Travelog for: Dilbert

Today Dilbert went to the cinema with Greedy but soon after the film began, instead of  enjoying watching "the golden compas" in French, the went to look for popcorns and such on the floor. Dilbert sniffed them out and Greedy ate them all.

Today a toyvoyager arrived unexpected.  It was quite sometime ago that I had invited this curley haired little dog  to visit us here in Oregon.  He finally arrived via France.

He was very excited to get out of that tiny little compartment. They say it is good luck to kiss the ground when you have arrived safely after a long journey.  That's exactly what he did. 

It's a long ride from France to Oregon USA.

Upon arrival Dilbert viewed the population sign for Eugene, Oregon where he is visiting.
Now that's a lot of people living in one area.

It makes him wonder---hmmmm!  If there are that many people, then he wonders how many dogs there might be living in this area too. 
Just the thought---It's mindboggeling! 

Eugene area is large and has a lot of open spaces.  The view is nice from up here. 

Now it is time to go adventuring around the city.  Check out this Eugene.  Maybe this little curley dog will learn something new today about Oregon. 

Very near the home of his host, there are many places where people grow trees for cutting at Christmas time.

Here on the large acreages there are a variety of trees grown.  Many will be cut and shipped to different states in the US and thousands of trees are sent around the world each year.  Cutting of the trees for shipping starts in October.

40% of the Christmas Trees that are grown in Oregon and the State of Washington (which neighbors Oregon) are sent to international countries. 

This large tree farm starts the trees in green houses as seedlings and then plants the small trees the following year in the ground on the farm.

The majority of the trees grown in the Willamette Valley in Oregon are called Douglas Fir. 

The trees at different stages of growth can be thinned to help them grow better in different types of soils around the state.
Some variety of trees grow better when they are thicker in groups and some grow better when there is space for their limbs to grow longer.

The trees at this height are usually around 3 years old.  Some of these trees will be cut this year around Christmas time and some will be left to grow another year.

The trees at this tree farm are 4 years old.  They will be cut this year for shipping around the US and shipped around the world.
There are still many tree farms left in Oregon for growing Christmas trees.

Soon there would be a new guest, a "toyvoyager host",  that would visit BunTraveler at her home.  All the toyvoyagers gathered together and their host BunTraveler made a sign to welcome their guest.

Just before Becka_Kate came through the door Cassiopeia and Kalli wanted to join in on the fun too. Although they were guests as well they thought it was fun to surprize becka_kate.

They sat next to the other toyvoyagers that were at the table and all yelled WELCOME when she came through the door.

What happen next was very very funny.  No one realized that the host and the hostess had something else funny that they wanted to share.

Before all the toyvoyagers could take a breath here were two very funny hosts that looked just like them.  Except bigger!
Never had they seen such funny looking hosts before.

The party was fun and everyone was happy to meet our new visitor Becka_Kate.

I bet you can guess where she is from.  She looks very similar to her toyvoyager Kalli that came with her to visit BunTraveler.

What a fun game to play on all the toyvoyagers!

For the next few days Dilbert had fun traveling to the coast on his birthday and sharing the weekend with his new friends.

Cassiopeia from Germany and Kalli from Australia who arrived with friends, stayed for a few days and did some traveling with Dilbert to the Pacific coast.

It was a rainy and windy day but still fun to see the coast.
The Siuslaw river travels through the Willamette valley, runs along the highway, next to the sand dunes and then into the pacific ocean.
Here there is a lot of fishing done daily.  Crab pots can be put into the bay and the owners collect crab for eating at the end of the day.

When the tide goes out there is another area close to the ocean where everyone can dig for clams. 

Although Dilbert thought how fun it might be to dig for clams, his host thought if he arrived back home a muddy mess after digging for clams on the Oregon coast that they might not be too happy.

Sadly,  Dilbert had to view all of the wide open spaces from the front of the van.

At the mouth of the Jetty, where the river is wide going into the pacific ocean,  there is a place where a little dog can sit and watch the gulls floating in the breeze.

In between the storm fronts and the downpours of rain, the clouds would blow apart and the birds took to the sky.
Here, Dilbert wondered what it would be like to fly.

After watching the birds at the ocean, Dilbert's host drove into a small coastal town which is called Old Town Florence.
Here along the river front, the town was created in the early 1900's by Chinese slave trade.  This was a dangerous place to live back then.

Not a nice place to be in at the time,  but then slowly through the years Florence became a lovely fishing village where people could live in safety and enjoy the quiet coastal town. 

The town is now filled with small shops for clothing, books, tourist collectables and places to enjoy lunch or dinner.

In the center of town is a very small park.  There is a Gazebo for sitting in and viewing the water front and the Siuslaw river bridge.  This tiny Gazebo is photographed at least 1000 times during the summer months when tourists visit this small park.