Covered Bridges of Linn County

What wonderful adventures are we going to have to day?

Our morning walk took us around the campgrounds and then to look for the walking path. 

The beginning of the path near the kiosk map is under water from all the rain that fell recently. 

We went looking for the other end of the path. The grass was very wet, so wet that our pant legs were soaked. 

We walked pass a grove of evergreen trees that were planted in rows. 

There were stump in between the six to seven foot trees. So they must be Christmas Trees for the owners who have owned this land for more than 100 years.

We found the second drier entrance and the foot bridges over the Calapooia River tributaries. The path appeared to have been flooded as it were very muddy and slippy. 

There was a lot of moss and Spanish moss on them on the trees along the path. Through the trees we could here large flocks of geese gathering before their migration to warmer areas further south, somewhat like ourselves. 

Here is a brief history of Albany, in Linn County. 150 years ago it was the destination for many settlers. They found this area of Oregon 's Williamette Valley very fertile for farming. The climate and soil conditions provided a variety of crops, such as common and perennial rye-grass, vineyards, fruit trees and vegetables. The farmers raised chickens, goats, sheep, cattle and llamas. There are many rivers and creeks that run from the Eastern Cascade Mountain Range and the Coastal Range to the West. Over some of these rivers and creeks, covered bridges were built in the early 1900s. Some of the events that are held every year are: Timber Carnival, with competitors test their skill at pole climbing and ax throwing; Farmer's Markets; Strawberry Festivals; Bike Racing; Pioneer Picnic Storytelling; Veteran's Day Parade; Christmas Parlour Tours; Albany Nosh Tours; and others.

Our tour today was very enjoyable. After breakfast we made coffee and drove on another adventure. A tour of the covered bridges in Linn County, around Lebanon, east of Albany. 

The day before we found all the bridge locations on Google and dropped a latitude marker. These were entered into the GPS as destination points.

 We drove to Lebanon on highway #34 East turned on #20 north bound to #226 and Scio, a very small town. The roads were narrow but well paved. They wound through the valleys, over rivers and creeks. The fields were very green with the perennial rye-grass. We stopped in Scio at a Mexican restaurant for lunch and to use their rest room.

Our first stop was the Hoffman Covered Bridge, over the Crabtree Creek.

 While we were driving we saw an evergreen harvest of trees, for the Christmas Trees market. Stores are already stocking up with them. Gilkey, Simanek, and Hanna Covered Bridges were over Thomas Creek, several miles apart.

Near by the Hanna Covered Bridge  We drove further on #226 to check out the Sweetbrier RV and Train Park, nestled in the trees. 

The last bridge we stopped was in the prettiest area. The Lanwood Covered Bridge is over the Crabtree Creek and has a second river called the Roaring River joined it just down stream. 

The Larwood Wayside County Park is in the triangle bordered by the two rivers and the road. This provided travelers a peaceful place to picnic under the old trees or fish in the rushing water. was a Linn County Park used for day used only, good for fishing and picnicker.

We talked to an elderly lady sitting all by herself on a stool in the middle of a gated driveway. She was reading the paper and waiting for the rest of her mail to be delivered. She said she was originally from New York and came out to Oregon with her husband 20 years ago to farm this land. She explained to us that Crabtree Creek was the river and Roaring River was the smaller creek. Why she didn't know.

We were away almost 3 hours. and it didn't rain the whole trip, until we started back to the campground!

So remember "Discover It and Live It"