Oregon Turns 150, February 14, 2009

The weather Saturday, although cold, was beautiful for celebrating Oregon's 150th birthday. We were among the estimated 10,000 people who visited the capitol building in the heart of downtown Salem. We had decided to park in the Salem Town Center Mall parking structure and walk the short 9 blocks to the capitol. It saved on the hassle of finding parking on the street - plus we all would have been scrounging to find quarters for the parking meters. We enjoyed the walk. It is still winter and we all were prepared for the cold and bundled up in layers. Thermal wear and all!
We arrived at the capitol and saw a line starting to form to get in. I volunteered to wait in the line, while Josh went and took pictures and Jen and Sarah pushed Ethan around. There were booths and antique vehicles parked across the street. I started chatting with the people standing behind me. After several minutes, Josh walked up and I asked him to be sure we were standing in the right line since it wasn't moving at all. He called me on my cell a minute later to say the line I was standing in, the one which had hundreds of people lined up along the street, was in vain and we could just walk right up and into the building. Goes to show people will stand in line for absolutely nothing! I met Josh and the rest of our party on the capitol steps and we walked right on in. The flag flying proud!

You could tell that the party organizers weren't prepared for such large numbers. People crammed into the capitol. We were all pretty much elbow to elbow making our way through the halls to the second floor for the children's crafts and to see the senate room. Even with the crowd, people were in fine moods and they should have been since it was quite the birthday party! The seven tiered cake was a sight to see and we knew there were to be 3,000 hot dogs available for those who were so lucky. Too bad we didn't get a taste of either since we decided it would be best to head out while Ethan was still in a fairly good mood. The crowds weren't lightening up any and in fact, hundreds of people were still filing in as we left.

It was very crazy but we all decided it was completely worth it to just be there during a very historical Oregon moment. Here is the story written by the local paper, The Statesman's Journal.
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090215/COLUMN0807/902150351/1149/oregon150

The famous cake we didn't have a piece of...

I just love the look of this church on a pretty day and we passed it on our way back to the car...

Here we are outside the capitol building.
Ethan wasn't too happy since we stopped walking for a quick picture...

This fountain is across the street from the capitol ...Afterwards, we had some lunch at our favorite little deli, The Sandwich Express. Ethan likes the electric train that makes trips around the restaurant on an upper ledge. The mural behind the train track is of the city of Salem and nearby landscape in it's early years. The artist depicts the town's historical buildings, which are still standing today, like the original Willamette University building, Deepwood Estate, and the Gilbert House. At each table throughout the restaurant are old pictures of Salem's railroads and trains. Not only is the place nostalgic but the food is great too!


We parted our ways after lunch and I took Josh to The Basket Slough in Dallas, just 11 miles outside Salem. Dave had taken me there when I visited the Evans back in 2005. I hadn't been back since and have always wanted to share the experience with Josh. Many locals don't even know the wildlife refuge is there, which makes the experience all the more special. The short hike through the country and Forest feels like you are the only one among the wildlife.

"Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge is located in the fertile Willamette Valley of northwestern Oregon . The Refuge is situated in open farmland near the eastern foothills of the Coast Range , with the broad Willamette Valley and the Cascade Mountains to the east. The Willamette Valley , with its mild, rainy winter climate, is an ideal environment for wintering waterfowl. The Refuge consists of 1,173 acres of cropland, which provide forage for wintering geese, 300 acres of forests, 550 acres of grasslands, 500 acres of shallow water seasonal wetlands and 35 acres of permanent open water. As with the other refuges within the Willamette Valley National Wildlife Complex, the primary management goal of Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge is to provide high quality wintering habitat for geese, especially the dusky Canada goose, to ensure healthy, viable goose populations while minimizing goose browse damage to crops on private agricultural lands. The Baskett Slough NWR also provides habitat for a wide variety of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Populations of several endangered and threatened animal and plant species can be found on the refuge. Wildlife/wildlands observation, photography, hiking, and environmental education and interpretation are the major public use activities allowed on the Refuge." - US Fish & Wildlife Website


We arrived right around the animal's dinner time so there was a lot going on. We saw many hawks hunting for dinner, deer making their way to higher ground for the night, and the Canada geese were gathered around eating.


The view is spectacular and you can see countryside for miles and miles. There are designated areas which are closed for the winter between October and March 1st to protect the wildlife during the winter. We will come back at the end of next month to see the geese since they will have had their chicks by then and are more likely to be gathered in larger groups.



There is a pretty easy trail to hike that gives you the best views of the refuge. I thought there could have been a better sign to let people know the trail looped around. The sky teased us with the warning of a down pour but the dark clouds were being pushed further west and we didn't get rained on at all.

The trail goes through a small forest and I was amazed to see how many trees were victims of the arctic blast, which went through this area just before Christmas. I think there were more trees down than actually standing. It was a sight to see and I know Dave would be pretty surprised at the devastation to the refuge.
Josh counted the rings on this oak and estimated that is was between 30 and 40 years old. There were many trees like it laying throughout the forest floor.
Three deer walked across the trail as we came out of the woods. We were able to get pretty close and it was fun to watch them graze.

After our adventure at the wildlife refuge, we headed back into town and grabbed a bite to eat and picked up a slice of old fashioned chocolate cake at Gerry Frank's Konditorei. Boy, is that a hopping place on Valentine's Day. It didn't surprise me that Josh had to drop me off at the front door, while he made circles around the block, and I picked up a slice of cake to go. This quaint pastry shop is the perfect place to take your sweetheart. One of my client's from SF works there and when she served me she remembered Josh's favorite, even though we haven't been to visit the Konditorei for months. At the end of the day, Josh was a happy man...and that makes me one happy woman.

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On another note entirely, I have been dreading the passing of the California budget. Granted, I don't live in Cali anymore, but I still worry how the budget proposal will affect my dear family and friends. Now believe me, I want the state to pass a budget. Come on already! It needs to be passed and they need to come to a solution since the impact is effecting whether people bring home a pay check. Yet, I read last week about the proposal and percentages they want to increase taxes - wow! How will that affect the people on the Central Coast who already have some of the highest tax rates? Kinda a catch 22. Anyway, I was a little surprised at the article I read about the one vote keeping the budget from passing was from State Sen. Abel Maldonado from Santa Maria.

http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/1628025.html