When riding your bicycle around Oregon in the summer, it’s hard not to stop every time you come to a stream — like, for example, the Applegate River in this little video. I was heading out Highway 238 west of Jacksonville when I came to a sign advertising Cantrall Buckley Park. I took the side […]
Ever wonder what happens to a store property near a freeway off-ramp after the off-ramp is closed? A few days ago my bicycle took me to the end of Hoefer Road, which I’m mispronouncing in this video. I’m told the locals say “Hayfer,” though I can’t see how this is justified by the spelling. In any case, […]
The other day I wrote about an old house in the country, a farm house between Jefferson and Scio that was still standing but had not been lived in for many years. On Saturday I came across another one, also abandoned to the wind, sun and rain. This one was on Hoefer Road north of Millersburg. I […]
Most good things cost something. But once you have a bicycle and a small assortment of equipment, riding through the countryside is absolutely free. It’s amazing there’s no charge for something that enjoyable. Here are some further thoughts — not exactly organized thoughts — on that theme from Meadow Road south of Albany.
It’s been years since the public could drive down to the Willamette River at Truax Island. We still can’t, and we won’t be able to do so again any time soon. For that we can thank criminals. The Oregon Parks Department used to maintain a little parking lot at this spot in the Willamette River […]
It’s getting close to the harvest season in Oregon’s mid-Willamette Valley, and city people ought to take a greater interest than most of them do. Why? Because without the crops growing in the vast fields outside of the towns, this would be an even poorer region than it is. Consumer spending may be what keeps […]
School debate: Money and more money
The Oregon Senate on Monday failed to approve a record increase in the state school fund. The opponents, all 14 Republicans plus Democrat Chris Edwards of Eugene, said it wasn’t enough and the state could do better. The bill, Senate Bill 5519, proposed to set the school fund at $6.55 billion for the next two […]
Tags: Oregon legislature, SB 5519, school fund