Pages

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Seven Hours and Seven Covered Bridges

We spent Saturday doing yard work.  Weeding the front yard then hauling and spreading 42 bags (84 cubic feet) of bark mulch.

Sunday we decided to play. A few weeks ago I hastily scribbled down some cryptic directions to several covered bridges in the Cottage Grove area, south of Eugene and about 75 miles away. There is a cluster of covered bridges and it was a good destination for an all day ride.

Troubadour rounded up some snacks for a picnic lunch, the scribbled notes, and a Benchmark map book.  He put them all in his saddlebags and we headed out about 11 am.

We meandered south along our favorite back roads.  South of Veneta we were on the hunt for Coyote Creek Covered Bridge, aka Battle Creek Covered Bridge, just off of Battle Creek Road.  It was surprisingly easy to find even going from memory of our notes.  We've passed by a lot of times and never knew it was there, visible from Territorial Road if you look through the trees.

COYOTE CREEK COVERED BRIDGE





(Coyote Creek Covered Bridge, built in 1922 - 60 ft long)


Back on Territorial we headed further south then turned east at Loraine onto the Cottage Grove/Loraine Road.  Such a beautiful road, full of 20-25 mph twisties up over a hill through some logging areas.  You know the kind - sheer drop off on one side, no shoulder and no guard rails. Unfortunately that means no room to pull over and take pictures either.

Once in Cottage Grove we stopped at the Safeway to fuel the bikes and use the restroom facilities. We took a peek at the map and headed east.

The next Bridge was Stewart Covered Bridge which crosses Mosby Creek at Garoutte Road.

STEWART COVERED BRIDGE





(Stewart Covered Bridge, built in 1930 - 60 ft long)
We stopped here for a bit and had our picnic lunch of bananas, some pistachios and trail mix washed down with some cold water. It was nice sitting on the rocks under the bridge and listening to birds.  The view from the bikes of Garoutte Road below.


This fun bit of road looked like it went where we needed to go for the next bridge so we followed it to where it joined Shoreview Drive/Government Road around Dorena Lake.

At the corner of Government Road and Row River Road is the Dorena Covered Bridge, aka the Row River Covered Bridge.

DORENA COVERED BRIDGE



(Dorena Covered Bridge built in 1949 - 105 ft long)



(See what happens when I realize there is a camera behind me)


A left turn onto Row River Road and the loop brought us around the lake to Layng Rd.  We turned left on Layng Road.  It was closed up ahead for construction, but we made it to the Mosby Creek Covered Bridge..... sort of.  It is Lane County's oldest bridge having been built in 1920.

MOSBY CREEK COVERED BRIDGE

(Troubadour really wanted to get closer)

(Mosby Creek Covered Bridge built in 1920 - 90 ft long)

(I went to take a picture of the bridge in my mirror)

(Troubadour's picture of me taking the picture in my mirror)




Not much traffic on a closed road so we were able to stop and see the cows.

(How you doin'? ... or is that How you mooin'?)


We rode back to the intersection of Layng Rd and Row River Road for the Currin Covered Bridge, also aka Row River Covered Bridge.

CURRIN COVERED BRIDGE



(Currin Covered Bridge built in 1925 - 105 ft long)
Our loop around Dorena Lake complete, we returned to the Safeway in Cottage Grove  This time to  drink an iced cold yummy Starbucks since the temperature had climbed into the high 70's.  Iced soy chai latte for me and a 'soy chai no whip frappucino' for the gentleman.  Or as he likes to call it a "Fluffy Chai" since it's blended  

We stopped for about a half hour break and then went back on the bikes to search for the last two bridges in Cottage Grove.  One we passed on the way into town so we knew where it was.  The following bridge took a smidge of looking.

CHAMBERS RAILROAD COVERED BRIDGE

The last covered railroad bridge west of the Mississippi is the Chambers Railroad Covered Bridge and it spans the Coast Fork of the Willamette River in Cottage Grove.

(Chambers Railroad Covered Bridge originally built 1925 - 78 ft long)









(Interesting metal sculptures lined the walls)


One last stop for the Centennial Covered Bridge.  Nothing like stopping in a bicycle lane on a corner and standing in the middle of a road to take a picture.  Good thing Brad had his hi-vis Stich on.

CENTENNIAL COVERED BRIDGE



(Centennial Covered Pedestrian Bridge - 84 ft long)
(Built in 1987 from timbers salvaged from the Burmbaugh bridge)

From this bridge we went back home the way we came.  Over the CG/Loraine Road to Territorial to Veneta and home via Bellfountain Rd.  We arrived home at 6pm, seven hours after leaving the house and roughly 200 miles (321 km) later.  We were tired, but had a great day out on the bikes.

- Au Revoir

" We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment." - Hilaire Belloc
.

43 comments:

  1. Trobairitz:

    what a nice, relaxing, warm, summer-like day to be riding after a hard day of spreading Mulch. I like those less traveled roads with barely any traffic. That was a nice covered railway bridge that looks like it was restored. I couldn't help but to stare at your checkered tank . . .

    Oh, not Oreo cows, but nice cows. I remember the names of some of those roads but I never knew how close I may have been to some of those covered bridges, or not

    bob
    A weekend photographer or Riding the Wet Coast

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was pretty toasty in all that gear, but we weren't going to complain after the weather we've had.

      The railway bridge was restored. If you check out the link, I think it shows the original.

      Delete
  2. Wow, looks like it was a gorgeous day! Covered bridges, quiet roads, motorcycles...Good stuff.

    I like the "track" and sculpture in the Chambers Railroad bridge.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was perfect weather for a ride. The Chambers bridge was definitely one of the coolest. Something original. If I hadn't have been so tired I'd have wandered more. The metal train engine sculptures inside really added to the scale of things.

      Brad asked me to lay down on the 'track' but I declined. We did chuckle over it though.

      Delete
  3. What a beautiful day. Are the pics photoshopped or did you indeed get blue skies for a change?

    The Chambers Railroad bridge looks mighty interesting. My favourite!

    I am glad that you finally get a chance to spend some time riding again. Seven hours is a good number!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No photoshopping needed. The rains stopped Saturday afternoon. In fact it is 88˚F (31˚C) outside right now. Unusual for us in May. Supposed to be back to rain for the weekend. Just in time for the Oregon Vintage Motorcycle Show on Sunday.

      It was nice to be out on the bikes, but makes us want to do more riding. Weekends are taken up with other activities for the next few though.

      Delete
  4. what an excellent play day! great pics! i especially dig the pics of you each walking through the chambers railroad bridge. fun stuff!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks mq.

      I don't think either us realized the other had taken the pictures in the railroad bridge until we reviewed them later. They look rather lonely though don't they?

      Delete
  5. yeay you got some riding in and great weather as well. There must be lots of those bridges in your area. You'll need to put them all on a map so you can show us all the ones you visited.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, hooray for nice weather riding. Oregon has just shy of 50 covered bridges left. Most of the close ones we've gotten already, the others might take overnight trips.

      Not sure what program to use to map them. But here is a link to an existing one: http://www.oregon.com/covered_bridges This is the website I typically link the bridges to in my post and the one Brad uses in his Bridge tab on his blog.

      Delete
  6. Nicely composed and shot set of Covered Bridges! Thanks for the tour....kinda reminds me of the tour that BlueKat and husband Ron took me on to see covered bridges while I was staying with them. Good memories.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Dom. I believe Ron and Bluekat took you to some Linn County covered bridges. There are a lot there too. Glad to bring back some memories.

      Delete
  7. Which is the bridge over troubled water?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha, funny.

      I think that must have been Stewart Bridge. As we were leaving kids were heading down to swim in the cold water, near the pools of stagnate water and mosquitos. That would make it troubled to me.

      Delete
  8. What a great destination day! I just love bridges and agree with Chiller Tek that you need to map them for us. Great photos. It really looked like a fun day of riding and sight seeing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks K.

      Any bright idea how to map the ones we've done. I know Coop has a cool way to add video to map/gps locations, but I am not that techno advanced on my iMac.

      Delete
  9. Nice tour of the bridges. I think I like the scale of the railroad bridge and the metal sculptured are a nice addition. It looks like it was a great beginning to the riding season.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Richard. I too liked the sculptures. Both inside and out. The one outside really helped with scale. the bridge was built to accommodate steam trains so it had to be larger than most and more sturdy for the lumber cars going over it to the mill. I have to thank hubby for the outdoor sculpture pic, he took that one.

      Delete
    2. I didn't even notice the outside sculpture.

      Delete
    3. I didn't get a great look at them all. I was concerned about the bikes being in the bicycle lane with the keys in them out of sight, so I hovered around while Brad inspected things.

      Delete
  10. Ah, fabulous day. You guys earned the play date for sure, but I can imagine how tired you felt the next day.

    I love all the bridges. And your bike really stands out with the new checkerboard. 😄

    I'm glad you guys were able to get out and about. I think riding season is officially here now.

    Oh, and you know I loved the cows, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was thinking of you and your oreo cows when we saw this herd. There were all kind of sheep and things out but never a place to stop near them.

      We were pretty sore from the mulch and weeding, which made my hand a little numb on the bike but it wasn't too bad.

      Delete
  11. What a great outing. And I enjoyed looking at your landscaping in the header!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks martha, you should see the front yard now that the mulch is done. I'll try and take more pics.

      Delete
    2. I look forward to the "tour"!

      Delete
  12. Very scenic and beautiful photos. Looked like a perfect day for riding. Happy that y'all got in a day of riding after the day of hard work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was the perfect temperature for a ride. Definitely needed after the yard work. Hard to divide the time to get all the chores done and play.

      Delete
  13. More weird-ass (how's my American coming) bridges eh? Oh well, any excuse for a pootle I say - and I like bridges too.

    Looks like a cracker of a day - no excuse not to go for a ride I reckon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're learning the lingo just fine Andrew. Does that mean you get to come for a wee visit?

      And yes, it was a right cracker of a day.

      Delete
    2. And NZ is on our bucket list too. Our bucket list is so long I am not sure we have time to get to it all. Damn work gets in the way.

      Delete
  14. Awesome! And an inspiration for a subject close to my heart-covered bridges!

    And what an article! I enjoyed every minute of it!

    Glad you guys had a great outing...and loved the cow pics! Very mooooooving! LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you liked them Deb. They are always fun to go see. I enjoyed seeing your surrounding ones too.

      Delete
  15. Check out what an out of state semi driver did to one of Indiana's local landmark covered bridges.

    http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/Spencerville-Covered-Bridge-Damaged-171390411.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh that poor bridge. It is one thing to rely on your gps but people have to use their eyes too, they should be able to determine if their trucks can actually make it.

      We have semis all the time that hit some low lying railroad trestles. They were following their GPS but the huge yellow signs with the height and no trucks should really have given it away.

      Delete
  16. I wish I had a covered bridge. and a road like that. Just one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not even one road or covered bridge?

      Ah well, you have the sunshine and warm temperatures.

      Delete
  17. See that is what I love. Getting out to see history, something different and new. :) I wish we had something like that here in Florida.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The key is to try and find something you can use as multiple destinations. Hubby chose the covered bridges so there is always somewhere to ride to even if some are further away than others.

      I also want to do every lighthouse in Oregon. There are 11. Should be one multi-day ride to the north and one multi-day ride to the south. We'll see.

      Delete
  18. I think we have three covered bridges in Missouri. I've been to one. They are scatter all around the State. I don't think it could be a one day ride. I agree with your last comment, it is nice when one can create a ride around multiple destinations. Breaks up the ride. Keeps things fresh.

    I, too, like the landscape header. We bought three knockout roses for the front of the condo. Now we have to find the time to plant them. :^)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, three covered bridges is better than none.

      Thank you for the kind landscape words. Sometimes picking the plants is easy but finding time to plant them is hard. The knockouts will be pretty when blooming and smell nice too.

      And did I mention the weeding, man do we have weeding to do.

      Delete
  19. I have no Idea why but this post reminds me of that song by The Eagles, Seven Bridges Road. Love your blog, Great photography.

    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for that high compliment. I enjoy your blog as well, I don't always comment, sometimes I just lurk. :-)

      Delete