Row River Trail and Cottage Grove

April 23, 2005

A slightly rainy day didn’t stop six of us from enjoying a hike along Dorena Lake and an auto tour around the lake of covered bridges and Opal Whiteley sites. Next stop was The Cottage Grove Public Library where we viewed the sculpture of a young Opal. A conference room was provided for us to view the books and memorabilia about the author, Opal Whiteley. When Jean shared Opal’s letter written in a mental institution in England, we were all touched. Next stop was The Brothel, a restaurant where head and footboards of beds were our seats for lunch. Several ordered #13 and #12 but two of us ordered the Vixen Lay omelet. What could we do when the other two choices were Debbie’s Delight and Big John? Four women dressed in Victorian dresses asked Ed to photograph them lounging on a comfortable four-poster bed. After a view of the Opal Whiteley mural on Main Street, we walked along the Coast Fork of the Willamette River observing people fishing for trout on the first day of the season. We saw the last covered bridge on the tour and even walked on the swinging bridge over the “turbulent” river. It was raining a bit harder but we did a short version of the walking tour of the historic homes and even had time to visit the Mining Museum. If you don’t know about Opal Whiteley, a web search will tell it all. Enjoying the variety of events were Barbara Bruns, Jean Coberly, Jane Hackett, Janet Jacobsen (leader), Ed Lichtenstein, Barbara Morgan.

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