The Wheels on the Bus

Linda Burton posting from Salem, Oregon – The buses brought the kids today. Three loads of them were sitting on the capitol steps as I approached; the girls were singing in a chant “Elvis Presley, girls are messy,” hands clapping on the beat. I pushed through the revolving door of the Oregon state capitol and found myself in the rotunda just as a group of students approached the center, taking their place around the seal embedded in the floor. The tour guide stepped beside me, “You’re welcome to join us,” he said and so I stayed, intent on hearing the story of the seal. It shines like gold, but the guide explained that it was brass. He pointed to the elk, the sheaf, the plow, the axe. He talked about the covered ox-drawn wagon, symbolizing the pioneers that came to Oregon. Then he pointed to the ships – one coming towards land, the other sailing away. “One is an American ship,” he said, “and one is British. Do you know why the British ship is going away?” The children waited expectantly for the next line. » read more

Elephant DNA

Linda Burton posting from Salem, Oregon – Arturo was chopping on the block in his red official carver’s apron. “Don’t you need goggles?” I asked. “Not with chunks this big,” Arturo laughed. “But yes, if I’m using the bandsaw.” I’m standing in the Carving Room at the Salem Riverfront Carousel, a room that is crowded at the moment with volunteers, carving tools, chunks of wood, and detailed drawings of elephants and frogs. I’d found the place by accident; Olessya had brought her siblings to ride the carousel; when I asked for directions to the place she told me there was carving going on today. “Go to the second door,” she said. Irene opened the door and let me in. “The carousel animals are hand-carved,” she explained, “all by volunteers. Right now we’re carving new animals, so we can change them out each month. We’ll have special ones throughout the seasons, too. That way there will always be something new.” A would-be elephant took up the center of the room, that’s what Arturo was working on today. “So this will be an elephant?” I rubbed my hand against the wood. “It doesn’t smell like an elephant, or look like much of one either, right now. It doesn’t even have a trunk.” » read more

Go Tell Aunt Rhodie

Linda Burton posting from Salem, Oregon – The Pacific Northwest is the rhododendron place. Everybody knows that. It’s the weather, the soil, the everything. Rhodies flourish in every color, size and shape; and though they bloom throughout the year, May is the crowning month. I arranged my schedule for arrival in the Pacific Northwest at Rhodie Time, and rolled into Salem eager to see the gorgeous flowering shrubs; I was not disappointed. The capitol grounds were lush with purple rhododendron and that stunning rosy pink, standing out like post-it notes against a backdrop thick with evergreens; tall firs and spruce; a Sherwood forest in the heart of town. At my hotel the purple must be ten feet tall at least; the pink is past its prime, time to deadhead soon. I pull dead blooms when I go by; can’t help myself, a habit from the past. On the counter at the restaurant, I spot some rosy pink; a rhodie catalogue, I thought. But no, it said Adelman Peony Gardens, 2012. Peonies? I took a copy to my seat and turned the page. » read more

Like Little Bear’s Porridge

Linda Burton posting from Salem, Oregon – “Jim Stembridge of Salem, Oregon loves state capitols. You will love them too, once you read his book about the 50 of them.  Like Little Bear’s porridge, this book is Just Right. It isn’t a heavy-duty, hardbound coffee-table book that’s hard to fit on your lap. It isn’t filled with endless facts and figures that you simply don’t want to wade through. Nor is it one of those slapped together 101’s, where inspiration unfortunately gives way to glib.You will enjoy reading it, and you will be satisfied with the logistics and consistency of it. I’ve always wanted a collection of capitol photographs. This book offers that – left hand page, alphabetical order by state – a full-page color exterior shot. You can flip through the book and easily find the one you want, or just enjoy them one after the other. These are not glam shots, touched up to a too-pretty perfection. Stembridge puts you there; you get a sense of place, as though you were standing on the sidewalk beside him.”

I wrote this review of Jim’s new book last July, and today, I did “stand on the sidewalk beside him,” right here in his home town of Salem. Jim is a Board Member of Capital Cities USA, so over lunch we talked about how the Journey is progressing, and we talked about his book. I wanted to hear more about how he came to write it. » read more

Tell Me About It

Linda Burton posting from Salem, Oregon – I ask everybody where they like to eat; it’s how you find the good places in a town that’s new to you. And knowing where people eat is one measure of a town, it gives a sense of what the people there enjoy. I stopped at an excellent trusted chain my first night in Salem, and when the manager stopped by my table to thank me for coming in, I asked him what “other” restaurants he would recommend. “I’m not looking for the most elegant,” I clarified, “I’m just interested in where people really enjoy going.” He sat down at my table, seriously thinking about his answer. “I eat out a lot,” he told me, as he jotted down some notes, “and to me the entire package is important.” We discussed what we appreciated in a restaurant – good food, of course; good service, parking, and location; but most of all, the right atmosphere. It’s that indefinable thing that’s hard to rate called, simply, love. “You can tell when an owner, or a chef, loves the business they’re in,” he said. And you can tell when people love to go there, too. It’s called “word of mouth,” meaning they tell other people about it. Rob handed me his notes, nicely categorized into the three basic meals of the day, three restaurants listed for each meal. “That should keep you busy while you’re here,” he smiled. » read more

That Very Pleased Look

Linda Burton posting from Salem, Oregon – Put your compass on the Salem map point. Now, draw a circle 100-miles around. This center-of-the-universe view reveals the truth of it – Salem is positioned right smack between the “mountains and the deep blue sea.” Take this varied terrain, add the fact that the climate is mild year-round, and there you have it: the perfect earth-air-water recipe for an out-of-doors way of life. East are the Cascade Mountains; Mt Hood, Mt Jefferson, Mt Washington, Three Fingered Jack; the Mt Jefferson Wilderness and the National Forests – Mt Hood, Willamette, and Deschutes. West are the Pacific Ocean and the Oregon beaches; Lincoln City, Tillamook, Newport, Agate Beach, Yachats, the Florence dunes. Also to the west is the Coast Range, Mary’s Peak the highest point at 4,097 feet. All of this is home to bear, elk, deer, beaver, and many species of birds and fish. Let’s talk about fish, and that statue of former Oregon governor Tom McCall, standing by the Willamette River in Salem’s Riverfront Park. » read more

When Babies Are Born

Linda Burton posting from Salem, Oregon – When babies are born in Oregon, the doctor slaps them on the bottom and says “No self-serve and no sales tax.” I was given this (sort of) tongue-in-cheek answer to my question this week, “Why can’t I pump my own gas here?” I know that when babies are born in Alabama they are dedicated right then and there as either “Alabama” or “Auburn” loyalists, whether or not they ever attend either university; a logical thing, you see; it keeps the sale of season tickets reasonably predictable (cue, chuckle). But I’m puzzled about the prohibition against being able to manage my own gasoline needs in Oregon. I’ve asked a few residents how they feel about it and the answers all come out the same: they like it like that. “I don’t like getting gas on my hands,” is one answer; “I don’t like getting out in the rain,” is another I’ve heard. Since Oregonians are always “out in the rain” on their bikes, or hiking their lovely mountain trails, or just going to the grocery store, that one didn’t resonate; and since I’ve pumped my own gas for more than twenty years and never gotten any on my hands, I decided to track down the legislative power behind the babies bottom. » read more

Once Upon A Time

Linda Burton posting from Salem, Oregon – “Once upon a time,” writes Virginia Green, “before shopping malls and giant parking lots….” Remember that? I remember walking to the A & P, Mother sending me off in a rush to pick up something she needed to finish cooking lunch. I remember hanging out at the corner drug store on summer afternoons, cooling off with a cherry coke while I planned my future over Wonder Woman comic books. That’s when I was 10, and rode my bike most everywhere. The good news is – bikes are in vogue again, and if you’re in Salem, Oregon, you can still walk, and shop, downtown. The Salem Downtown Historic District is a vibrant neighborhood today, with many buildings thoughtfully preserved to offer up a taste of the past. It’s tucked between the Riverfront Park and the State Capitol and you can combine shopping with reading – cast-bronze historic markers along the way tell you the building’s original name and when it was constructed and you’ll catch yourself nodding your head over the interesting story that is included too. Add shade trees, benches, and colorful architecture; you’re not just anywhere, you are someplace. » read more

Sunday Church

Linda Burton posting from Salem, Oregon – It’s just an old cinder cone, sprouting some juniper, and sage. But when you’re on the top of it, you get a 360-degree view of the world. The city of Bend lies below; look down at little house-boxes tucked between the trees; look across the high desert to the Cascades; snow-covered, glacier-frosted volcanic peaks that take your breath away. You simply have to stare. Pilot Butte was my first priority of Sunday morning business, but I wasn’t the first to arrive. Dick and Dee were already there. Karen too. So were moms and dads and kids and dogs and turtles. Well, one turtle, anyway. Water bottles, hiking boots, people dressed for Sunday morning joy, what better place to be? I looked around and deemed it “Sunday Church.” People had a happy look, pleased with themselves, pleased with the day. The “something” here is more than just a panoramic view. » read more

Shut The Front Door!

Linda Burton traveling from Boise, Idaho to Bend, Oregon on the way to Salem, Oregon – “Shut the front door!” or some version thereof is what I repeated each time I rounded another curve. The scenery was unexpected. According to the map, once I crossed the Snake River from Idaho into Oregon and left the freeway for Highway 20, there wasn’t much. First Vale, a small agricultural town, then what looked to be a curvy road to Burns, and Harney Basin. It was that unassuming curvy road that gave me the “wows” – a juicy-fruit of changing scenes, each one a surprise. All I could say was “Shut the front door!” Just outside Vale a lonely mass in a freshly plowed field commanded my attention. I stopped to read the sign. “Mahleur Butte,” it said, a leftover from the Idaho Lake of 2 million years ago. “Mahleur,” derived from the French “misfortune.” Turns out I’d see that name again and again. » read more