We are so excited to have you here. We’re 12 miles south of you in Manzanita. We wait for your letters and never fail to read each one. You have many followers in the Pacific NW. Thank you for every letter.
Dear HCR -- I spent the first 18 years of my life in Portland, ME, and will always consider myself a Mainer. Nonetheless, the West Coast (we have lived in CA since 1980), esp OR, has a different kind of coastal charm, including sunsets over the ocean! Please take time to enjoy your visit to the Pacific Northwest. I am sure that many (most) of your readers would not begrudge you however much vacation time you want to include in your travel itinerary. We can wait! -- Take Care
Oswald West was governor for one term in the early days of Oregon State. Somewhere I read he said to the legislature something to the effect that they weren't there to get re+elected, so they set aside about half of Oregon's coast as state parks to keep it from being ruined by business.
The entire length of Oregon's coastal beaches is parkland accessible to the public. As a result, we have more public beaches than all the rest of the contiguous states put together. That was Oswald West's doing.
He was elected governor of the state in 1910. "West established Oregon's beach highway law, proclaiming the entire Pacific coastline to the high tide line to be a public highway, thereby preserving scenery and beach access for future generations. The law protecting public access to the high-water line remains in effect on Oregon beaches, which were formally protected by the Oregon Legislature and Governor Tom McCall in 1967 (HB 1601)." [Wikipedia] So, really, you need to thank McCall. I was a young girl, but remember when this happened [my grandmother was not happy about it]. Public access reaches all the way to the green line.
There's nothing like the Oregon Coast...my brother has a cabin in Rockaway Beach--thank you Heather for making me homesick! If you have time, visit the Maryhill Museum on the WA side of the Columbia gorge...interesting history....
I don't know if it has The Burghers of Calais - which is my ALL TIME favorite sculpture. But there's a copy of it (or was a copy or original) at the Portland Art Museum long ago.
There is also a lovely beach that my husband and I loved to visit before and after we married until we moved too far south in the Valley for convenient visits. Driving south from Highway 26 on I-101 you will arrive at Oswald West State Park. There is a parking lot with a trail that wanders off through the forest. The first time we went there, it was like being in the Hobbit or in a fairytale forest. After a hike of, oh, a quarter mile, the woods open up on a lovely secluded, crescent shaped beach - Short Sand Beach. We haven’t been there since our kids were in school and I remember then getting down to the sand was a bit of a challenge - I could not do it today if the access were the same as it was then. But, even if I went today, walking carefully (and with someone young and strong to catch me if I slipped!) the view from the top of the bluff is worth every bit of the effort!
Check out Sierra Club for all kinds of group events all over the USA, a conservation group with chapters mostly on the West Coast, I wish I was young enough to do the mule trek down into the Grand Canyon....
Enjoy yourself on our lovely west coast. While you are here, try to visit some of the McMennamins properties. They buy schools, churches, abandoned railway stations, and even an amazing former "poor farm" in Troutdale (fairly near PDX airport) and develop them as hotels and restaurants. At one time they employed more artists than any other Oregon employer, and the research into each building's history and the artwork is phenomenal.
Susan, We stayed at McMenamins Kennedy School in Portland once upon a time, in the Little Jack Horner room. So unique. We loved the cafes and exhibits, too but didn’t know about other properties. So fun and different.
We love Cannon beach, so glad you are there. One day, visually looking through the tidal pools and on the lookout for Puffin, we were surprised when all of the birds suddenly stopped singing. The Oregon DNR representative told us to just observe and just a minute later a huge eagle swooped in on the lookout for lunch. The birds went quiet, protecting themselves and their babies. While eagles gotta eat as well and what we were watching was nature “red in tooth and claw,” I couldn’t help comparing the scene to how voices are silenced by a voracious dictator through fear and threat of violence. Unlike the eagle, dictators aren’t on the lookout for mere sustenance, of course. But dictators certainly see the people under their thumbs as meal tickets to power and wealth, to be had for the taking.
My husband and I moved into my grandparents' home just a few miles south in 1979 and we never saw bald eagles. Two years ago the nesting pair near us raised four offspring. They are making a strong local come-back after the ravages of DDT.
How very interesting! I had no idea they were just so recently returning to the area. Such majestic birds - we seem to have them in quite an abundance again here in Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay. So glad to hear your flock (? Is that the right word?) is quickly multiplying!
They do not flock, but parent eagles teach their children before the juveniles go off. Chesapeake Bay studies have shown the same increase in eaglet survival we observe here. Egg survival rate there dropped to below one/year and began climbing to early 20th century levels in the decades after DDT was banned in 1972, triggered by the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring. It's been a long road.
Absolutely, Rachel Carson is an American Hero. Isn’t it awesome that we can make a difference through positive action, environmental research, regulations, laws and SCIENCE. It can happen. Now we must continue to pay attention because we have multinational companies producing environmentally harmful chemicals, distributing worldwide and some lawmakers (repubs?) supporting these companies even after science tells they are causing permanent damage, some especially for children. And who but a child was the warning voice in the 21st century? Greta Thunberg from Sweden. https://www.google.com/search?q=greta+thunberg&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari
Ours have returned to the mid Willamette Valley in measurable, yet smaller numbers. Jan-Mar is the best time to see them along the I-5 corridor as there are tons of sheep farms along there; they feed like crazy on sheep placentae.
This is such a great thread! Hearing about all the places where we have eagles again. How encouraging! I spent a few years commuting to the Seattle area, which I love just as much as Maryland. Truly gorgeous country and wonderful people in the PNW.
I'm loving this thread too, for all the wonderful info being shared from across the country - nothing but positivity and delight... the GOOD side of the internet!
We have eagles here in little il Tecumseh Ks. It is not nesting here, tho close. I got to observe and photograph one for 45 min or so taking a bath near the shore of our little lake. We've had many parents teach their juveniles how to hunt here also
I live in Albany in the Mid-Valley. I’m astounded at the great number of Bald Eagles we have here! We live way at the end of town by the farms in a small subdivision. Last fall I was driving down my street and a Bald Eagle swooped in front of my car! It was less than ten feet from me. As startling as that was, I was completely mesmerized by seeing the bird so closely I could discern individual feathers. I felt humbled and honored to have been in such close contact!
Just as such behavior is natural for the eagles and their prey, it is in the natute of homo sapiens to turn to violence to get what it wants, well documented in the Bible and by all of the wars since then. There is a reason for the bald eagle to have been chosen as the emblem of the United States. At least its talons hold both arrows and olive branches.
An interesting observation. And thanks for the reminder about what the American eagle holds in its talons. You have made me terribly curious - I want to dive into some research on the selection of the eagle as a symbol for America. (But work first, sigh.)
I’ve lived in coastal Maine most of my life and am always astounded when I visit the beaches out West: how wide and expansive they are compared to New England’s nooks and crannies (at least in my favorite spots.) How lucky we are to live in a country so diverse in landscape and people.
Welcome to the North Coast. After a full day of canvassing for our progressive local county commissioner it was good to hear you are in our midst! We're working hard to ensure good governance.
Hope you can travel up and down the west coast. It’s so beautiful and the people have worked to protect the land, from oil drilling especially, which is truly work. It’s a paradise for recreation and wildlife. My family has enjoyed Years of biking and hiking California to Canada. In the 1980s we biked the San Juans, leaving our car behind. Our nine year old on the back of a tandem with dad, mom and brother on their bikes. That trip included ferries to the island and eventually one to Sidney, Canada and onward. And a lifelong love and care of the environment for the future. Hoping always USA protects the environment for all creatures. Especially continuing to stop drilling and development, a real concern.
Welcome to the west coast. The Maine coast is a special favorite place for us, and we are Californians so the west coast is our beautiful home. Knowing you are on our side of the continent puts you close by, like we could just reach out and touch.
Thank you for educating, encouraging, and providing perspective on our socio-political lives
as fellow Americans. Enjoy your travels in safety and good health. (If you get to California, brace yourself for the gas prices🥴)
I hope you can continue south a bit. Humboldt County has beaches, Redwood trees, lagoons and without a doubt the best elk viewing. You have a lot of fans and daily readers in Humboldt 🦌🏄♂️🏊🏽♀️🚴🏿♀️
One of my favourite places on earth. Arch Cape, nearby was a regular getaway from my home town Seattle. So beautiful. That sea air can blow your troubles away. 🧜🏻♀️
Heather I can’t decide whether you are Superwoman or Batwoman. (Or both) Whateever, you are truly extraordinary. Earlier you quietly mentioned that you had visited Gettysburg before dropping by the White House for a chat with President Biden. Now you have taken a moment from Maine seals to cherish the tufted puffins in Oregon.
How you can take a 3,000 mile ‘breather,’ and write about picking up the nightly Letter tomorrow boggles my mind. Perhaps you’ll start your letter with a squib about how Oregon has had broad mail-in voting for years with excellent results.
You and Buddy enjoy the tufted puffins and we shall endeavor to ‘stop the world’ to provide you a few days of rest and relaxation before you return to your irreplaceable role of oracle to those who believe in a functioning democracy.
It is fitting that you are in the state where Edward R Murrow was born, grew up, and became a union member when he worked in logging. Murrow would have lauded you.
We are so excited to have you here. We’re 12 miles south of you in Manzanita. We wait for your letters and never fail to read each one. You have many followers in the Pacific NW. Thank you for every letter.
Manzanita is lovely!
Many years ago, we stayed at a place in Yachats. It was lovely. Beautiful coast!
Dear HCR -- I spent the first 18 years of my life in Portland, ME, and will always consider myself a Mainer. Nonetheless, the West Coast (we have lived in CA since 1980), esp OR, has a different kind of coastal charm, including sunsets over the ocean! Please take time to enjoy your visit to the Pacific Northwest. I am sure that many (most) of your readers would not begrudge you however much vacation time you want to include in your travel itinerary. We can wait! -- Take Care
I hope you can also spend time simply relaxing and drinking in the restorative scenery. The Oregon coast and light are a special paradise. ❤
Oswald West was governor for one term in the early days of Oregon State. Somewhere I read he said to the legislature something to the effect that they weren't there to get re+elected, so they set aside about half of Oregon's coast as state parks to keep it from being ruined by business.
The entire length of Oregon's coastal beaches is parkland accessible to the public. As a result, we have more public beaches than all the rest of the contiguous states put together. That was Oswald West's doing.
Thanks. Somewhere on old 101 there is a plaque saying he did that in 1910.
He was elected governor of the state in 1910. "West established Oregon's beach highway law, proclaiming the entire Pacific coastline to the high tide line to be a public highway, thereby preserving scenery and beach access for future generations. The law protecting public access to the high-water line remains in effect on Oregon beaches, which were formally protected by the Oregon Legislature and Governor Tom McCall in 1967 (HB 1601)." [Wikipedia] So, really, you need to thank McCall. I was a young girl, but remember when this happened [my grandmother was not happy about it]. Public access reaches all the way to the green line.
Fabulous info, Susan and Jan. Thank you.
Tom McCall was one of the last decent Republicans , back when they believed in protecting the environment!
Good to know these details, thanks.
This so interesting! Now I’m adding Oregon to my travel list. Never been. Thank you all & Heather!
There's nothing like the Oregon Coast...my brother has a cabin in Rockaway Beach--thank you Heather for making me homesick! If you have time, visit the Maryhill Museum on the WA side of the Columbia gorge...interesting history....
EVERY child in the area should be taken to see the gorgeous art and historical artifacts from around the world.
I believe that the museum has the second largest collection of Rodin's works, the first being housed at the Rodin Museum here in Philly....
I don't know if it has The Burghers of Calais - which is my ALL TIME favorite sculpture. But there's a copy of it (or was a copy or original) at the Portland Art Museum long ago.
There is also a lovely beach that my husband and I loved to visit before and after we married until we moved too far south in the Valley for convenient visits. Driving south from Highway 26 on I-101 you will arrive at Oswald West State Park. There is a parking lot with a trail that wanders off through the forest. The first time we went there, it was like being in the Hobbit or in a fairytale forest. After a hike of, oh, a quarter mile, the woods open up on a lovely secluded, crescent shaped beach - Short Sand Beach. We haven’t been there since our kids were in school and I remember then getting down to the sand was a bit of a challenge - I could not do it today if the access were the same as it was then. But, even if I went today, walking carefully (and with someone young and strong to catch me if I slipped!) the view from the top of the bluff is worth every bit of the effort!
Check out Sierra Club for all kinds of group events all over the USA, a conservation group with chapters mostly on the West Coast, I wish I was young enough to do the mule trek down into the Grand Canyon....
I love learning this. Thank you Susan.
Me too!
Enjoy yourself on our lovely west coast. While you are here, try to visit some of the McMennamins properties. They buy schools, churches, abandoned railway stations, and even an amazing former "poor farm" in Troutdale (fairly near PDX airport) and develop them as hotels and restaurants. At one time they employed more artists than any other Oregon employer, and the research into each building's history and the artwork is phenomenal.
Following a fine meal and playing a concert at the Hawk Creek, I met the brothers and wives McMenamin in Neskowin.
Susan, We stayed at McMenamins Kennedy School in Portland once upon a time, in the Little Jack Horner room. So unique. We loved the cafes and exhibits, too but didn’t know about other properties. So fun and different.
Thank you Susan! Such wonderful information!
We love Cannon beach, so glad you are there. One day, visually looking through the tidal pools and on the lookout for Puffin, we were surprised when all of the birds suddenly stopped singing. The Oregon DNR representative told us to just observe and just a minute later a huge eagle swooped in on the lookout for lunch. The birds went quiet, protecting themselves and their babies. While eagles gotta eat as well and what we were watching was nature “red in tooth and claw,” I couldn’t help comparing the scene to how voices are silenced by a voracious dictator through fear and threat of violence. Unlike the eagle, dictators aren’t on the lookout for mere sustenance, of course. But dictators certainly see the people under their thumbs as meal tickets to power and wealth, to be had for the taking.
My husband and I moved into my grandparents' home just a few miles south in 1979 and we never saw bald eagles. Two years ago the nesting pair near us raised four offspring. They are making a strong local come-back after the ravages of DDT.
How very interesting! I had no idea they were just so recently returning to the area. Such majestic birds - we seem to have them in quite an abundance again here in Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay. So glad to hear your flock (? Is that the right word?) is quickly multiplying!
They do not flock, but parent eagles teach their children before the juveniles go off. Chesapeake Bay studies have shown the same increase in eaglet survival we observe here. Egg survival rate there dropped to below one/year and began climbing to early 20th century levels in the decades after DDT was banned in 1972, triggered by the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring. It's been a long road.
Indeed, a very long road. God bless Rachel Carson.
Absolutely, Rachel Carson is an American Hero. Isn’t it awesome that we can make a difference through positive action, environmental research, regulations, laws and SCIENCE. It can happen. Now we must continue to pay attention because we have multinational companies producing environmentally harmful chemicals, distributing worldwide and some lawmakers (repubs?) supporting these companies even after science tells they are causing permanent damage, some especially for children. And who but a child was the warning voice in the 21st century? Greta Thunberg from Sweden. https://www.google.com/search?q=greta+thunberg&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari
Ours have returned to the mid Willamette Valley in measurable, yet smaller numbers. Jan-Mar is the best time to see them along the I-5 corridor as there are tons of sheep farms along there; they feed like crazy on sheep placentae.
This is such a great thread! Hearing about all the places where we have eagles again. How encouraging! I spent a few years commuting to the Seattle area, which I love just as much as Maryland. Truly gorgeous country and wonderful people in the PNW.
I'm loving this thread too, for all the wonderful info being shared from across the country - nothing but positivity and delight... the GOOD side of the internet!
Yes, MM!💙
Seattle has had eagles returning to Greenlake for the past several decades. Eagles… in the middle of a large city…
We have eagles here in little il Tecumseh Ks. It is not nesting here, tho close. I got to observe and photograph one for 45 min or so taking a bath near the shore of our little lake. We've had many parents teach their juveniles how to hunt here also
We see them daily over the beach, and until I retired I saw them in the spruce trees across the street from the high school where I taught.
Wow!
I live in Albany in the Mid-Valley. I’m astounded at the great number of Bald Eagles we have here! We live way at the end of town by the farms in a small subdivision. Last fall I was driving down my street and a Bald Eagle swooped in front of my car! It was less than ten feet from me. As startling as that was, I was completely mesmerized by seeing the bird so closely I could discern individual feathers. I felt humbled and honored to have been in such close contact!
Just as such behavior is natural for the eagles and their prey, it is in the natute of homo sapiens to turn to violence to get what it wants, well documented in the Bible and by all of the wars since then. There is a reason for the bald eagle to have been chosen as the emblem of the United States. At least its talons hold both arrows and olive branches.
An interesting observation. And thanks for the reminder about what the American eagle holds in its talons. You have made me terribly curious - I want to dive into some research on the selection of the eagle as a symbol for America. (But work first, sigh.)
I’ve lived in coastal Maine most of my life and am always astounded when I visit the beaches out West: how wide and expansive they are compared to New England’s nooks and crannies (at least in my favorite spots.) How lucky we are to live in a country so diverse in landscape and people.
Beaches on Oregon's entire coastline open to the public and are managed by the Parks Department. It is a great gift.
"How lucky we are to live in a country so diverse in landscape and people."
Welcome to the North Coast. After a full day of canvassing for our progressive local county commissioner it was good to hear you are in our midst! We're working hard to ensure good governance.
Hope you can make it north to the San Juan Islands. Enjoy your time
Hope you can travel up and down the west coast. It’s so beautiful and the people have worked to protect the land, from oil drilling especially, which is truly work. It’s a paradise for recreation and wildlife. My family has enjoyed Years of biking and hiking California to Canada. In the 1980s we biked the San Juans, leaving our car behind. Our nine year old on the back of a tandem with dad, mom and brother on their bikes. That trip included ferries to the island and eventually one to Sidney, Canada and onward. And a lifelong love and care of the environment for the future. Hoping always USA protects the environment for all creatures. Especially continuing to stop drilling and development, a real concern.
Welcome to the west coast. The Maine coast is a special favorite place for us, and we are Californians so the west coast is our beautiful home. Knowing you are on our side of the continent puts you close by, like we could just reach out and touch.
Thank you for educating, encouraging, and providing perspective on our socio-political lives
as fellow Americans. Enjoy your travels in safety and good health. (If you get to California, brace yourself for the gas prices🥴)
Olga and Marshall
Enjoy my BLUE home state!
I hope you can continue south a bit. Humboldt County has beaches, Redwood trees, lagoons and without a doubt the best elk viewing. You have a lot of fans and daily readers in Humboldt 🦌🏄♂️🏊🏽♀️🚴🏿♀️
One of my favourite places on earth. Arch Cape, nearby was a regular getaway from my home town Seattle. So beautiful. That sea air can blow your troubles away. 🧜🏻♀️
Your last sentence.......
Heather I can’t decide whether you are Superwoman or Batwoman. (Or both) Whateever, you are truly extraordinary. Earlier you quietly mentioned that you had visited Gettysburg before dropping by the White House for a chat with President Biden. Now you have taken a moment from Maine seals to cherish the tufted puffins in Oregon.
How you can take a 3,000 mile ‘breather,’ and write about picking up the nightly Letter tomorrow boggles my mind. Perhaps you’ll start your letter with a squib about how Oregon has had broad mail-in voting for years with excellent results.
You and Buddy enjoy the tufted puffins and we shall endeavor to ‘stop the world’ to provide you a few days of rest and relaxation before you return to your irreplaceable role of oracle to those who believe in a functioning democracy.
It is fitting that you are in the state where Edward R Murrow was born, grew up, and became a union member when he worked in logging. Murrow would have lauded you.
Those folks in the foreground really give Haystack a nice perspective. Yeah, please enjoy yourselves. : )
I miss the Oregon Coast!
**Sea Lion Caves near Florence, Heather. 🐙
**Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. (Donations welcome.)
Somehow I've wound up in Central Washington.
I grew up on the CA coast and am now in landlocked north central Idaho. Thankful for rivers and eagles etc. to help me not miss the coast too much
Looking forward to seeing you at the Schnitz on Tuesday night. Welcome to Oregon!
I will be there as well, Hillary. Aren’t we blessed for their visit! So glad they got to the coast and Ft. Clatsop.