Jun
13
Canoeing the South Slough
Filed Under Panoramas
The national Volunteers for “Shoreline Education for Awareness” (SEA) took a canoe and kayak trip up the Coos River from Charleston into the South Slough Estuary. The weather was fine and the trip was five hours of education and just plain fun.
Lunch break on Valino Island in the South Slough Estuary. Valino Island was the site of a speak-easy or "blind pig" during Prohibition, but no physical structures remain visible here today. All that remains today are grape vines and a large, healthy American Chestnut Tree, which managed to escape the eastern blight infecting most of the East Coast Chestnut trees. There used to be 30 billion American Chestnut trees and today there are about 100 left. This tree is a rare and precious find thanks to the Valino family. Click the [x] symbol to view fullscreen.
Pam paddling the canoe and me doing some shaky video
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Jun
1
Shore Acres at Cape Arago . Oregon
Filed Under Panoramas
Shore Acres is located 12 miles southwest of Coos Bay on a 75-foot promontory.
Perched on a scenic bluff above the Pacific Ocean, Shore Acres began as a private estate with luxurious gardens featuring trees, shrubs, and flowering plants brought from around the world aboard the sailing ships of pioneer lumberman and shipbuilder Louis J. Simpson. Simpson developed the summer home into a showplace three-story mansion complete with a heated, indoor swimming pool and a large ballroom.
The grounds contained five acres of formal gardens, including a Japanese-style garden built around a 100-foot lily pond. When fire destroyed the mansion in 1921, Simpson began to build an even larger replacement - two stories high and 224 feet long. However, financial losses in the 1930s caused both house and grounds to fall into disrepair. In 1942, Simpson’s beloved Shore Acres was purchased by the state of Oregon for use as a public park. While structural deterioration eventually forced the mansion to be razed, the restored formal gardens continue to attract thousands of visitors. The garden features year-round displays of floral and scenic beauty and the annual “Holiday Lights at Shore Acres” from Thanksgiving through New Year’s.
A fully enclosed observation building now occupies the site of Simpson’s mansions, offering spectacular view of rugged seascapes, towering storm waves, and glimpses of migrating whales from December through June.
This is a full 360 panorama at the edge of the cliff below where the original Simpson Mansion stood. Pictured on the rock wall is my good and longtime buddy, Andy Elliott, a documentary filmmaker from Vancouver, WA. Click the [x] button on the panorama to see it full screen and use your mouse while left-clicking on the image to move it up and down or all around.
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