Mt. Shasta from the plane: my BF the geologist was sadden by this picture. He says there used to be glaciers up there. I was very excited to see all these peaks from the air. We had driven by them in May.
Crater Lake
The Three Sisters
Mt. Batchelor
Mt Hood
The majestic Columbia River
A Bridge in Portland
The Saturday Market: I love this market and made a bee-line to it after our plane landed. Lots of amazing artists, craftspeople, food and local musicians. It's really the best!
Portland's Chinatown
The Crystal Ballroom: a very old ballroom/concert hall which featured everything from gypsy weddings, to the Motown masters, to the hippy bands of the 60's. It was saved from ruin by the McMinamen brothers and is now alive with music once again.
A winery I stopped at on the way to Yamhill.
All their wines are estate grown. they do Pinot, of course, and several of it's cousins: Pinto rigio, Pinot Gris, Gamay Noir. I ended up buying a bottle of the chocolaty Gamay Noir, grown on just 4 acres and hand picked. yum yum. Most Oregpn wineries are very small compared to California's vast vineyards, you have to drive up a curny road to reach them in the hills, because the fertile Willamette River valley is much too fertile to grown winegrapes. It's very sweet.
This is the block of Gamay Noir. I love being able to point to where the grapes I am drinking tonight came from.
Roses at the winery.
My interview at Bailey's Nursery.
Here is Bailey's Nursery in Yamhill where I had an interview. I would really like to work here. Not sure if I have the experience they need, but the men I met are super cool and laid back. My job would be to manage a crew of about 30 folks and go out to tend the container plants.
Bailey Nurseries is headquartered in the mid-west. Here on 800 acres, they grow hydrangeas, various soft woods, and roses to ship back east. they have recently opened up sales online which is changing the species under production. It's so HUGE!
They also do a LOT of barberries.
Next we pass through the very cute town of Carlton. I would love to live here.
I slept in McMinnville, a town with a very colorful history, including as a base for G-men trying to break the Japanese code in WWII and a UFO spotting.
Next was a drive down through Salem, and east to Silverton and The Oregon Garden. I really wanted this job as gardener, but after an very intense 1 1/2 hour grilling, I'm not so sure. The benefits suck, no paid holidays or sick time and only 1 week of vacation. Plus low pay. Plus they would make me cover the tattoo on my hand and take out my nose ring. The super-cool guys at Baileys didn't care about that.
Anyway, it's a truly gorgeous place to visit.
I toured around back up by Portland and got lost for the 3rd time. Uggg. I'm not that used to driving anymore. Anyway by shear luck I ended up at The Grand Lodge in Forest Grove. Another McMenamin brother's property, this one used to be a retirement home for Masons.
Heading to the airport now, another fab Portland bridge.
Taking off we can see Mt. St. Helens through the dusky skies.
Now it's the next day and I wake up in Reno and hit the road for the 2 hour drive to Lovelock. At least it's a stunning sunrise across the Nevada mountains.
Here's the Pershing County courthouse. It's round, which apparently is extremely rare.
Inside is the original linen ceiling, with fresh paint and a depiction of the Nevada State Seal behind the judges bench.
The jury sits in the middle.
The wood and every seat is original, biult in 1910, I think. Mark Twin designed the State Seal. And bleow here is a depiction of the signing of the constitution.
This is a place where justice was done. The guy was found guilty of 2 counts of sexual assault and will be in prison for the next 10 years.
