Sort of a mini getaway was the plan last week. I purchased this Travel Zoo special a few months ago. Village Green Resort in Cottage Grove, Oregon. It was such a good deal and just 85 miles from home. Included 2 nights in a deluxe room, breakfast each morning and dinner one evening with a bottle of local wine included. $159, couldn't beat that.
We have been to the Cottage Grove area many times in the past, mainly passing thru to go to nearby Dorena Lake to camp, boat and waterskii, but really didn't know much about the area. The plan was to go hiking around the trails of Dorena Lake and visit some of the local wineries, and partake in some local cuisine.
It turned out to be way too hot to hike so we bagged that idea and decide to do a covered bridge tour. Now I should have known this living in Oregon, but Oregon has more covered bridges than any other state and Lane County has most of them. The reason they built so many of this type of bridge in Oregon is because it the timber was cheap and readily available here and concrete was expensive to obtain.
So we headed out on our historical trek. I took pics of a few of my favorites
Most of the bridges have the new road built next to them, as in the one above, and most have been restored to their original glory.
Since we were on the subject in fact, there is another whole covered bridge tour in my own backyard! I have yet to see all of them. I decided to throw in the pics above and below. This is the Jordan bridge, just in the next town from where I live. It was built in 1937 over Thomas Creek in Linn county Oregon and moved in the 1980's to Stayton Pioneer park. Very popular for many events.
We headed up into the hills west of Cottage Grove and visited 5 wineries, and bought 6 bottles of wine. That will take care of a lot of entertaining for a while:) Each of these wineries had beautiful scenery, so I snapped a few pics of some of the great views we had.
Surprisingly, this resort was quite a bit nicer than expected. It had acres of beautiful gardens to tour, which of course is right up my alley.
We have been to the Cottage Grove area many times in the past, mainly passing thru to go to nearby Dorena Lake to camp, boat and waterskii, but really didn't know much about the area. The plan was to go hiking around the trails of Dorena Lake and visit some of the local wineries, and partake in some local cuisine.
It turned out to be way too hot to hike so we bagged that idea and decide to do a covered bridge tour. Now I should have known this living in Oregon, but Oregon has more covered bridges than any other state and Lane County has most of them. The reason they built so many of this type of bridge in Oregon is because it the timber was cheap and readily available here and concrete was expensive to obtain.
So we headed out on our historical trek. I took pics of a few of my favorites
above and below is what was once a railroad covered bridge. It was restored in 2011 with 25% of the original wood.
This was one of my favorites, The Dorena bridge. It is popular for weddings and understandably so.
Look at the photo below looking out on to the river below. The next photo, there was an artist with his canvas.
Since we were on the subject in fact, there is another whole covered bridge tour in my own backyard! I have yet to see all of them. I decided to throw in the pics above and below. This is the Jordan bridge, just in the next town from where I live. It was built in 1937 over Thomas Creek in Linn county Oregon and moved in the 1980's to Stayton Pioneer park. Very popular for many events.
History lesson done.
We headed up into the hills west of Cottage Grove and visited 5 wineries, and bought 6 bottles of wine. That will take care of a lot of entertaining for a while:) Each of these wineries had beautiful scenery, so I snapped a few pics of some of the great views we had.
Chateau Lorene
Sweet Cheeks
Sylvan Ridge
But the rest will be my next post....way too many pictures!
4 comments:
Oh I have always wanted to take that tour! Those bridges are amazing. Did you visit the King Estate vineyards? That might be a bit North of Cottage Grove but I heard it is fabulous. I am glad you had a wonderful time!
What a lovely spot. I don't know that I have ever seen a covered bridge in person.
enJOYed your beautiful shots of covered bridges, and the resort seems very nice as well. Mr. G & I love covered bridge hunting. I've got several posted on my blog from treks to PA and IN. Don't know if I'll ever get to make it as far as OR. Maybe some day.
Debbi, What a Great Get Away!! We moved to WA 4 months ago and can't wait for some free time to go exploring around here and in Oregon. I recently saw a TV special on a Horseback Riding Wine Tour and that looked like a lot of fun too. However those covered bridges capture such a essence of History and they are all so unique.
Thanks for sharing~
Huggs, Nancy
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