Trek along with me!

So, I decided to take the socks on a little trek this weekend. Little did I know it would turn out to be quite the production!

The whole trip was filled with events the entire way. The first one started before we had even left the apartments- there were two little deer in the yard! In the middle of the day! What are the chances? So Casey was nice enough to stop and let me shutterbug the moment:



Then it was off to the highway. However, we didn't get too far. There was an accident on the highway. An engine passed us, followed by the State Police, an ambulance and then a Water Tender from the local rural district. We stopped and waited, like patient drivers should. Then there was a rumble from above. A freaking HELICOPTER landed right beside the car on the highway. No kidding. Here's proof:



And after all that production, they ended up not using the helicopter after all. But, it's always better to be safe than sorry, especially when your vehicle ended up like this:



People, you MUST drive safely on rural roadways! Just because your car can go fast, doesn't mean it should. This man was pulled to safety by some passersby, just as his vehicle erupted into flames. The local media didn't get a description of his injuries, but you can bet they weren't good.

Finally, we made it to Florence. If you aren't familiar with the Oregon Coast, there's a few things you should know. First, a lot of Oregon's beaches look like this:



If you like pristine white sand beaches, go to Hawaii. If you want to tan on the beach, go to California. If you want any other "party" type of beach, head out to South Florida Keys. The Oregon Coast is cold, always windy (seriously) and has two food options: seafood and more seafood. We go to the coast in the summer to cool down. It's been 96 in town and foggy at the coast. The Oregon Coast is a quagmire, and I wouldn't want it any other way. Why? Because any time you go there, this is what you can see:



Bright whitecaps and rocky jetties! The rocks support a tidepool community of starfish, sea urchins, crabs, mussels, clams, octopus, rockfish, otters and many other types of life.

Oregon is home to lots of species, such as dungeness crabs, delicious wild chinook salmon and other types of wildlife/game/ fish/ trees. Right now there's a large problem in the state with our local fisheries. The federal government is limiting the catch of salmon because of the low runs (due to warmer waters, other man-made and nature-made ecological factors). Essentially, this could wipe out the year's industry for salmon. There's some federal money on the way to offset it, but it's not nearly enough. This type of problem has existed in part in the last 20 years or so with the Timber industry as well. Oregon has always prided itself on two factors: the impressive natural resources it houses and independent thinking. (State motto: "She flies with her own wings"- I love it). However, the twain do not work together on the former and the latter. Thus, really difficult problems just result in really difficult people to work with. And nothing gets solved. That is the part about Oregon that drives me nuts.

Below is the only picture that turned out of the socks. The wind kept gumming up the camera lens and the light outside was way too bright to make a good picture possible. I think my body is providing the shade necessary here. See the lichen and mini mussels around the socks? You can barely make them out, but they are there. The pattern is the Rib and Cable socks from Interweave Fall '05.



Later we went to the "Old Town" part of Florence. This little strip holds all the touristy attractions- t-shirts, things made of seashells, glass art (a major tourist attraction each year), saltwater taffy and the like. It's also where the fireworks are put on every 4th of July and where the ships come to dock at night.



Ever wonder what lives in the slew where the ships travel? I love looking at the waterfront tidepools. You never know what you're going to find, especially when the tide is in!