After the Covered Bridge tour (separate post), I returned to the historic district of Cottage Grove to check out some of their murals.
This one depicts actor/director Buster Keaton in the silent movie, "The General," that was filmed in Cottage Grove.
This mural depicts the covered bridges, a famous local author, and the railroad.
A Little Free Library box in a city park.
Cottage Grove is a bicycle-friendly town, as this mural depicts. (Dog-friendly too)
Their bicycle racks are unique.
Bicycle rack.
A mural depicting Centennial Bridge which is located in town.
Centennial Bridge at the end of Main Street.
I was staying at a Corps of Engineers campground, 8 miles from Cottage Grove. It is located just below the dam of Dorena Lake.
There is a beautiful trail from the campground that winds through a forest of Douglass Fir.
Moss growing on the branches in this temperate rain forest climate.
Ah, you know you're in the Pacific Northwest when you see a banana slug on the trail.
A Western Tanager sings a morning song.
More pretty wildlife...
This is a baby turkey in the tree. He got separated from his family when he saw us coming up the trail and flew up there for safety.
There are lots of wildflowers around the area below the dam.
This is the Row River (rhymes with "cow" I learned) below the dam.
Of course I got the boat wet. Before I got back, I got me wet too when it started raining!
Every body of water has a Great Blue Heron.
This one has an Osprey too.
And a Western Grebe.
And lots of Canada Geese!
This waterski boat was the only other boat on the lake.
There is a park by the boat ramp. Harms Park.
The Row River trail follows the lake here. This is part of the rails-to-trails project. The trail goes all the way to Cottage Grove and beyond.
A cherry tree in the park.
Loaded with cherries!
The trestle bridge in Harms Park was featured in the movie, "Stand by Me."
Another day I drove into the nearby Umpqua National Forest to the Spirit Falls trailhead.
This is a short but beautiful 1-mile trail down to Spirit Falls.
Once again, we are in a temperate rain forest.
And there's another large banana slug!
Roots of a downed tree on the left, and moss-covered branches of another tree on the right.
And then the forest opens up to reveal the splendor of Spirit Falls!
Top of the falls.
The farther it falls, the prettier it becomes.
Spirit Falls....good name.
Want to watch it and hear the sound? Click on the video.
Close up of some moss.
I think this is a Hairy Woodpecker, perhaps a juvenile.
Thistle checks out a large tree.
You can tell that this area has been forested at some point.
Wildflowers growing along the roadside in the forest. My cousin told me what they are, but I forgot already.
