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.
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.
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 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.)
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?
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.
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 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!
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
A visit to the city of Toledo, Ohio, never crossed my mind, until I found out my granddaughter was scheduled to be living in the Honors Village at The University of Toledo ( 
During my research into popular tourist attractions of the city, I learned that the Toledo Museum of Art was one of their highlights, so I put this on my itinerary of places I wanted to visit. The museum is a Greek revival building, and moved to its current location in the 1920's.
A major expansion of the art museum was funded in part by the WPA, during the Great Depression of the 1930's. You can learn more about their history, and some of the famous works of art they house at their website of 
When I arrived at the museum on a Sunday afternoon, I knew I had to put my exploration of the many works of art there on "Fast Forward", because it had a 5 pm closing time. When I asked the docent at the information desk, what would be a top exhibit I should see in this short time, she immediately mentioned the cut glass punch bowl, shown in this photo. It was a piece from the Libby family, whose name in synonymous with glass manufacturing. In fact, the Toledo Art Museum was founded by Edward Drummond Libbey in 1901 . The punchbowl piece was crafted as an entry in the 1904 World's Fair art competition being held in Saint Louis, Missouri. This dazzling Libbey Glass punch bowl was once the largest piece of cut glass in the world! I would agree that its artistry and craftsmanship are magnificent, and a good representative of one of the reasons that Toledo has earned the nickname of "Glass City". 
I had read beforehand that the detached Glass Pavilion of the art museum is famous for its curved glass walls, and this photo shows one of those walls. The Glass Pavilion was opened in 2006, and received the Travel & Leisure's 2007 Design Award for Best Museum. Each of the more than 360 panels---many of them curved---that make up the glass walls weighs between 1,300 and 1,500 pounds. These walls were imported from China, which amazes me that they could travel from such a great distance away and not get broken!
There are several locations in the Glass Pavilion annex where the graceful curves of the glass walls, are as significant to the aesthetic of the location, as are the individual works of glass art themselves. There is a separate building, called the Center for the Visual Arts that was designed by prize-winning architect, Frank O. Gehry. 
I was glad the museum included this timeline, showing the history of glass production, because my knowledge of this subject was very sketchy!
Just as Seattle/Tacoma, Washington have been made famous in the art glass movement by the presence of the Dale Chihuly studios, so Toledo may even be more deserving of such notoriety! That is because Dale Chihuly "studied" here in his early days, long before he was the world-famous artist he is now. Persons so inclined can take a glass-making class in this Toledo hotshop, and work on making their own piece to take home (along with the skilled guidance of a master glass-artisan), as shown in this photo of the student in the white slacks, waiting for instructions from the artist as to what her next task will be.
The red glow of the fire in the kiln, as well as the red hot ball of glass on the end of the rod, show why "skilled adult supervision" is necessary for any students wanting to create their own glass masterpiece.
This 
When I entered the glass pavilion of the Toledo Art Museum, the very first piece to catch my eye was the unmistakable work of Dale Chihuly. Although such fragility makes me "nervous", I heard Dale Chihuly say in an interview, that it is this very fragility that makes his work so exciting to him! When the Chihuly team installed this chandelier in the Glass Pavilion, they arranged the 243 forms to echo the curves of the architecture seen in the Glass Pavilion.
Since the real purpose of my Toledo visit was to take my granddaughter out for a special meal to celebrate her birthday, I ended up at the docks, down on the Maumee River, because that is where the Internet told me the top rated restaurant was in Toledo, that also had a water view. Therefore, I wanted to check out the place, before I took my granddaughter there. 
The waterfront views at the restaurant did not disappoint! Plus, I was very thankful for the beautiful weather the city was experiencing on my very "condensed" visit to Toledo!
There was a great view of the Owens-Corning World Headquarters building, on the opposite bank of the Maumee River. That was important to me, because that was where my granddaughter was doing her summer internship. 
Before moving to this sprawling, "low rise" , glass encased building in 1997, the Owens-Corning Headquarters in Toledo had been in a skyscraper in downtown Toledo, that had the nickname "Fiberglass Tower", which served as their world headquarters for 37 years, before moving to the new location shown above.
While I was 
Notice how it takes TWO people to carry the very long paddles required for this sport. This body of water is part of the Maumee River Water Trail, a 107-mile water passage from Maumee Bay (Lake Erie) to the Ohio-Indiana border. With 39 access points along the trail, it is easy for folks to enjoy this State Scenic River, a designation it earned in 1974. 
Notice the person in the front of the boat without oars. That person's job is to encourage the crew and set the cadence of the rowing. If a team is not working in unison, the boat's forward motion is impaired, so teamwork is essential!
On the opposite side of the river from the restaurant I had picked for our dinner, sits Promenade Park ( 
Another feature of Promenade Park that intrigued me was the gigantic video screen, that was showing a video of women outside doing a group stretching class. Even though in this photo, they are sitting down, earlier the screen was broadcasting a teacher, loudly proclaiming the next stretch they were going to do together) On summer nights, this giant screen shows family friendly movies, free of charge!
I was disappointed that the blue-hulled boat shown in this photo was not available for me to ride when I visited the park, as I had seen it out on the water earlier in the day, full of what appeared to be tourists. Its design is reminiscent of a type of canal boat, which is appropriate since much of Toledo's growth as a city in its earlier days, was because boat canal traffic was the major way goods were transported between distant locations . I read that Toledo experienced a major growth spurt, after the completion of the Miami&Erie Canal in 1824. This particular boat was built in 1984, just down the river in Maumee, Ohio, and is made of welded steel. You can book a cruise on the boat at their website at
The blue-roofed building in this photo is called the Imagination Station. The Imagination Station is a non-profit, hands-on science museum, with 300 exhibits for kids of all ages. The grass-covered terraces outside the entrance to the museum can also double as audience seating for the performance venue created in the plaza. 
The Promenade Park is part of a major downtown revitalization that was needed after Toledo experienced a phenomenon common to many large cities. That is, the tendency for urban dwellers to move to the suburbs, especially after the Baby Boomer generation facilitated a house-building boom, and the rise in automobile use for transportation.
