Some Sweet Scenes

 Yesterday I took a few pictures during a brief day trip on the McKenzie Highway, and got a picture of the McKenzie river....

 ...and the grassy green area on the left is the site of an old tow path. There is a river on the other side of it.  These are paths that were created beside bodies of water to tow (pull) small boats either by horse and cart, by a person walking beside a horse. You can see pictures when you type in "tow path".

A cable was attached to the boat so that the person and the horse pulling it might guide it along the river.  These paths are no longer used but it is very dangerous to drive a car on them (although they actually are roads) because of sudden floods. I have read that cyclists use these old roads, but with caution. It looks like it might be a very romantic, scenic place to walk also, but there are some warning signs to keep off the area. The tow paths are well maintained and mowed.

In spite of that, these tow paths are fascinating due to their place in history. There are so few of them left in the US, and it is interesting that there is one here in Oregon that we actually drive by quite regularly. You can see on the left up on the side of the road, more of that grassy tow path.

We enjoyed our day trip as our little motorcar hummed pleasantly past these sparkling scenes. I snapped all the pictures while the car was still in motion.  There are a lot of turn-outs and stopping places but we always came upon them so suddenly there was no time to pull over, it was not easy to turn around to back-track, and there were no signs indicating upcoming rest stops.

 We like the picturesque-ness of the old highways. Now and then we saw a lodge, a bed and breakfast, or an inn tucked away in the woods with the lights on. One day I want to stop and spend the night in one, so keep your donations coming! (that was a joke, ladies).

These would be great scenes from the window of a tea room, but alack and alas, such a luxury is not to be found, even on the 10 day, 4,000 mile old-highway trip we took recently.  That is why I have that folding table set that fits nicely in the car. I must say, however, that there were plenty of rest stops on the old highways we took across the desert and prairies, which had very nicely maintained picnic areas under awnings in many places along the 9 states we traveled, particularly in Apache country.

We drove 300 miles today, past the lava fields and  through the Willamette National Forest. That is pronounced will-AM it.

I made a list of all the things I needed to finish at home, before going anywhere, I mean anywhere else.  Finally I have developed a system of making sure the house is company ready (for us) when I get back from a drive or a road trip. Since we were only gone for a day, we left a few small lights on and a couple of solar lights inside and outside happily greeted us upon our return.  It was a luxury to come home to a clean kitchen and bathroom with the towels all laid out and the bed made. I felt more like an important guest at a roadside inn,  rather than the housekeeper who had left 13 hours earlier.