Category: Travels

Road warriors

First the leopard spots caught my eye. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a motorcycle quite like this one.

Then I noticed that it and the other cycles with it had Mexican license plates. And some pretty interesting travel stickers. Grand Teton! Yellowstone! Glacier National Park! These scooters put on a lot of miles! All the more surprising because they were clean. A lot cleaner than my car.

Then I saw the Alaska stickers. I was seriously impressed. I finally noticed a sticker for Rodano Mexico, a television program that features motorcycles. I saw these bikes in Oregon and there wasn’t anyone around to ask questions. Darn.

Heceta Head Lighthouse, Oregon

In last Thursday’s post it was impossible to see the Heceta Head Lighthouse from the beach below. As we drive south on the coast it came into view. Here’s a black and white shot. It was raining at the lighthouse as I took it.

Here’s a longer view of the coast near the lighthouse, a rugged landscape typical of the northern Pacific Coast. This area gets over 70 inches of rain a year, so it was no surprise that hats and rain hoods were necessary.

The Oregon coast

Our first couple of days at the central Oregon coast last month felt a lot like home. That is, it rained. And then it cleared. And then it rained some more. Some of the more striking views we had were through the veil of rain squalls. Not the best for photographs. This is the beach below Heceta Head lighthouse. The lighthouse is hidden behind trees to the left of the keeper’s house on the hillside. I’ll post shots of the lighthouse in the next few days.

Here’s the coast between squalls. Well, it was dry where I was standing.

Our trip to Florence

Okay. We didn’t go to the Florence you’re thinking of, unless your mind immediately went to Florence, Oregon, located on the central Oregon coast. We took a trip there last month to meet up with a friend from California, Marie, whose photos you see posted today. She captured one of our evenings with such elegance I had to show you two of my favorites. (Thank you, Marie!)

Florence is located at the north end of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, the largest coastal sand dunes in North America. The dunes stretch for 40 miles along the coast and vary from typical beach dunes with low grasses to inland parabola dunes that edge forest lands. This view is along a manmade jetty that edges the Suislaw River as it spills into the Pacific Ocean.

Marie is considering moving to Florence. What do you think? Should she do it?

Theme Day: Facade

Today is theme day at City Daily Photo and I found this month’s challenge, “Façade,” in the coastal town of Florence, Oregon. “Old Town” Florence has a number of late 19th century buildings that sport classic high fronts that reveal a different look if you can peak around the side.


Façades haven’t faded from the architectural toolbox. I found this one in Florence, too, in a newer part of town. The building is being renovated, but I still found the backside of the façade amusing.

Click here to see other blogger interpretations of this month’s theme.