OREGON CITY AND SIVERTON'S OREGON GARDENS

(Note the info at the bottom about the forest fires.) Time in north western Oregon is getting short. Since our work week was over we decided to go on Friday and do some serious sight seeing. We began by going to Oregon City south of Portland to check out the monthly street Art Show. When we got there we parked in a lot at the top level of the "vertical street" that houses the elevator that would take us to the river level of town. It was 10:30 and we mentioned to the elevator operator that we were going to the street Art Show and she told us it was on Main Street. We walked the streets looking for the booths, but all that we could find was the wall murals. So we finally stopped in a Yarn Shop and asked, only to find out that it would not begin until 5 pm. *** Now why did the elevator operator not mention the time to us??? Now what are we going to do?? Since we were not about to wait around for six hours, we decided to go the Stevens-Crawford Museum. This house was built in 1907-08 for the Harley Stevens family by German-born brothers of the area. It was built with fine workmanship and numerous labor saving and modern conveniences. City water and sewer systems allowed features not otherwise possible in those days. A daughter of Harley and Mary (Crawford) Stevens, Mertie Stevens, lived in the family home until her death in 1968. Mertie had saved most of the family heirlooms, packed up and labeled and bequeathed them along with the house to the Clackamas County Historical Society to be maintained as a museum in memory of her family, who had been very involved in the community in many ways. The family was very involved in the Congregational Church in Oregon City across the street from the house. In those days there was not always a home provided for the ministers of the churches. Therefore, they were often taken into local family homes. The Stevens usually provided the home for the minister of their church and used the master bedroom for this purpose. Even though Mertie did have a more modern stove in the home at the time of her death, she had saved the original stove in the basement. This stove was then put back in the original location in the kitchen. There was a lot of storage in the home including this pan storage in the kitchen. Notice the handy storage for pan lids on the door! All compartments in this china storage cupboard in the dining room was accessible from both front and back, giving the cooks in the pantry and cooking area hand through access for dining china. Mertie was an accomplished musician and these instruments were hers and were used in teaching others.

This piano is considered a student's piano as is noticed by the two different music stands built in for the music sheets, for young and old alike. Or for short and tall alike!

Gary was snapping away as we toured the first floor of the home only to be told by the guide on the second floor that it was not permitted. Thus no pictures of the bedroom furnishings or the hat display from the Historical Society! That is until the guide had to take a phone call, then Gary snapped this one of a trunk that had been a family gift from the Orient. We thought that Don might enjoy this picture!

Leaving the museum, we decided to leave Oregon City and drive on south to Silverton to check out the Frank Lloyd Wright house there and also the Oregon Garden. We arrived about twenty minutes too late for the house tour and I hated to see us spend twenty dollars both here and at the Garden for both tours. Since we had to wait for forty minutes, Gary came up with the idea for me to go on and tour the Gardens and he would wait for the house tour. Wrong!! About the House tour that is!! They did not have a 3 PM tour as was indicated on the door, so he had waited for nothing. He did get pictures of the outside, but that is all. You can see those at the bottom of this Blog. He salved his feelings by going for a root beer float!! Guess that blows his diet??

But the Garden tour turned out to be well worth the money and very enjoyable. I could have spent a second hour and half there!!

This was the first garden as you approach the gift shop and cafe'.

Leaving the gift shop,this was just one of the many pots on the patio.

I took the tram ride that runs a half hour tour through the gardens and took many pictures. And then I decided to stay on the tram and go around again to get off at the Children's Garden to take more pictures. Rather than ride back, I walked through other sections of the 80 acres of gardens on my way back to the gift shop just in time to meet Gary.

Take the tour with me - - -

On the tram tour there were many locations that he pointed out that were used often for weddings. I can see why!! Beautiful !!

This house was home to previous owners of the horse farm on this land, before it became Oregon Garden. The plan is to restore it as there is much needed to bring it back to full glory.

The peacock display - - -

This was a view from the gardens out over the valley.

Now back to the Children's Garden - - -

and then on through other gardens, including this wedding setting

and on into the fountain gardens - - -

and beyond - - -

Hope you enjoyed them as much as I did!! I could have stayed longer, but I told Gary that I did not think that he could have taken it. I think that his allergies would have gotten the best of him!! It was very fragrant!!

Frank Lloyd Wright's Gibson House built just two years before his death -

This was Gary's tour!!

Saturday was another day out, but not sight seeing. We went to Walmart in Greshman for prescriptions and then on to Ikea just to look around. We always enjoy that store.

When we came out of the store we were amazed at the sky. All along the Columbia River there was a very heavy layer of smoke -from the forest fires east of the city, out Mt. Hood direction!!

We knew that there were fires, but had not been bothered by them as there were mountain ridges between them and our home resort. Now we wondered what might be at home??

There was a very defiinite smell of smoke and it was not from the camp fires. We found out that it was just six mile away as the crow flies. So we began to think that we should be considering what we would do if they gave an evacuation order!! So we did pack a suitcase and anything that we would not want to loose and loaded it into the Jeep, just in case we could not take the motorhome with us.

Sunday the winds changed and began blowing back from the west and that seemed to clear our air.

It is now Monday and we are still here. We did continue to get the motorhome ready to move on. We have one more day to work on Wednesday and it is the employee picnic. So we are thinking that we will still be here.

They are forecasting another wind change by Tuesday evening, to blow back from the east again. We have been told that they give plenty of time to move out. So sounds like no reason to hurry. That is good since we are scheduled to leave here on the 15th and are paid through that date. Maybe we will be able to wait it out!!

Stay tuned.