OREGON EXPEDITION 2025!

I read that Southern Oregon has the world's only Big Foot trap.  Although I was not able to capture a photo of the actual trap, I was able to capture a photo of my son, assuming the iconic Big Foot stance.  Thus began our expedition into Oregon!

Our first stop was at the official welcome center ( www.TravelOregon.com ), which is at the first exit after driving the 13 miles from the California/Oregon border.  A friendly staff member at the welcome center, snapped this photo of my son and I, posing in their picture props.  I sat my purse off to one side for this photo, then absent-mindedly left it there, as we returned to our vehicle, and drove northward to the closest gas station.  When I reached for my wallet, I realized I had left my purse at the visitor center, so I immediately phoned them.  The kind gentleman who had taken our photo, also answered the phone (Bill), and assured me he would keep my purse, safely behind the reception desk, until I returned to retrieve it.  I thought it would be a quick trip back to the visitor center.  I was wrong, as there is NO SOUTHBOUND exit to get to the visitor center!  We had to drive nearly back to the border, to turn around and start going north again, in order to access the visitor center!  (Note to self:  remember to check your surroundings, after you have set aside your belongings to snap a photo!  I have walked off and left my hiking stick so many times, that I have bright yellow caution tape hanging like streamers on it, so it will be easier for me to find, when I realize it is missing!  I guess I need to do the same for my purse!)

 

Our next stop, after retrieving my purse, was the town of Ashland, Oregon ( www.TravelAshland.com ).  My granddaughter had gotten married in Ashland, Oregon, and the blogs telling about that experience can be found in the archives, dated, August 9, 11, 13, in 2014)  Ashland is a charming town, with dozens of cafes, that patrons can enter both from the street, and from their creekside patios  

 

My son patiently smiled for a photo, when I went for a stroll to take more photographs of this picturesque location, while we waited for our food order to be served.

After we finished our lunch, we took a stroll through the adjacent Lithia Park, which is situated along Ashland Creek.   The name of the park comes from its association with a nearby mineral spring, that contained lithium oxide.  The park was designed by landscape architect John McLaren, who also designed Golden Gate Park, in San Francisco.  (A blog I published August 13, 2014, has a more detailed account of Lithia Park amenities)

The photo below shows a youngster playing in the creek, which meanders through the 93 acres of forested canyon land that make up the park.  

The young man in photo below blends the tunes on his guitar, with the bubbling sounds of the creek, as it cascades over the smooth boulders below the arched bridge.

In another area of the park, a gray bearded gentleman gave a big smile for the camera, as he strummed enjoyable, mellow tunes on his cello, to those strolling along the sidewalk.

The ultimate goal of our walk through Lithia Park was to access the Japanese Garden there.  My son had recently returned from a trip to Japan, and stated he thought the Japanese Garden at Ashland, was as good as, if not better than, any he visited in Japan.   I took a photo of the YOKOSO (which means "welcome") sign, because decades ago, I attended a "Memphis in May" week, where Japan culture was featured, and there were banners and buttons and teeshirts with the saying "Yokoso ya'll" everywhere you looked!

The wooden entrance gate to the Japanese garden features typical Japanese architecture.  

We observed one of the garden staff giving an orientation to two volunteers.  He was telling them how quickly the bamboo plants he was pointing to, had grown in a very short time period.  

The Japanese maple tree (shown on left side of photo) provided a bit of color for the stroll.  I read that Japanese gardens are distinctive in their symbolism of nature, with traditional Japanese gardens being very different from Western gardens, which often display vibrant splashes of bright colors.  In contrast, Japanese gardens are modeled with spiritual and philosophical ideas in mind, conceived to represent a natural setting.  The scene below represents a promenade garden, meant to be seen one landscape at a time. Features of the garden are to be discovered when the visitor follows the winding path.  

The stone lanterns seen in many Japanese gardens often have symbolic meanings, with the base representing the earth, the section encasing the lantern's light representing fire, and the top section representing the sky.  The lantern shown here was adjacent to a water feature that contained koi fish, which are also a common amenity in a Japanese garden.  

A portion of the Ashland Japanese garden contains what some call a rock garden, dry garden,  or zen garden.  The rocks can represent islands, and the white gravel can represent water that surrounds an island.  

Plantings in a Japanese garden are carefully tended to add to the aesthetic appeal of the space.  I was intrigued by the very artistic way the white roots of this tree, were uncovered, and surrounded by black gravel, to create a thing of beauty.  

I asked the staff member to take a photo of my son and I near the entrance gate, and this is one I will cherish!

The way these bamboo poles have been lashed together reminded me of a "hashtag" symbol, like we would see on the Internet, to direct searches to a certain location.  For example, #ashlandjapanesegarden.

Fences in Japanese gardens are designed for purity and simplicity, which is well illustrated in this photo. 

No story about Ashland, Oregon, is complete without mentioning its famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival ( www.osfashland.org ). The photo below shows a portion of it campus, which was founded in 1935, as a three-day festival.  In the intervening forty years, it has become an important economic driver for Ashland, that presents a rotating repertory season of up to 10 plays and musicals from Shakespeare, as well as new works.  

Another economic driver in Ashland, is Southern Oregon University, and their unique "Featheroars" art installation.  The wooden oars catch the wind, and cause the bottom seats attached to it, to spin.  

Bright yellow "scotch broom" is prevalent along hillsides. 

I enjoyed seeing the bright yellow blooms that lined Interstate 5 in Southern Oregon. However, a plant nursery owner later told me these are called "Scotch Broom".  She said they were an invasive species, but quickly added her nursery sold a cultivar of the plant that was not invasive.  It is classified as invasive because it crowds out native species and negatively impacts wildlife habitat.  

After many more miles of Interstate 5, we finally met up with the rest of our group at a delightful venue in Oregon City.  It had a covered pavilion filled with picnic tables, as well as an indoor space for those who did not want to be outside.  The pavilion was surrounded by every kind of ethnic food truck  imaginable, so a large group with differing tastes could all find something to suit them.  

Across the street from the food trucks, there was a park, which was especially enjoyable for the little kids in the group, and those who were "young at heart".   This supper was on a Friday night, and we were all preparing for a big event scheduled for the next day, in Canby, Oregon.  There is another blog detailing that event, entitled "Sprinkle Expedition", dated June 9, 2025.   The joyous looking photo below, brought to mind Palm 78:4 about passing faith to the next generation:  "We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord."  The verse emphasizes the importance of sharing God's story and works with the younger generation, with the hope that future generations will also trust in God and remember His works.    When I keep this purpose in mind, my time with family gives me "MILES OF SMILES"! 

 

OREGON SPRINKLE EXPEDITION!

The photo below shows my first-ever invitation to a "baby sprinkle".  Turns out, it was a play on words, since a "sprinkle" is not a full "shower".  The parents already had one young boy (and, hence, many of the necessities a baby boy would receive at a baby shower), so the baby boy still in his mother's womb, would only need a "sprinkle", not a "shower"!  Clever, huh??!!  The golf cart on the invitation, along with the golf phrases, "PAR-TEE", were hints that this event had a golf theme.  

The hostess for the event graciously invited me to stay in her home the Friday night before, so that I was there all day Saturday, to watch the preparations get underway, and assist as needed.  The photo below shows Jan, Deana, Laury, and Stacy, in the process of blowing up balloons (with an electric device), then tying off the top of the balloons, then stuffing them into bags, in preparation for making a balloon arch.  I have always admired balloon arches when I have seen them at special occasions, but this was my first time to ever participate in making one of them.  Suffice it to say, it takes quite a while to get the balloons tied onto a rope, which is then hung on a wall, to form an arch.      

The hostess had ordered custom-made cookies, each with with a golf theme design incorporated into the icing.  Besides each one being a work of art, they actually tasted delicious!  Likewise, the custom-made cupcakes, had a round piece of chocolate on top, wrapped up to look like a golf ball.  A decorative golf club was also on top of each cupcake.    There was no sneaking around to eat one of the cupcakes, because as soon as you bit into it, your lips and tongue turned green, as shown in one of the photos of little Connor, later in this blog.  There were the usual adult beverages, plus the kids had their own "beverage station", cleverly placed in a little red wagon, surrounded by ice.  

We set up an assembly line to make club sandwiches, once again using the golf theme, by the word "club", and a golf club wooden pick, holding the layers together.  

They had a "pop up" canopy to set up, and we all had a hand in getting it out of its folded up position, and into the completely opened up position.  It definitely took a team to get this accomplished!

I was thanking God for the beautiful weather that we had for the backyard event, as there was no rain, very little wind, and the temperature was perfect!

One of the adult activities, was to guess how many golf tees were in the big baby bottle, with the winner getting a special golf-themed prize. The photo beside the bottle, shows little Connor, with a golf club and golf ball.

The centerpieces on the table were made from artificial turf, and filled with golf balls, tees, and photos of Dean, Kaylee, and Connor out on the golf course.  Also, shown is the "Who is the baby's daddy" game.  Each guest was given a scratch off card, and only one of the cards had an actual photo of the daddy Dean.  The other faces were well-known celebrities.  

This photo shows several of the guests holding up their "whose your daddy" card, but none of them won the prize.  

The balloon arch made the perfect back drop for photos, and this photo below shows the honorees---Dean and Kaylee.  

This photo shows the family of the host and hostess.

The photo below shows why I was invited.  My son is married to Kaylee's mom!  (There were dozens more photos of groups under the balloon arch, but for purposes of brevity in this blog, I just put the photos of people who hosted me for overnight stays.)

This photo shows four generations of my daughter-in-law's family:  young Connor (with green tongue from green cupcake icing), Stacy, with her daughter Kaylee and mother Jan.

And this photo shows just two generations---me and my son, known as "Pappy G", to Connor, because my son called my father, "Pappy Joe".   

However, there were additional generations of "Pappy G" represented in the gift I brought for the "sprinkle".   For decades, I have kept the perforated metal top that fit into a glass bottle, that "Pappy G's" great grandmother used to "sprinkle" the clothes with water, she would be pressing, with a heavy metal object, heated on top of a wood stove.  This was the pioneer's version of a "steam iron".  (for purposes of my air travel to get to Oregon, I had replaced the glass bottle, with a plastic bottle, which contained a gift check that could be used for the baby's diaper needs or other necessities).  The miniature iron I gave to Kaylee, is one that "Pappy G's" grandmother used to iron her doll clothes, whenever her  mom was ironing the grown up clothes.  The badly-faded embroidery shows an elf with wings, sitting on top of an old-fashioned iron.  It was a "tea towel", that had been in my mother's Hope Chest.  The Hope Chest was usually a hand-made cedar box, with hinged top, which girls would start filling as a child, with tea towels and doilies and aprons and baby blankets they made, in hopes of having a husband and family some day---hence, the phrase "Hope Chest"!  My father made numerous cedar "Hope Chests".  Also, included was an old-fashioned clothes pin, made from a single piece of wood, before the invention of hinged clothes pins.

I mentioned the games for adults, and there were also fun activities for the little ones.  The most popular was the bubble machine, which always makes for interesting photo opportunities!

My son and I played one of the children's games, which was new to me!

Connor really got into the idea of a "SPRINKLE", when someone gave him a water bottle with a hole punched in the lid, which he repeatedly filled, and proceeded to "sprinkle" anyone who could not get out of his squirting range!

This event was a wonderful celebration of the precious gift, currently in the process of being "knit together" in his mother's womb, as described in Psalm 139.  It was an expedition that gave me "MILES OF SMILES"!  Tricia

 

ADDENDUM:  Although the new little baby was not due until August, he decided to make his debut into the world, a few weeks early, in July.  The photo below shows the mom and dad, holding their "fearfully and wonderfully made works of God", in their arms. 

We all have "MILES OF SMILES" for the blessing of this family!  Tricia

SILVER FALLS STATE PARK EXPEDITION!

Silver Falls State Park is located near Silverton, Oregon, which is about twenty miles southeast of Oregon's capitol city of Salem.  It is the largest state park in Oregon, with an area of about 9,000 acres.

About six months before my visit, I had gone to their lodging reservation site (www.reserveamerica.com) to rent a cabin, in hopes that family members living near there, would be able to meet up with me at the park.  Sadly, those family members developed COVID, and were still in their quarantine period on the night the cabin was reserved.  So I was on my own for exploring this new-to-me destination!

As soon as I scoped out the cabin location, I headed to the main parking lot, for the hiking I wanted to do, on the Trail of Ten Falls.   The photo shows the kiosk where one needs to purchase their parking permit, and this can be done with a credit card. 

On the way to the trailhead, one will pass this historic structure, now known as the Silver Falls State Park Concession Building Area.  It was originally called simply, "Silver Falls Lodge".  It was started in 1934, and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.  In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced that the Silver Falls area would be turned into a Recreational Demonstration Area..  This was a program during the 1930's run by the National Park Service that built 46 public parks, in twenty-four states, chiefly near urban areas.  The NPS used labor from a variety of Great Depression federal relief programs, such as the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration, to build these recreational demonstration areas.  This building's architectural style is called "National Park Service Rustic", sometimes called "Parkitecture".

The goal of "Parkitecture" is to create buildings whose interiors and exteriors, harmonize with the natural environment.  By the end of World War II, the recreational demonstration areas had all either become National Park Service units, or been given to their states for use as state parks, which was the case for Silver Falls.

The South Falls theater shows how native stone and native wood can blend into the landscape, more than a starkly modern, neon-colored structure would. 

Inside the South Falls theater, there was a wonderful display of native wildflowers and plants, with the names and descriptions, accompanying each clear glass display vase.   As a certified Arkansas Master Naturalist (www.arkansasmasternaturalists.org), I have a great appreciation for the amount of work that must have gone into preparing this exhibit! 

I made a slight detour from my path to the trail head, to visit the Silver Falls Nature Store.  My goal was to purchase a souvenir metal hiking stick medallion, and I was delighted to find out they had them in stock!  Of course, there was also myriad of additonal souvenir items, snacks, and camping supplies. 

 

Next I started on the path that was the beginning of the Trail of Ten Waterfalls, and within just a few feet, I could see one of the viewing areas for the mighty and majestic South Falls. 

When I made it to the view point, where tourists were taking turns getting a photo in front of the falls, I was so happy to be at this long awaited location, I lifted my arms in gratitude!

I have visited waterfalls in other states where I was able to walk underneath the falls, but none of them had such well-designed pathways, complete with wood and/or stone railings.  The South Falls is a 177-foot cascade, has an average flow rate of 75 cu ft/s,  and is the park's most visited waterfall.  

I read stories that said before this was a state park, a local entrepreneur sold admission to the falls area, with attractions such as pushing cars over the falls, and even hosting a stunt, with a daredevil riding over in a canoe. 

Around 1900, a Silverton photographer, named June D. Drake, began to campaign for park status, using his photographs of the falls, to gain support.  However, in 1926, an inspector for the National Park Service rejected the area for national park status, because of the numerous unattractive stumps left, after years of logging.  Thankfully, a decade later, the area did finally come under government protection. 

The Trail of Ten Falls is not wheel-chair accessible, although I did see one couple with a stroller enjoying the scenery with their toddler, near the beginning of the trail.  No other strollers were seen the rest of my hike.  (It should be noted, that the mom and dad were carrying it over several spots along the trail, rather than bouncing their stoller-bound child on the very rocky surfaces.)

After the bridge that crossed South Fork Creek, the trail made its way beside the creek, and between massive evergreen trees.

If you have an area with ten waterfalls, then you can assume that means there are several areas of extreme elevation changes to navigate!  Fortunately, the CCC and WPA built stairs that made this possible, without the need for rockclimbing gear!

This was my first time to see a hiker with a hula hoop!  I asked her what it was for, and she replied, "FUN!"

There is another set of stairs that leads to the Lower South Falls, which has a height of 93 feet..

Lower South Falls is one of four waterfalls in the park, that has an "amphitheater-like" formation underneath it, which allows visitors to walk behind the falls.   Can you see the people underneath Lower South Falls?

Several creeks gush their way through the narrow canyon, often causing the hiking trail to be muddy in some low-lying locations.

There are no "Golden Arches" along the trail, but this arching evergreen tree provided a nice archway that I could easily pass under.  Taller folks would probably need to bend over a bit.

This photo shows another one of the ten falls, that is formed from the run-off of a small tributary creek into the canyon. 

Notice a bridge has been built across the top of the waterfall in photo below.  It is called Drake Falls.

Since Drake Falls was named after a photographer who promoted the park, I wanted to have my picture made with it!  (See below) Drake Falls is called a "Plunge Type" waterfall, and has a height of 27 feet.  Its average flow rate is 100 cu ft/s , and is the smallest of the ten waterfalls along the Trail of Ten Falls.  If you reach Drake Falls, you know you have hiked a bit over  two miles,  past Lower South Falls.

A "long shot" view of yet another  one of the ten waterfalls in the park:.  (I have to admit, I lost track of which fall I was seeing at some of the locations, even thought the trail map listed all of them in sequence.  I wanted to experience looking at the actual flows, instead of a written guide, telling me the statistics of each flow!)

I was also concentrating on NOT missing the sign leading to the WinterFalls Trailhead, because that is the "cut-off", that would make my hike about seven miles long, instead of about eleven miles long. My plan was to complete the hike that would include the North Falls location, on the next morning.

Winter Falls has a height of 134 feet, yet it is not the tallest in the park.  It has an average flow rate of 100 cu ft/s  .  In researching information about this park, I learned there are several different types of waterfalls: Plunge; Horsetail; Cataract; Multi-step; Block, Cascade; Segmented; Tiered; Punchbowl; Fan, and Ephemeral.  Definitions of these various classifications can be seen on Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org)

As I started my ascent out of the steep canyon, the trail has many switchbacks to "soften/decrease" the angle of climbing!

 

As I reached the higher elevations, the trail began to flatten out, and there was more the feel of a rain forest, than what one experiences at the bottom of the canyon.  Notice the trees are shrouded in moss, and ferns are abundant.

I could tell I was getting close to the lodge area, when the trail turned from dirt to bricks.  This paved trail took me back to the parking lot, where my car was awaiting!

Now that I was able to get into my rental cabin, I snapped a few photos, before I had it completely covered with my hiking gear, sleeping bag, and luggage strewn everywhere!  I enjoyed a quiet and restful sleep there, and awoke the next morning ready to have another trek into the park.

However, the weather did not cooperate, so I decided to explore the remaining areas of Silver Falls State Park, by car---rather than on foot---since a steady downpour of rain was making it evident why everything here is so green!

Although I did not get to hike to North Falls, there is an excellent view point I was able to drive to, for the photograph below.  North Falls is 65 feet in height, with an average flow rate of 100 cu ft/s .

After a most enjoyable exploration of Silver Falls State Park, it occurred to me that I had searched the park, trying to get to know its heart.  Being along its well-marked trails, had helped me get rid of my anxious thoughts.  I saw nothing offensive within the park, and I pray that it will be a  parkway everlasting, for generations to come.  Hence, this blog post serves as the visual aid for one of my First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com) memory verses that says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."  Psalm 139:23-24

If you would like to plan a visit to this amazing location of  numerous waterfalls, you can learn more at their website of www.stateparks.oregon.gov .  This trip gave me "MILES OF WATERFALL SMILES!"  Tricia