Tag Archives: pacific northwest

Covered Bridges of Cottage Grove, Oregon

I recently took a jaunt down to Cottage Grove, Oregon. The draw? Covered bridges, of course. I am enamored by them and wish there were more. It just so happens there is quite the concentration of them in this small area and I was able to see five bridges within the space of an hour an a half.

You can pop them into any GPS and it will take you right there. The best part was the lack of people. I mostly had the bridges to myself.

Fun times!

Currin Bridge

This is the only bridge in Oregon that is painted two different colors: white portals and red sides. This 105 foot (32 m) bridge was built in 1925 to replace a dilapidated 1883 bridge spanning the Row River. In 1979, Lane County completed a new concrete bridge just a few feet away and closed the old bridge to traffic. In 1995 the Currin Bridge was rehabilitated and is accessible to pedestrians. Located near Cottage Grove.

Dorena Covered Bridge

Dorena Reservoir was engineered in 1946, followed by the construction of Government Road along its west bank. The filled reservoir covers the former town site named for area residents Dora Burnette and Rena Martin using a combination of both their first names. The community of 450 people was relocated 5 miles (8 km) upriver. Approximately a hundred homes and the rail road were dismantled or moved. There does not appear to be any remaining signs of the town, even when the water is drawn down in winter.

To cross Row River, Dorena Bridge was added as part of the reservoir plan in 1949. The bridge was built for $16,547 under the supervision of Miller Sorenson, a Lane County foreman. It provided access between the Star Ranch and Cottage Grove.

The bridge was bypassed by a concrete bridge in 1974 and fell into disuse. In 1987, along with its neighboring covered bridges, Dorena Bridge was fumigated and measures were taken for the structure’s basic preservation. In 1996, the Oregon Covered Bridge Program grants facilitated a full rehabilitation and the creation of an adjacent park. The bridge’s substructure and spans were replaced and the array of windows were installed to facilitate ventilation.

Chambers Covered Railroad Bridge

The Chambers Covered Bridge is a covered bridge located in Cottage Grove, Oregon, United States. It is 78 feet long and spans the Coast Fork Willamette River. It was built in 1925 to carry rail traffic hauling logs from the Lorane Valley to the J.H. It was the most majestic of the covered bridges I saw, it’s sheer size and height was very impressive. I especially liked the west facing curved stairwell up to the bridge. The upkeep on it has been well maintained.

Mosby Creek Covered Bridge

The Mosby Creek Bridge, also called the Layng Bridge, is a historic Howe truss covered bridge located near Cottage Grove, Oregon, United States. The bridge crosses Mosby Creek and was constructed in 1920, making it the oldest covered bridge in Lane County

Stewart Covered Bridge

Stewart Bridge is a Howe truss covered bridge built in 1930 near Walden, Oregon, United States, in Lane County. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It is 60 feet long and crosses Mosby Creek, a tributary of the Row River.

J. Polk Currin Swinging Bridge


While it does not qualified as a covered bridge, the swinging bridge is another point-of-interest for bridge enthusiasts, located just a half-mile upstream from Centennial Covered Bridge near Prospector Park. This wooden and steel cable suspension bridge spans the Coast Fork of the Willamette River as it passes through town. The original bridge was built in 1965 for children crossing the creek for school. Since then the bridge has been rebuilt four times. Earlier generations of the bridge swung side-to-side (thus earning the name “swinging” bridge) but the current bridge does not. The bridge was overhauled in the fall of 2019, re-opening for pedestrian traffic after a three year safety and restoration project. “J. Polk Currin” was added to the bridge name in honor of the Currin family’s long history in the area – however, no descendants of the Currin family remain in the community.

Be

[From Jonathan Livingston Seagull]

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“Be”

Lost
On a painted sky
Where the clouds are hung
For the poet’s eye
You may find him
If you may find himThere
On a distant shore
By the wings of dreams
Through an open door
You may know him
If you may

Be
As a page that aches for a word
Which speaks on a theme that is timeless
And the one God will make for your day

Sing
As a song in search of a voice that is silent
And the sun
God will make for your way

And we dance
To a whispered voice
Overheard by the soul,
Undertook by the heart
And you may know it
If you may know it

While the sand would become the stone
Which begat the spark
Turned to living bone
Holy, holy
Sanctus, sanctus

Be
As a page that aches for a word
Which speaks on a theme that is timeless
While the one God will make
for your day

Sing
As a song in search of a voice that is silent
And the one God will make for your way

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Sleigh Ride, Leavenworth Washington

There are multiple places that host horse drawn sleigh rides in the city of Leavenworth. It’s enjoyable enough to be added to anyone’s bucket list.  The scenery was quite lovely and I took my work team out with me so it was great fun.

 

http://www.mtsprings.com/activities/sleigh-rides.htm

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Mtn Springs Lodge

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Sleigh ride twilight

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Leavenworth Wa Holiday Retreat

For New Years I fell right smack dab into the middle of a snow globe!  Leavenworth is a small Bavarian Village that reminds me very much of Midway, only Leavenworth has about a million twinkling lights and dusted beautifully with snow. We went on a traditional sleigh ride replete with warm cider and creek and meadow crossing (literally went through the woods) then came back into town to watch children (and adults) sledding in the pavilion in the extreme cold. We at at Visconti’s Italian restaurant which was a warm and delightful experience.

 

Oh, I like chocolate so the Chocolate Factory gets top billing. 😀

 

I will post the sleigh ride in a separate post.

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Bison Neighbors

Lots of people talk to animals. Not very many listen, though.  That’s the problem.     ~Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

Bison

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“Little Man,” the bull of the herd.

 

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They like carrots, celery and apples. Don’t feed them from your hand or you will lose fingers.

 

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It isn’t every day I can see my reflection in the eye of a bull bison.

 

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