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Wanna read the latest
from Clever Magazine? |
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A Vintage Postcard Tour of the USA: On the road again with the Phantom |
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Oregon is the next state we'll wander through on our virtual tour of the U.S. This collection of postcards are all from the same era, just after the turn of the 20th century, way back when you could send one for just one cent! They are all categorized as "pre-linen" view cards, most of them published in Germany, which nearly had a monopoly on postcard printing in the earliest days. |
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 This postcard of Crater Lake advertises what you might see if you were aboard the Southern Pacific Rail Road's Shasta Route through Oregon. |
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If you're heading north on Interstate 5 from California, you hit Oregon near Ashland, which is known far and wide for its Shakespeare Festival with performances year round. It's a theatre town, not just Shakespeare, so it's a fun place to stay for a few days. I-5 passes through some lovely scenery, including many smallish Oregon towns like Eugene, Corvallis and Salem, then it follows the Willamette River Valley to Portland. |
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 Here's a postcard of the Willamette Falls, just outside Portland. |
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 Here's a postcard of EARLY Portland with Mt. Hood in the background. This photo seems a little odd-looking to me because Mt. Hood doesn't really tower over the city. Mt. Hood is a bit over 11,000 feet but it's about 50 miles east of town. I'm thinking this card might be an early attempt at trick photography, or perhaps the air was just a little bit clearer in those days. |
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Another even more scenic route through Oregon is on Hwy 101, the coast highway. Choose wisely when you travel 101. If there's no rain or fog, you'll really enjoy the trip. The third popular driving trip through Oregon is on Hwy. 84, which follows the Columbia River gorge east out of Portland. That's a breath-taking drive. Hwy 84 eventually wanders into Eastern Oregon, which is less inhabited, but there are plenty of sites to be found on those lesser traveled roads. You must have lots of time and patience if you're interested in visiting, like say, Granite, Oregon. (If you do a Yahoo search on Granite, you'll find they have a real ghost town, RV hookups and a lodge!) |
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 This postcard says "Fur Traders' Camp, Oregon" Yes, those are bear skins and wolf skins too. We wonder why there are so few Grizzly's left in the woods these days. And by the way, whatever happened to all those old bear skin rugs people used to throw down in their rumpus rooms? |
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 This postcard is titled "Merino Bucks on an Oregon sheep ranch." Possibly that's the ranch owner on the right-hand side watching his sheep with his faithful Border collie by his side. |
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The traffic is heavy through the Portland area but once you cross the Interstate Bridge over the Columbia River, you'll be in Washington State, our next stop on the virtual tour.
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