (yesterday, at Coos, in a crowded theater where we had to take seats not to our liking) we recognized many of the sights. Yes, Malibu! There, New York!

Our bucket list of travel sights is enormous. We need to get going and not be derailed by bathroom remodeling or health issues.  Do you know that we haven't been to all of Europe, or all of South America, or none of Africa or the Middle East and Far East?

We are so inexperienced!
Moreover,  we're not very easy travelers when language or food can become big barriers.

So, meeting Steven was a joy. A young man who travels everywhere is living well, we thought. Good for him.

Do visit his blog by clicking this link: Oregon like no other

And take your Mother out of her kitchen and living room. Help her see the world. Remember, you were a detour in her life, a wonderful detour, but a very long one too. She probably never told you where she wanted to visit when she was your age.

Travel with her, and your lives will be forever linked.

Following the Rivers

Coos Bay and Charleston are sixty miles north of Port Orford, up on Highway 101, about an hour away, on the Coos River.

It is the place where we go to shop and eat out.

On weekends we go see a movie, pick up groceries, buy tools and equipment, spend an entire day out of the house, especially when the weather is awfull and we suffer from cabin fever.

Coos Bay sits a bit inland on the Coos River, and the fishing village of Charleston sits at the mouth of the same river.  Coos Bay used to be a very important port for shipping lumber down to Eureka and San Francisco starting in the mid 1800's. Most towns on this south coast were set up for lumber harvest.  Besides military and provisions posts, towns were company towns, with one or two mills, trucks, stores and conveniences including small cottages all built to support the lumber industry.  There are some exciting stories about this area, about the lumber barons who ran and coordinated just about everything.  The beautiful gardens of Shore Acres were part of the summer residence of Mr. Simpson, a rich and prominent citizen with households in North Bend, Coos Bay, Charleston, Eureka and San Francisco. 

The sky was a bit unstable. Dark clouds kept many people indoors.

There are no ocean views on the way to Coos Bay.  Forests and ranches parallel the highway for hundreds of miles.

The entire state of Oregon still has unspoiled territories, wild rivers, roadless forests.
Most lumber mills have closed, as forests have been designated as State or Federal Natural Reserves.
The town of Port Orford is leading the way in preservation of these natural habitats.

Read the award winning books of Tim Palmer and Anne Vileisis, a husband and wife writing team residing here, supporting and promoting preservation and ecological balance:

Trees and Forests of America, by Tim Palmer
Rivers of America, by Tim Palmer
Discovering the Unknown Landscape, by Anne Vileisis
Kitchen Literacy, by Anne Vileisis


Deer, elk, bear and turkeys  share our roads. Artists, writers, scientists and conservationists inhabit our towns.

At night, city lights are dimmed or turned off, an ordinance allowing residents to enjoy the spectacular night skies. A wide rainbow of sheer white linen stretches from one end of the sky to the other,  a night sky Milky Way more spectacular than one can imagine guides our steps.

Driving sixty miles to do the weekly shopping is a small price to pay for all this beauty.