A Few of FR's Finest...Every Day...02-20-04...Oregon - "She Flies With Her Own Wings"

Mama_Bear

[Mama_Bear]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Mama_Bear, dansangel, dutchess, Aquamarine ~

Please join us as we make a cyber-visit to another great state in this Union of ours.

Over the past few months each "Finest" hostess has profiled her home state and I will be presenting the other states in random order. Please FReepMail me if you would like to participate in spotlighting your state. I would love to have your input on what you would like to see highlighted.

These are the states we have presented to date:

05-23-03 Alabama 06-27-03 Maryland 07-11-03 Vermont 07-25-03 Utah 08-05-03 Texas 08-22-03 Nevada 08-26-03 Wash DC 09-05-03 Tennessee 09-17-03 Florida

09-19-03 Minnesota 10-03-03 New Mexico 10-14-03 Georgia 10-17-03 Louisiana 10-22-03 Michigan 11-04-03 South Dakota 11-14-03 California 01-09-04 South Carolina 02-06-04 West Virginia

As we present each of our 50 states we also salute the proud FReepers who call their state 'home'.

Today we are traveling to the great
state Oregon, "The Beaver State".

One hundred and fifty years ago,
this cry was heard throughout
the east and midwest....

"Free land in Oregon!"



The 2,000 mile long route that stretched from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City pointed the way west for an estimated 300,000 pioneers and settlers in the middle of the 19th century. What turned out to be the largest voluntary peacetime mass migration in human history was critical to America's history as it sought to become a nation that stretched from "sea to shining sea".

Tens of thousands of wagons in every description, rumbled along this dusty trail. Still visible in many places, the ruts remain as a silent testimony to those who struggled, suffered and died in pursuit of their dreams.

An Oregon-bound airline, in 1849? Don't laugh--it almost happened. Rufus Porter, founder of Scientific American, planned to fly pioneers to Oregon on propeller-driven balloons powered by steam engines. He advertised the endeavor, and 200 brave souls signed up for the trip. But the "airline" never got off the ground.

Then there was the wind wagon, a cross between a sailboat and a wagon. Because it can be very windy in the West, it seemed like a good idea on paper. A prototype was built, and for a brief moment it barreled across the plains at the advertised 15 miles per hour. Then it went out of control and crashed. The inventor, "Wind-Wagon Thomas," kept trying for years, but never succeeded.

Others took a more low-tech approach, making the trip with only a simple wheelbarrow. It's hard to imagine pushing a fully loaded wheelbarrow for 2,000 miles, but several dozen people tried. For a time, they could outpace everything on the Trail, but human endurance has its limits. It is uncertain whether any of them made it all the way.

Mormon handcarts were somewhat more sophisticated. Like wheelbarrows, they were human-powered, but handcarts were pulled, not pushed. Thousands of handcarts made it to Salt Lake City, Utah, but there is no record of anyone taking a handcart further west.

***Oregon State Facts and Trivia***

• Oregon's state flag pictures a beaver on its reverse side. It is the only state flag to carry two separate designs.
  
  
   
• Oregon has more ghost towns than any other state.
   
• Oregon and New Jersey are the only states without self-serve gas stations.
   
• Eugene was the first city to have one-way streets.
   
• Pilot Butte, a cinder cone volcano, exists within the city limits of Bend.
   
• At 329 feet the Coast Douglas-Fir in Oregon is considered the tallest tree in the state.
   
• At 8,000 feet deep Hells Canyon is the deepest river gorge in North America.
   
• The Columbia River gorge is considered by many to be the best place in the world for windsurfing.
  
  
   
• The hazelnut is Oregon's official state nut. Oregon is the only state that has an official state nut. The hazelnut is also known as the filbert.
   
• Oregon's state birthday is on February 14, Valentine's Day.
   
• The "Oregon Pioneer" statue that tops the capitol building in Salem is a work by Ulric Ellerhusen. This heroic figure represents the spirit of Oregon's early settlers.
  
  
   
• In 1858 the richest gold find in the Cascade Mountains was discovered in the Bohemia Mining District at Sharp's Creek near Cottage Grove.
   
• In 1876 the University of Oregon opened in Eugene. Deady Hall was the first building on campus and still exists.
   
• In 1880 a sea cave was discovered near what is now known as Florence. Sea Lion Caves is known to be the largest sea cave in the world.
   
• The nation's most photographed lighthouse is the Heceta Head Lighthouse located in Lane County.
  
  
   
• Oregon's second highest waterfall is Salt Creek Falls in the Cascade Mountain range. It drops 286 feet.
   
• Eugene is rated by "Bicycling Magazine" as one of the top ten cycling communities in the United States.
   
• There are nine lighthouses standing along the coastline. Five are still being used; the others are designated historic monuments.
   
• Portland is considered an example of outstanding urban planning. The city is known as The City of Roses.
   
• Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and is formed in the remains of an ancient volcano.
  
  
   
• High above the city of Portland the International Rose Test Garden features more than 500 varieties of roses cultivated continuously since 1917.
   
• At 11,239 feet Mount Hood stands as the tallest peak in Oregon. Mount Hood is a dormant volcano.
   
• Silver Falls State Park is the Oregon's largest state park. It features 10 waterfalls and contains a wide variety of forested hiking trails.
   
• Discovered in 1874 the caves located in Oregon Caves National Monument are carved within solid marble.
   
• Fort Clatsop National Memorial contains a replica of Lewis and Clark's 1805-1806 winter outpost.
   
• In 1905 the largest long cabin in the world was built in Portland to honor the Lewis and Clark expedition.
   
• A treaty between the United States and Spain established the current southern border between Oregon and California. The treaty was signed in 1819.
   
• The Oregon Trail is the longest of the overland routes used in the westward expansion of the United States.
   
• Haystack Rock off Cannon Beach is 235 feet high and is the third largest coastal monolith in the world.
  
  
   
• The Seaside Aquarium was the first facility in the world to successfully breed harbor seals in captivity.
  
  
  

There is much to see and do in this interesting state,
not the least of which is exploring the beautiful
and rugged Oregon coastline.

The following websites provided
historical information and graphics....
"Oregon - The Facts"
"The Oregon Trail"

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 02-16-04...Military Monday 02-17-04...Random Acts Of Kindness 02-18-04...An Observation From Fred The Cat 02-19-04...JohnHuang2 - John's Two Cents

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me a FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

Click on the photo to view the album. To
submit your photo, please contact dansangel or .45MAN danbh59@yahoo.com
and include Freeper Photo Album in subject line.

[WVNan]

That was very sweet of you Aqua. You're a good kid. (it was pretty awful. What keeps him from a heart attack?)

[WVNan]

Now, I have been across that bridge. Our band played in Astoria. We were coming out of Washington where we played at McCaw AFS out on the Olympic Penn.

[Mama_Bear]

I've asked to have it removed, it was just too ugly for this thread. At least it won't be in the archives. Truly sorry.

You're kidding!? Did you really? That wasn't necessary. I don't know about dixie, but I was just teasing (((((((you))))))). ;-)

[Mama_Bear]

Biscuit wars? Did I miss something?

Well, I missed it too! I've been around here for a LONG time and I never heard of the Biscuit Wars. LOL

Yes, no one writes like LadyX. She definitely should write a book!

[Aquamarine]

Thanks Nan. What keeps him from having a heart attack...better not comment, it's too ugly. LOL

[SAMWolf]

Growing up in Chicago, It was a shock seeing how wide the Columbia River is.

[LadyX]

Sam, you probably missed the thread about when Nan and I met in Real Life last summer.

It was the most wonderful of experiences, and I related it in the Third Person as Maggie Malone, Sometime Reporter for Miss Billie.

Here is a link to it, complete with other photos in the replies: CLICK HERE

[Aquamarine]

It didn't belong there...it was one of those posts that should have been posted late in a thread. I mostly had it removed to make myself feel better, it just felt wrong all day.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the Link. I didn't see the thread but I heard you two had met. Isn't it great to meet another Freeper?

[Mama_Bear]

That is a beautiful photograph.......look at those rain clouds! It's nice to know that you do have a "less-rainy" season in the summertime.

[WVNan]

I remember my first sight of the Columbia. It was in Washington, coming into the eastern part of the state and seeing so much desert, and I had never realized that Washington state had desert. Then there was the Columbia running through all that flat land. It was not what I expected.

[WVNan]

It's great to meet another Freeper when she's your very own Spirit Sistah. A meeting I will never forget.

[SAMWolf]

Yeah, the High Desert sure makes you feel like a real little piece in a big world. Most of the State is east of the Cascades ans give new meaning to "wide open" spaces.

[SAMWolf]

Spirit Sistah

Is there a "brotha" equivalent?

[SAMWolf]

The rain isn't too bad. It beats shoveling snow. :-)

[LadyX]

Oh, yes, there were biscuit wars, and Sam the Man was my right arm!

One day on a thread, there was much discussion about The Best Chili Recipe, wrangling especially among the Texans and Arizona contingent.

One woman gave hers, and insisted it be served with biscuits, not crackers, etc.

The next day, remembering she musta had leftovers and the biscuits would be as hard as bricks, I put my mind to some good use for them.

I hailed Angelique in Arizona, and lobbed a few hard, stale biscuits at her from South Carolina, and she retaliated.
Well, you can imagine the melee that ensued, and I warned all the Texans and others in between us to DUCK, in case any fell short....

Dear Sam, up in Oregon, with his vast Army Know-How, scrounged around and found an excellent propelling device that could fire 'em as far as Canada, and to the Gulf of Mexico.

(It isn't who you are, but who you know - right?!)

Sure enough, some of'em fell into the yard in Texas of SassyMom and kneezles, as did in the replay another day in a similar Tortilla War.
SassyMom declared a year later they were still picking them outta her trees!

[WVNan]

Here it is. The land with nothing in it.

[WVNan]

You know.

[Mama_Bear]

The rain isn't too bad. It beats shoveling snow. :-)

Yes, and the rain does keep Oregon verdant and lush....unlike dry, "golden" California. LOL

[WVNan]

That is too funny. LOL