100 Year Old Mermaid Found

This 1919 photo of my grandmother, a self-anointed mermaid, was recently found in her photo album filled with images of she and my grandfather in Rockaway, Oregon in the early 1900's.

She appears to be emerging from the surf and considering life on land.  Our family has never lasted very long on land without the song of the sea luring us back.  The rhythmic sound of the ocean and the salt air blowing through our hair are as vital as breathing.

Proudly, I come from a long line of mermaids.

Moments in Summer, Moments in Time

In our family, summer wouldn't be summer without days spent in the sand and water. While avoiding the city heat was the goal, we were actually pausing our lives to spend time together, listening and learning,  

It is this unstructured time which allows us to tell stories which otherwise would be lost. We come to know each other as individuals who had a history long before our first meeting.  We hear about experiences which shaped each of us and come to understand the unique perspectives we offer.

The sea and sand cast a magical spell, opening us to a deeper connection with those we love.

There is nothing more precious than these moments in time.  

Dead Men's Hotel

In honor of Halloween I present to you a true tale of shipwrecks, mysterious dreams and watery graves...http://www.offbeatoregon.com/o1107c-mariners-dream-eerily-predicted-shipmates-deaths.html

Look Out For That Speeder!

Zipping along the railroad tracks one day between Wheeler and Rockaway, we saw three railroad motor cars also called "speeders."

Not a clue what they were at the time, we chased them nearly all the way taking photos until I am sure they decided we were stalkers.

The passengers were nestled in blankets keeping warm with coffee as they took in the sights along this beautiful stretch of track.

I consulted my railroad expert (also known as Dad) who told me they were used to inspect the tracks or move equipment and men along the tracks in earlier times. 

He had hilarious (and somewhat harrowing) stories to tell about his railroading days when he and fellow workers rode in the little cars.  Seems they were no match for the huge engines and the pilot had to be very vigilant about knowing when the next train was coming down the track.

His advice was to make sure you didn't meet one going over a high trestle--the speeder would lose.  Dad also mentioned they pick up quite a bit of speed going down the steep tracks in the Oregon Coast Range which was problematic at times.

The Shy Miss Emily

Apparently, all the attention on Saturday was just too much for the Emily G. Reed shipwreck. The next morning, this was all that was visible. One timber.

The rest of the shipwreck was covered in sand. It was the oddest feeling, to have seen it there the day before and then overnight, she disappeared (well, mostly) once again.

People were wandering around looking for the shipwreck they had heard about--some only the day before. We directed several folks to this one beam and explained what lies beneath their feet. They looked as us rather skeptically.

For me, it was a very bittersweet experience. She appeared overnight and vanished the same way. I had hoped to see more of her as the winter waves washed away the sand. But instead, they brought back the sand and the mystery.

The Very Popular, Miss Emily

Yikes, it finally happened. The flock of curious tourists descended on our local shipwreck, the Emily G. Reed. More media coverage in Portland and a long holiday holiday weekend resulted in a steady stream of camera-toting, amateur archeologists arriving in Rockaway. Why not...it is a rare occurrence.

We plopped down on driftwood "bench" , soaked up the sun and watched the show. It was a strange feeling as we have had her to ourselves in the past.

Note: another 48 feet or so has been exposed since our last visit bringing the total length to 120 feet.

Fast Ships and Pirates

I am still fascinated with our local shipwreck, The Emily G. Reed. A little further research tells me that she was an American Bark Ship similar to the one in this picture.

These ships were said to be the favorite of pirates as they were very fast. Note: I am also still fascinated with pirates--but that is a story for another time.

Anyway, the community newspaper finally figured out it was a story worth writing about and this article describes a little of the history.
http://tillamookheadlightherald.com/news/article_1877578e-07c9-11e0-8cf2-001cc4c03286.html

Meanwhile, another sunny winter's day on the beach reveals even more of the ship's hull. There is now 72 feet exposed. As you can see by the photo below, the excited crowd of shipwreck enthusiasts has yet to arrive. Fine by me. We are quite happy to examine, ponder and experience such a piece of history all alone!

Emily Shows Herself

The shipwreck we discovered appears, in fact, to be the Emily G. Reed. She came ashore in 1908 during a storm. At 219 feet long, there she lay and was eventually submerged in sand.

She stayed there until 1938, when winter storms washed away the sand and this photo was taken. Once again the Emily G. Reed was covered in sand thanks to Mother Nature.

There was mention in the local paper that the shipwreck was visible in 1954, but no photos were available.

And then again yesterday. Emily showed herself to those of us lucky enough to be there at the right moment. What a gift on a warm, winter's day!

Mystery Beneath Our Feet!

I took a long walk yesterday at low tide. The weather was warm, not a breath of wind and just one other couple on the beach. There were lots of pebbles but nothing else too exciting to report.

This morning, we took another walk on the beach across the same sand. The same sand we have walked crossed hundreds of times--once on the way to our wedding. Today the tide was slightly higher, the pebbles were still there, but so was this amazing sight...a shipwreck!

There--where the day before, I saw only sand--was definitely a section of the hull of a ship. A very old, wooden ship.

The beach was still fairly empty and no one seemed too interested in this incredible find. One couple passed by and matter-of-factly said they believed the ship to be the Emily G. Reed which came ashore in 1908.

My vivid imagination reels with colorful tales of pirates, gold and riches right here in Rockaway Beach. Time to search for the treasure map!!

Next Stop...Idiotville!

Yes, in fact, there is an Idiotville. It really explains a lot. Each of us has probably been from there at some point in our lives and known other citizens as well.

It turns out this was once a logging camp and is now a ghost town located on our drive between Rockaway and Portland. The town overlooked the banks of the beautiful Idiot Creek. (I swear I am not making this up http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiotville,_Oregon ). Apparently it received such a distinguished name because it was said to be so remote that no one but an idiot would live there.

Over the past few days, we have had great fun coming up with town slogans and wording for tourist t-shirts. My favorite entry is from Della..."Idiotville – Where few live but many belong."

My only hope is that I am not appointed Mayor!

How Times Have Changed

This year they are "capping" the jetty at the entrance to Tillamook Bay. Huge boulders are being trucked in from a quarry outside of Seattle for the project.

The old jetty was built in the early 1900's and in this photo you can see the dark stones used to build it. My guess is it was a pretty slow process involving horses, men and a lot of shear willpower.

The light boulders to the right have been brought in to cap the jetty and sit in this staging area awaiting huge yellow frontloaders to move them out to the cranes for placement.

To get an idea of the scale, you can see Bob standing on top of the jetty past the "Danger, No Trespassing" sign (he is never one to follow the rules).

What is in a name?

In my grandparent's time, Saltair Train Station would have been right down the road from me. Getting to Rockaway Beach from Portland was a daylong trip over the mountains in the early days. The other option was to take the train. My grandparents traveled by train--including their honeymoon spent on the Oregon Coast. Both my father and grandfather were lifetime employees of Southern Pacific Railroad and we traveled by train whenever we could.

My grandparents had a place in Rockaway from the early 1900's until 1948. It started as a small cabin and my grandfather added on to it room by room using lumber he had scavenged nearby. By the time they sold it, the "cabin" slept 23 people. During the war, my family hosted off-duty servicemen at the beach and especially enjoyed Midwestern folks who had never dipped their toes in an ocean.

Salt air and trains seem to run in our blood and the relaxing lifestyle remains the same here at Saltair Station.