Western Oregon and wherever else I end up!!
(place your cursor over the flag to see the reverse side)
Click on picture in the right column for pictorial tour!
|
News:
|
I love to travel, but I am sure you already know that, unless this is the first of my 40 plus pages you have landed on.
Unfortunately I can't really afford to travel as much as I'd like, so I came up with this plan. I am on a working
vacation. I am now a traveling nurse, and someone else is paying me to go where I want. (not a bad deal at all at all) I am currently working in Salem, Or., the state capital of Oregon. Salem has a population upwards of 139,000. The mean temperature has been in the mid 70's to mid 80's since I have been here with a few days spiking into the triple digits. I left Phoenix with the temp. reaching quickly to 105. I know, I know...it is a dry heat!!! My own personal preference is that anything over 90 does not much matter...dry or wet... it is tooo hot!! A Brief history:Oregon is the 33rd State, and the only state with a flag that has a different symbol or picture on either side. The Beaver is the state animal and is on the reverse side of the flag. Place your cursor over the Oregon state flag and you will see the reverse side. You need to have java enabled in your browser for this to work. Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, bordering the Pacific Ocean, California, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Its northern border lies along the Columbia River and the eastern border lies along the Snake River. Two north-south mountain ranges—the Pacific Coast Range and the Cascade Mountain Range—form the two boundaries of the Willamette Valley. Salem:Salem is the capital of Oregon and is also the county seat of Marion County. However, a small portion of Salem within its incorporated limits of 44 square miles lies across the Willamette River (Historical Note) in Polk County. This is referred to as "West Salem". Salem is located in the center of the Willamette Valley...one of the most fertile and agriculturally productive regions of the world...47 miles south of Portland and 64 miles north of Eugene, Salem serves as the hub of both state government and the surrounding farming communities. |
 capital building.
 State Park. |
The local news is out of Portland for the most part. One interesting fact, I have surmised from watching the local news is the amount of hit and run drivers there are. It seems out of proportion for the size of the area. I have been here about 3 months as of this writing and I have heard of 6 hit and run drivers. Some have been caught and others have not. I am a walker, and the sidewalks in the area I am living in is almost non-existant. Is there a correlation here? The hit and run has been anything from car to car, car to bicycle, or car to pedestrian. There are bike lanes, but not as many as I have seen in other places. The mean speed limit is conservative. The drivers on the road not paying attention, about the same as elsewhere.
Other news is focussing on the elections, both local and national, and Illegal immigrants are in the local news, even this far north. The same issues seem present with about the same emphasis as other places I have lived. (Nothing new under the sun Horatio)
Shopping is a source of interest to many of us. Salem has an active downtown. Some of the downtown is an indoor shopping mall with covered walkways going across a couple of main streets to other stores. This seems sensible, since this part of the country is known for it's many rainy days. I have been here since early June and have seen many cloud covered days, but only a few light rain showers so far. There are many strip malls, and so far, I have seen one other indoor mall, The Lancaster Mall, which is a medium size indoor mall. I will add more that I think might be of interest as I explore this region of the country. I sincerely hope you enjoy the pictures I am bringing to you. I would appreciate any feedback either by email, link at the bottom of this and most of my pages, or by signing my guestbook, link is at the top of the homepage or from my communication page..ie, comcenter.
