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I'm glad the farmer didn't paint the window trip on the top half of this old farm "garage". I admired the craftsmanship that has stood the test of time and the light shining through the upstairs window pane. Like most farms along the back roads of Oregon, this one showed pride and care.
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Farmers’ permission: On our drive along Oregon highway 213 & 214 from Salem to Silver Falls state park, we noticed some spectacular fields of flowers, being grown in the area for the flower seed trade.

On the way back from our hike at Silver Falls we stopped by three of the farms where I dutifully and properly knocked on the door of each of the three farm houses, to ask permission to enter their land for the purpose of taking photographs. Each of the encounters will be a lasting memory of this road trip. Here is the story of each:

Farmhouse #1: A middle aged man came out from his double story farm house and listened to my request. His response “Nah, I don’t mind a bit if you walk anywhere in the flower fields you want, my one request though, is that you don’t bother any elk you see. They love the flowers”. How great is that? I did in fact see elk tracks entering and exiting the man’s flower fields.

Farmhouse #2: a young woman with a cute little four or five year old daughter came around from the back of the farmhouse, as I was knocking on the front door. She seemed puzzled that I would bother to ask permission then smiled and said “you go just wherever you want and take all the pictures you like”. I complimented her daughter on her bright red new sandals, which brought a big smile to her face. What nice people you meet out in the country.

Farmhouse #3: A nice middle aged lady with a young daughter and a visiting neighbor woman came to the enclosed back porch of their farm house. I made my speech, asking permission to walk around the flower fields for the purpose of taking photos. Not only did I get a “yes” but the lady told me that the hay field was theirs, the flower fields a good neighbors, and that I was welcome to drive our car down the narrow dirt road that separated the two properties and fields. She even told me how I could rejoin a gravel road at the end of the field if I wanted to return to highway 213 another way. How is that for nice? We took her up on her offer and drove slowly (not wanting to raise dust) and got some good photos of the flower fields there.

So that’s my story. The light wasn’t great in all cases, but the farmers sure were. As always my patient and understanding wife, waited in the car most of the time, while I ran around the farmers’ fields, getting my jeans dirty, kneeling in the dirt here and there, to try to capture some nice flower photos and some fine memories as well.
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We took a four day, 950 mile counter clockwise looping “road trip” through Oregon (August 3-6th, 2011). The weather was outstanding.

The trip included a little “quality” penny slot machine time for my wife at three Oregon Native American casinos: Spirit Mountain at Grand Ronde; Chinook Winds at Lincoln City; and Kah-Nee-ta at Warm Springs. For me I got some barefoot beach hiking along the Oregon Coast.

Together we took the five mile version of the waterfalls loop hike at Silver Falls state park (our first visit there). Driving highway 213 to and from Silver Falls State Park from Salem, we came across many large farms raising colorful flowers for the packaged flower seed business. We met some really nice people, when we stopped to ask permission at these flower farms, to enter their private property to take photographs. Lots of fun!

We drove the McKenzie Pass highway for the first time. We really enjoyed that scenic drive and for me it was a reconnaissance for future hiking along the Pacific Crest Trail in the Three Sisters Wilderness, with McKenzie Pass serving as the north trailhead.

We had one of the best Mexican dinners we have had in long time at Mazatlan’s in Redmond, Oregon and I managed to convince my wife that we needed a short shopping trip stop at the nice REI store in Bend, Oregon.

We drove some scenic back roads, we had never before traveled, when we visited the Warm Springs reservation for a casino stop for my wife (I read Backpacker magazine under the shade of a tree, sipping on an ice cold lime diet Pepsi).

Our new Honda Fit got a respectable 40 mpg on this trip, with the A/C running much of the time…so we were happy with that. I’m now spoiled by the USB port in the glove box that let’s us play all of our “oldies” favorites from music folders loaded onto a small flash drive. Nothing like lots of good traveling tunes to make a road trip just that much more fun.

Once again, with just the two of us…..a great time was had by each and all. I hope you enjoy some of the photographs we took along our way.

OMT August 2011. 0000

After taking a series of photos of the "lupine like" flowers in a farmer's field north of highway 213, I took this photo walking back to our car and my ever patient and understanding wife.
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Farmers’ permission: On our drive along Oregon highway 213 & 214 from Salem to Silver Falls state park, we noticed some spectacular fields of flowers, being grown in the area for the flower seed trade.

On the way back from our hike at Silver Falls we stopped by three of the farms where I dutifully and properly knocked on the door of each of the three farm houses, to ask permission to enter their land for the purpose of taking photographs. Each of the encounters will be a lasting memory of this road trip. Here is the story of each:

Farmhouse #1: A middle aged man came out from his double story farm house and listened to my request. His response “Nah, I don’t mind a bit if you walk anywhere in the flower fields you want, my one request though, is that you don’t bother any elk you see. They love the flowers”. How great is that? I did in fact see elk tracks entering and exiting the man’s flower fields.

Farmhouse #2: a young woman with a cute little four or five year old daughter came around from the back of the farmhouse, as I was knocking on the front door. She seemed puzzled that I would bother to ask permission then smiled and said “you go just wherever you want and take all the pictures you like”. I complimented her daughter on her bright red new sandals, which brought a big smile to her face. What nice people you meet out in the country.

Farmhouse #3: A nice middle aged lady with a young daughter and a visiting neighbor woman came to the enclosed back porch of their farm house. I made my speech, asking permission to walk around the flower fields for the purpose of taking photos. Not only did I get a “yes” but the lady told me that the hay field was theirs, the flower fields a good neighbors, and that I was welcome to drive our car down the narrow dirt road that separated the two properties and fields. She even told me how I could rejoin a gravel road at the end of the field if I wanted to return to highway 213 another way. How is that for nice? We took her up on her offer and drove slowly (not wanting to raise dust) and got some good photos of the flower fields there.

So that’s my story. The light wasn’t great in all cases, but the farmers sure were. As always my patient and understanding wife, waited in the car most of the time, while I ran around the farmers’ fields, getting my jeans dirty, kneeling in the dirt here and there, to try to capture some nice flower photos and some fine memories as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We took a four day, 950 mile counter clockwise looping “road trip” through Oregon (August 3-6th, 2011). The weather was outstanding.

The trip included a little “quality” penny slot machine time for my wife at three Oregon Native American casinos: Spirit Mountain at Grand Ronde; Chinook Winds at Lincoln City; and Kah-Nee-ta at Warm Springs. For me I got some barefoot beach hiking along the Oregon Coast.

Together we took the five mile version of the waterfalls loop hike at Silver Falls state park (our first visit there). Driving highway 213 to and from Silver Falls State Park from Salem, we came across many large farms raising colorful flowers for the packaged flower seed business. We met some really nice people, when we stopped to ask permission at these flower farms, to enter their private property to take photographs. Lots of fun!

We drove the McKenzie Pass highway for the first time. We really enjoyed that scenic drive and for me it was a reconnaissance for future hiking along the Pacific Crest Trail in the Three Sisters Wilderness, with McKenzie Pass serving as the north trailhead.

We had one of the best Mexican dinners we have had in long time at Mazatlan’s in Redmond, Oregon and I managed to convince my wife that we needed a short shopping trip stop at the nice REI store in Bend, Oregon.

We drove some scenic back roads, we had never before traveled, when we visited the Warm Springs reservation for a casino stop for my wife (I read Backpacker magazine under the shade of a tree, sipping on an ice cold lime diet Pepsi).

Our new Honda Fit got a respectable 40 mpg on this trip, with the A/C running much of the time…so we were happy with that. I’m now spoiled by the USB port in the glove box that let’s us play all of our “oldies” favorites from music folders loaded onto a small flash drive. Nothing like lots of good traveling tunes to make a road trip just that much more fun.

Once again, with just the two of us…..a great time was had by each and all. I hope you enjoy some of the photographs we took along our way.

OMT August 2011. 0000