COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL March 11, 2015
Cottage
Grove: A great
place for
company
O FFBEAT
Continued from page 4A
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
D
ays of bright, warm sunshine that
defy the calendar’s prediction for
this time of year never fail to draw Orego-
nians, blinking and ready for action, from
out of the gray that can typify a northwest
winter.
Such uncharacteristic weather worked its
magic in Cottage Grove this past weekend,
and just about everywhere one looked, it
was possible to see Grovers soaking up the
sun, their work or play planned specifi cally
to take advantage of Mother Nature’s gift in
an ordinarily soggy time of year. Looking a
little closer, though, one could also identify
visitors to our fair city, whose luck it was
to experience some of the best that the Cot-
tage Grove area has to offer under brilliant
skies.
Since moving to Oregon a decade ago, my
wife and I have always cher-
ished the opportunity to bring
visitors here to show them
fi rsthand what we’ve been
telling them for a long time:
that this state, and particularly
our area, offers a chance to
revel in outdoor beauty and
recreation from the moment
one steps out-of-doors. It’s the
reason we brought our loved
ones to Oregon for a wedding
that showcased the area’s nat-
ural splendor, and a big reason
why we can expect visitors
at various times throughout the year, be it
swimming or skiing or berry-picking sea-
son.
This weekend, we were fortunate to have
in town a couple of good friends from Port-
land and their playful pooches, and as is
typically the case, visitors also served to
bring together locals who don’t see enough
of each other. Through a couple days of
glorious sunny weather, we proved that it’s
possible — the typical provisions necessary
for a weekend away notwithstanding — to
experience world-class recreation in South
Lane County without spending so much as
one thin dime.
After a mammoth Italian feast Friday
evening, the fun began in earnest Saturday
morning, as my friend, Zach, and I took our
two chocolate labs for a romp on the Brice
11A
photo by Jon Stinnett
Beautiful, dry weather makes for great relaxation along the banks of Dorena
Reservoir. Pictured from left to right are Shealynn Ochoa, Nicole Pushell and
Christina Conant, with loyal pooches standing by.
Creek Trail, long one of my favorite local
destinations and a trail that offers miles of
stunning views alongside the impossibly
clear creek water rushing nearby.
c.g.
Knocks Brewing served as a welcome treat
post-ride. Those who didn’t make the ride
instead had a great time relaxing along the
dry shoreline of Dorena Reservoir.
The next morning
brought the continu-
ation of a traditional
four-person, best-disc
Frisbee golf match.
While not much of a
disc golfer (I swear
I’d improve if I got to
play more), a round
with friends is not to
be missed, and with
decent play and fast
movers, it’s possible
to walk 18 holes at the
beautiful local course
in just a few hours. The
course already looks terrifi c this year thanks
to the efforts of a lot of volunteers and city
employees. It’s indeed one of the often-un-
heralded gems of South Lane County, and
a great time was indeed had by all Sunday
morning, though the time change gave this
particular golfer a late start.
Over the years, as life has brought our
group the joys and responsibilities of adult-
hood, our gatherings have evolved, and
these days we spend as much time and en-
ergy keeping up with children and work as
whooping it up at night and recovering from
a taste of the nightlife the next day. But a
wholesome kind of life it is indeed, and all
the more so because of the outdoor opportu-
nities all around us in this part of the world.
Daytripper
The morning had the added wonder of
watching Zach’s dog, Willow — a 10-year
old, blind Lab — navigate the uneven foot-
ing, the protruding tree roots, rocks and
stumps along the trail with only the occa-
sional slip or wavering footing — at full
speed. “Willy” has amazed me over the
years and taught me much about resilience
and the power of trusting those we love, but
no more so than for Saturday’s trail run,
which we extended to an eight-mile jaunt.
Zach had little time to savor the run, how-
ever, and training for an upcoming triathlon
dictated that he try one more of the three
disciplines. A group of three cyclists thus
set out for a 35-mile loop of the Row River
Trail, where it was possible Saturday after-
noon to commune with hundreds of folks
out for a ride, a run or a skate. Beers at Hard
night on the distant shore of
Oregon, but they dared not try
to make for them for fear of
running into an unseen fi eld of
rocks and reefs.
The next day was equally
merciless. Toward sundown, the
ship’s cook — realizing they
were due for another horrible,
sleepless, thirsty night — be-
came delirious and, leaning over
the side, started gulping down
seawater. Within a few hours he
was lying in the bilge, waiting
for death.
It came to him — but in a par-
ticularly cruel way. About 2 a.m.
that night, they came across a
big steamship, which cut pow-
er after they started hailing it.
Thinking they had been spotted
and were about to be rescued,
the jubilant sailors woke up the
cook.
“He got on his feet and seemed
rational,” said Zube. “Just then
the vessel got under way again
and left us. Then the cook gave
up the fi ght. He lay down to die.
Half an hour later we found his
body cold.”
All the next day, the feeble
sailors saw ship after ship; but
none saw them, and kept on their
way. Finally, as a fourth miser-
able night came upon them, the
castaways made out Tatoosh
Lighthouse, off Cape Flattery
at the mouth of the Strait of
Juan de Fuca. With their wan-
ing strength, they guided the
little boat around the light and
into the protected waters of the
Strait.
A few hours later, the crew of
the little six-ton sloop Teckla,
anchored securely in the harbor
of Neah Bay, were startled by
a weak, incoherent voice call-
ing to them from over the side.
Peering out, they saw a battered
steel lifeboat slowly drawing to-
ward them.
A few minutes later, the three
survivors were safely on board
the sloop, being warmed up
— and tasting the fi rst water
that had passed their lips in 78
hours, since that deadly wave
had bum’s-rushed them off the
deck of their dying freighter.
“Their tongues were so swol-
len from thirst that they could
scarcely articulate,” the Tele-
gram reported.
The next day, the news was
fl ashed to the astonished author-
ities in Astoria, and the other
survivors were given the news.
The men had sailed their leaky,
battered, one-oared lifeboat
more than 200 miles to safety.
As for the Emily G. Reed, this
ship has become to Rockaway
Beach what the Peter Iredale is
for Warrenton — almost like a
municipal treasure. It’s still bur-
ied there, deep in the sands of
the beach, and for the last hun-
dred years heavy winter storms
have regularly uncovered parts
of it. Most recently, a 75-foot-
long section of the bow was un-
covered in 2010, and the heavy
black timbers looked sound
enough to last another century.
(Sources: “Perils of the Sea:
Ship Emily Reed Wrecked,”
Barrier Miner (Australian news-
paper), 4-06-1908; Tobias, Lori.
“Shifting sands reveal 102-year-
old shipwreck,” Portland Or-
egonian, 12-29-2010; Marshall,
Don. Oregon Shipwrecks. Port-
land: Binford, 1984)
Finn J.D. John teaches at Or-
egon State University and writes
about odd tidbits of Oregon his-
tory. For details, see http://fi nn-
john.com. To contact him or
suggest a topic: fi nn2@offbe-
atoregon.com or 541-357-2222.
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF
4 FOUJOFM
Our Community Newspaper
since 1889
Subscribe
and $AVE
BUY 2
RECLINERS
in stock or SPECIAL ORDER
(48 in stock)
and get a
CHAIRSIDE
END TABLE
FREE!
($119-$139 Value)
DINING SETS
Many styles, sizes and prices
to choose from.
Find Local Businesses.
,QWURGXFLQJWKHQHZHVWZD\WR´QGWKH
Find
Local
Businesses.
businesses
that mean
the most to you.
,QWURGXFLQJWKHQHZHVWZD\WR´QGWKH
businesses
that mean the most to you.
www.shoppelocal.biz
www.shoppelocal.biz
Find GREAT
MONEY SAVING COUPONS
from local businesses
Cottage Grove
Sentinel
615 Main Street • Cottage Grove • 541-942-8711
homesteadcg.com
Shoppe™ is a trademark of News Media Corp.