13/14APR09 - Sutherlin, OR

After a tiring drive through the constant ups & downs of northern CA and southern OR, we decided to take a two night break in OR. Our decision was also based on the fact that Tuesday, 14APR, was forecasted to be a series of rain bands passing through Oregon & Washington throughout the day.

On the drive up I-5 out of Redding enroute Oregon, Corrie was trying to get picture of Mt Shasta as we drove. One good thing about digital cameras is you can shoot dozens of photos of the same thing without running out of film. On the drive we noted a statue of a cow made of steel decorated with an Easter bonnet; but what caught our eye was sign advertising the “State of Jefferson”. Turns out that late in 1941 the citizens of North CA and South OR made noises about forming the 49th state of the USA (remember Hawaii & Alaska weren’t states yet). Why? Because they were dissatisfied with their roads! So there were some half-hearted actions taken to form their own state named after Thomas Jefferson. Before anyone could find out if they were serious or if their movement would grow, Pearl Harbor occurred. But apparently the “idea” still has some supporters. Here is their manifesto:

You are now entering Jefferson, the 49th State of the Union. Jefferson is now in patriotic rebellion against the states of California and Oregon. This State has seceded from California and Oregon this Thursday, November 27, 1941. Patriotic Jeffersonians intend to secede each Thursday until further notice. For the next hundred miles as you drive along Highway 99, you are traveling parallel to the greatest copper belt in the far West, seventy-five miles west of here. The United States government needs this vital mineral. But gross neglect by California and Oregon deprives us of necessary roads to bring out the copper ore. If you don't believe this, drive down the Klamath River highway and see for yourself. Take your chains, shovel and dynamite. Until California and Oregon build a road into the copper country, Jefferson, as a defense-minded State, will be forced to rebel each Thursday and act as a separate State.

http://www.stateofjefferson.com/

We decided to stay at another Escapee SKP Co-op park Timber Valley in Sutherlin, OR. See the below Co-op parks and the Escapee RV Club. Although this park was not as scenic as the one in California, it still has a seven year waiting list to become a member! The park was also populated by numerous wild turkeys, rabbits and deer.

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2009/04/07-10apr09-coarsegold-ca-via.html

Even though Corrie woke-up to snow on Tuesday morning (by the time Dan got up, the snow was gone), we decided to do a little sight seeing to the Colliding Rivers at Glide, OR. This is where the Little River and North Umpqua River meet head-on, the only spot in the U.S. where such a phenomenon occurs. The river levels were not high so there wasn’t much colliding going on, and because of the trees we couldn’t get clear photo. Then we got hit with intermittent hail, rain & wet snow that forced us to scramble back to the car.

Next stop was Cavitt Creek covered bridge built in 1943. The design is unusual in that it features Tudor arch portals to accommodate heavy log truck usage in the past. And the upper and lower chords utilize raw logs as its members. Each side of the roofed structure sports three windows, and long narrow slits above each truss allow "daylighting" as well as ventilation for the bridge interior. Since the weather remained miserable, we headed back to the RV.

Trivia – What is unique about the Oregon state flag?