Reedsport Sculpture

We wanted to sample the SKP RV park in Sutherlin, so--also tiring of the foggy coastal scenes--we turned inland at Reedsport. Passing through the town we noticed chainsaw sculpture adorning the streets and decided to investigate.

Apparently they paint their sculpture here, like the
Ancients

All this led to Ellie's Sculpture Gallery

Adept at portraiture as well as other things

Siamese twin dragons?

I expect Michaelangelo's or Bernini's shops and yards looked
pretty much like this; except in marble

Maybe not

How many chainsaws can you count?

Leftovers/spare parts; something Michaelangelo never enjoyed

Piece de resistance...all sculpture...

Oregon Coastal Scenes

We were traveling rather leisurely, in no hurry. Our overall theory was that Boris and the Brits eventually, sooner than later, would open up to "amber" countries like the US, and that, with the barrage of flights Vicki had booked, we'd eventually get to Britland and make good on our Bloomsbury apartment rental for the summer. After Rainier, we planned on visiting the east side of Mt. St. Helens and exploring there for a few days. Alas, when we got to the turn off, all the east-side Mt. St. Helens roads were closed. Still too early in the season.  So we shifted gears and decided to chance the Oregon coast. It was reportedly already very crowded with campers, and we'd visited more than once in recent years, but we like coastal scenes, and Oregon's are some of the best. 

Western Washington roadsides are covered in gorse, very colorful
but nasty weeds we first encountered in Ireland; this was our only
picture of them

The coast begins

In Tillamook we stopped, again, at the Blue Heron French Country
Cheese store, which permits free overnights 

Driving from Tillamook I saw a sign advertising "U-Pick'em

Oysters" and then this lovely oyster and clam shoppe; I bought

a dozen, which I later devoured; without bloodshed

Later that day we began encountering much fog

Thus

And thus

Old friend Devil's Churn

Wallowa Valley

In one of the RV magazines we had read an article extolling the Wallowa Valley in far eastern Oregon--historic, scenic, accessible, but not very developed or crowded--and resolved to give it a look. We found it indeed impressive in those respects. In earlier years, we had traveled route 95 in Idaho, just across Hell's Canyon, many times, heading south through Idaho or snowmobiling near McCall, but had never gotten far enough west to explore this part of Oregon. It reminded us a bit of the Bitterroot Valley in Montana, smaller, and perhaps as the Bitterroot might have been, development-wise, a couple generations back. We had a good two-day look and resolved to come back.

Campsite at Wallowa River RV Park

The Wallowa River nearly at flood; with plenty of snow still up
there

Nez Perce pow-wow center nearby; this is the valley of Chief
Joseph's people

After a couple days in Walowa (town), we
drove up the valley past Lostine, then the
commercial center of Enterprise, to Joseph, the
arts center, to see the many bronzes, among
other things

Chief Joseph himself

"Carmel Corn"...fresh from the Big Sur?

St. Quonset Baptist Church

Nice murals

Mountain background

Curious relationship between topless cowboy and
his dog

Old fashioned soda fountain

Not so old fashioned

More bronzes; painted

More mountain back-drop

OK, so it's not Donatello; but it's still great to have so much
public art

Not seen in other eastern Oregon towns we passed through

We think this one might be called The Matterhorn

Memorable

Marina at Lake Wallowa, up at the top of the valley; a beautiful
state park

More back-drop

Leaving on route 3...

A pano of Joseph Canyon