Fort Hoskins and Yamhill were two of the earliest uses of the U.S. Army in the newly acquired Northwest lands gained in the middle 1840’s. The sites, long abandoned, have undergone extensive archaeological excavations. Protected as public parks today, a visit gives a fascinating insight into the antebellum Regular Army and the interactions between Native Americans and newly-arrived white settlers intent on occupying new grounds.
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When people visit waterfalls in the Portland area they normally are drawn magnetically to the Columbia River Gorge. The magnificence of the Gorge is without a doubt. The State’s highest and best known waterfalls are here complete with a wonderful trail system through an everchanging natural setting – albeit, a little beat up from fires presently. But there are other lesser known waterfalls in Oregon while across the Columbia, Southwestern Washington sports its own waterfalls outside of the Gorge well worth a visit, as well.
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The Oregon Coast is a scenic wonderland long discovered by tourists. Many tourists take in the long coastline in one long excursion up or down US 101. While continually spectacular, that is like Americans “seeing” Europe in one or two weeks. The history and geography of the coast is better taken in parts. Clatsop County in the north is very different from Lincoln in the middle and Coos and Curry Counties in the south. This trip we travelled to the Central Oregon Coast – Lincoln County, basing ourselves in the county seat of Newport.
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The Spanish-American war, forgotten mostly today, was a very popularly received event among the American public. The ongoing rebellion in Cuba was recurrent front-page news. Newspapers ever eager to entice readers with lurid tales of Spanish atrocities. Forgotten by most now, the Spanish-American War is remembered by numerous monuments spread around the country. Like the war they memorialize, those monuments tend to be overlooked and passed by today without much notice.
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Continuing my Scottish sojourn climbing mountains, visiting family castles and tasting the wee dram here and there, I come to the island of Arran. Arran goes by the moniker of Scotland in a nutshell. There are mountains, a golf course, a Holy Island, ferries, midges, sheep pooping on local football fields and a distillery. Here we will concentrate on the first topic – mountains – climbing Arran’s highest peak, Goatfell, by route not climbed by the thousands. Normally, you get off the ferry at Broderick and make a beeline for the peak so you can catch a later ferry. Here, we are taking the bus further north to the little village of Sannox. A wilder and steeper route for Goatfell awaits from here up the Cioch na h’Oighe – the Maiden’s Breast.
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Slovenes love mountains. They love them so much they put one on their flag – Triglav. Triglav is all and good. If not for the fact that everyone wants to climb it, Triglav is still a pretty neat peak. But there are so many other peaks in Slovenia, just as fascinating with views as good. Sometimes, the best views are not off the highest peak, but of the highest peak. Here are two such cases, Jerebikovec and Debela peč. We have already seen other cases further west in the Julians.
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Portland, Oregon is not synonymous with baseball. Professional baseball has been around in some form or another since 1890 – amateur teams date back to at least 1866. The longest running professional team in the Rose City was the Portland Beavers, a founding member of the Pacific Coast League in 1903 – the name “Beavers” did not come until 1906. The team would finish first only on rare occasions for much of its long history. The Beavers even occasionally changed their name to attempt to revise their standing. They also changed affiliations with major league teams on a regular basis. As a child, I remember them from their affiliation with the Cleveland Indians and Sam McDowell and Luis Tiant on the mound for the Beavs.
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Slovenia is not a flat country. There are lots of hills culminating in the Julijske Alpe – the Julian Alps. The border with Italy bisects the range leaving the highest peak, Triglav 2,864 meters, in Slovenia and the second highest peak, Jôf di Montasio 2,755 meters, in Italy. The mountains figure deeply into the soul of Slovenia with Triglav being featured on both the Slovene flag and coat of arms. To explore this mountainous wonderland, you can do it cursorily from a car or motorcycle. But at some time, you will need to wander the trails and climb the peaks to understand the specialness of these mountains. There is no better place to explore Slovenia from the top than to join the crowds parked atop Vršič Pass – 1611 meters – and walk. From Vršič Pass, the magic of Mala Mojstrovka awaits.
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European nations were holding their breath as relations between Spain and the United States worsened in 1898. While much of the attention centered on Cuba and the Caribbean, the Philippines also gathered some thought. Several of the nations had ongoing commercial relationships within the Philippines. To officially protect their nationals living and working in the Spanish Manila naval ships were sent. One of those nations with more than a casual interest in events in the Philippines included Germany.
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The Horseshoe of the Black Cuillin is not only the center of attention for would-be mountaineers on the island of Skye, but maybe Britain, as well. Making a trip to the ancestral home of Scotland – maybe the first of my clan since the early 18th century – I decided to include a little walking with the history on my first venture into Scottish mountains.
Skye is a bit north of the islands of my clan – Mull, Islay. Vikings and the clan Macleod and MacDonald figure strongly in the histories here. The island has become a bit of tourist destination with its wild beauty and Celtic traditions. “Winged Island”, “Isle of Clouds” are two interpretations of the original meaning of Skye. The latter version showed up in force during my visit.
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