Trip Report
Leaders: Paul & Barbara Beard
Heading south on Coburg with 46 riders, we turned onto Pioneer Pike, where we saw many beautiful rhododendron and the house where Paul and Barbara lived (1974-1985). Barbara is Ethel Allen's daughter and is the dessert chef at a large resort hotel in Lincoln City. From downtown Eugene, we proceeded to Springfield and saw several nice murals. After we turned onto Hayden Bridge Way, Vera Kocken took the mike and gave us a wonderful tour of the neighborhood where she spent some of her childhood years. Shotgun Creek Park was our coffee and rest stop. Then, we saw the Wendling, Earnest and Crawfordsville bridges before arriving at Sankey Park in Sweet Home, where the Weddle bridge is located. Some riders went for a short walk while others fed the hungry ducks. After leaving this park, we saw several more beautiful murals in town. Upon leaving Sweet Home, we traveled through some beautiful country consisting of forests, flowers, and many horse, cattle and sheep farms.
At 1:10, we pulled into lovely Silver Creek Falls park, and enjoyed our barbecue of hamburgers, brats and chicken. The weather was cloudy and overcast most of the day, and a few sprinkles landed on our cooks - Barbara, Mark and Denise. Highlight of this luncheon was the lovely cake shared by Ewart with everyone celebrating his 90th birthday. We were having so much fun we left the park about 30 minutes late. Nevertheless, we arrived at 3:45 in Silverton, where we were greeted by the staff of the Silverton Co. Historical Society Museum. Museum director Vincent Pill couldn't ride with us, but his assistant Jeff did. He told us about the Norman Rockwell murals painted by a local resident, David McDonald, considered one of the top muralists in the nation.
At 5 p.m., we visited the Pub & Brewery in Mt. Angel. A highlight of the day was determining our "mystery guest." There were several distinguished guests with us, but the "mystery guest" was Dr. John Baker, author of Camp Adair. After leaving Mt. Angel, we headed for the I-5, passing a beautiful iris field. We arrived back home safely, thanks to our wonderful driver, John Goddard. There are 51 covered bridges in Oregon, and we viewed 10 of them (including Goodpasture Island covered bridge on a mural in Springfield). Thanks to all the Obsidians and guests. Many hands made light the work at the barbecue. Thanks, Paul and Barbara Beard.
On the trip: Ethel Allen, Dr. John Baker, Ewart Baldwin, Don Baldwin, Neil Baldwin, Rosemary Baldwin, Barbara and Paul Beard, Paula Beard, Louise Behnke, Lloyd Bissel, Marylee Cheadle, Marjorie Crueger, Connie Dooley, Robert Eaton, Rosemary Etter, Margret Fea, Rachele Fiszman, Jeannette Forsman, Bette Hack, Barbara Hagerman, Dora Harris, Evelyn Hile, Mark Irving, Marjorie Jackson, Dr. Paul Jensen, Ray Jensen, Rosella Jones, Marcia Jordan, Ben Kirk, Verna Kocken, Gloria Layden, Mary Lemons, Denise McCarthy, John McManigal, Lenore McManigal, Don Payne, Barbara Payne, Liz Reanier, Nan Smith, Helen Gillard, Julie Snell, Dick Speelman, Janet Speelman and Vera Wooley.
