The Cow Creek Tour Route is a refreshing break from the steady highway pace; this 45-mile detour wanders with Cow Creek as it dips through the Coast mountain range. The route is spread with quaint farms and ranches, stately forests, massive rock outcroppings, and spring waterfalls. Depending on the season, you can absorb the plethora of wildflowers or the bright reds and yellows of autumn.
-description from Travel Oregon...read more at Cow Creek Tour Route - Travel Oregon
Summer has definitely come to the U. S. this week with a major heat wave in the northeast and we are even expecting triple digit temperatures in western Oregon over the next few days. I selected the postcard today specifically for its refreshing scene, in hopes that a mental cool-down might bring some relief to those of you suffering in the heat.
I love that the postcard was published using the Spanish spelling (minus the accent marks) for canyon. It must have been the preferred usage of the word at the time, which is interesting when you think how there is a backlash (spearheaded by certain groups) against using Spanish in the U.S. today.
The Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad (CORP) operates the line now and its website provides this map that shows just where we're cooling down today.
From a part of the website titled Riding with Rick: CORP through Cow Creek Canyon you get a much better feel for the land and its relationship with the railroad. It's a fascinating read, and not too long, so follow the link if you want to learn more. Here is the introduction:
Between Glendale and Riddle, Oregon the Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad takes a scenic detour from Interstate 5 and civilization through Cow Creek Canyon (green line on the map above). When the Siskiyou Line was originally surveyed in the 1800's it followed natural drainages rather than tackle the mountains of southwest Oregon. For years the Southern Pacific was the sole means of transport through the Canyon.
Today a Bureau of Land Management road parallels most of the railroad, albeit on the opposite side of Cow Creek from the tracks. There are a handful of grade crossings that are protected with crossing lights and one set of gates. In addition there are periodic dragging equipment and hotbox detectors, however, no public power supply extends through this remote area of Douglas County. Except for a couple installations with propane powered thermal generators and two more with solar collectors, the safety devises in the Canyon run on battery power and these batteries must be changed periodically. Rick Perry invited me to accompany him (and help out) as he made his monthly inspection rounds through the Canyon and changed out 17 of these batteries. . .
Back to some thoughts on this heat wave....... the National Weather Service, a part of NOAA, has a map that shows those areas under a Heat Advisory, among other things (click here). I also recommend NOAA's special page of information about Excessive Heat that is packed with important information to keep you and your family (including the important members of the family dressed in fur) safe and well-informed throughout the summer.
....... Want to go for another cooling splash in Cow Creek? I'll race you!
Original Video - More videos at TinyPic
(Note: Video not mine...acquired from TinyPic)
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