Independence, Oregon 10 km Volksmarch - Sunday, July 14, 2024

A clear, warm Oregon morning greeted us when we left the RV. The drive to Independence, Oregon took one-half hour. Once there, we met seven walkers from Salem's Willamette Wanderers Volkssport Club and started our walk at 10 am. The temperature was 77 degrees. 

Our group of nine walkers: Julia, Nancy, Amy, 
Susan (front), Margaret, Margie, Donna, Bob,
and me (behind the camera).

 
Our walk started in a neighborhood. Shortly, we came to the Inspiration Garden at Mountain Fir Park. The park is cared for by the Oregon State University Polk County Master Gardeners.

The sign at the entrance to the garden.

Our group split into 5 km and 10 km walkers here. Susan was the only one doing a 5 km and spent more time in the Inspiration Garden.

Bob is on the trail at Inspiration Gaden.

A failed mill pond dam was removed from this site in 2007 to restore winter habitat for endangered Chinook salmon and winter steelhead. See the sign below for more information.

Fragrant abelia (Zabelia tyaihyoni).

Lily (Lilium "Sophie").

The Little Free Library in the Inspiration
Garden, Independence, Oregon.

A moon gate in the Inspiration Garden
in Independence, Oregon.

Pollinator Haven in the Inspiration Garden.

We then walked through established neighborhoods, past schools, churches, and the historic downtown.

The neighborhood garden below was created by teenagers and had huge sunflowers!

These sunflowers are 6-8' tall!

These artichokes are past their prime.

The convenient raised flower beds make 
it easy to pull weeds and care for the plants.

A mural next to the teenagers' community
garden.

Formerly, this was the Henry Hill Elementary School.
Henry Hill was co-founder of Independence.

I am with Julia, this walk's creator, in front
of an eagle carving.

Smoke bush in full bloom.

Life Center Church, Independence, Oregon.

A cute home in Independence, Oregon.

Pink House Café, Independence, Oregon.

The Independence Depot. (See historic
information in the photo above.)

Big, beautiful home in Independence, Oregon.

The history of the local Kalpuya Indians.

We walked alongside the Willamette River
in Independence, Oregon.

The Riverview Park Amphitheater in
downtown Independence.

For the second half of our walk, we paired up with Julia, the walk director.

Independence, Oregon National Historic
District.

"Dan Weaver," by Judy Phipps. He was the
long-time owner of a former antique store, and a
big booster in Independence, Oregon.

Downtown fountain in Independence, Oregon.

Vivid window art on a restaurant.

Vivid window art on a restaurant.

A gorgeous home in Independence, Oregon.

Julia, Susan, and Bob. Susan drove
downtown to walk with us for a few blocks.

A historic Bentley Mark VI that has
seen better days.

Hood ornament of the Bentley Mark VI.

A mural in downtown Independence, Oregon.
(No plaque stating the artist or title of this piece.)

The Umpqua Bank building in downtown
Independence, Oregon.

A mural by Mel Blanchard, June 1986.

A mural by Mel Blanchard, June 1986.

Independence, Oregon's National
Historic District.

The original sign on this building is "The 
Taylor's Fountain."

This historic building has Moorish influences.

Bob in front of the fountain, downtown
Independence, Oregon.

This is the free Monmouth-Independence
(MI) Trolley. 

The National Historic District is lively and quaint. The downtown core was not run down with empty storefronts. 

Art can be found throughout downtown. 
This storefront has art above and below
its display window.

The brick pillars surrounding the amphitheater
each display a history marker. 

Here is a sampling of history markers from the brick pillars. Early Independence history included the Kalapuya and other Native American tribes, farming hops (for flavoring beer), and transportation (ferries and trains) which brought in the hops' farm workers.

From downtown, we followed the trail along the Willamette River to the "Independence Hops Camp" sign, turned around, and finished our walk in other neighborhoods.

I love weather vanes, especially unique
ones, such as this dragon.

When we finished our walk it was 90 degrees. We returned to the Hee Hee Illahee RV Resort in north Salem. 

Hee Hee Illahee RV Resort entrance.

Our campsite at Hee Hee Illahee RV Resort.

Hee Hee Illahee RV Resort.

We have good friends (Wendy and Brad) who we wanted to connect with and gave them a call. They invited us to their home in Albany for a barbecue and invited mutual friends Bob and Nancy. We loved the spontaneity! They barbecued steak, chicken, and corn on the cob. We brought a big salad and strawberry-raspberry shortcake for dessert. [Umm, I forgot the big salad I made, left it in the 5th wheel. I didn't realize it until we were almost at their house. We stopped for lettuce and I remade the salad at their place with ingredients they had in their fridge...avocado, tomato, olives, bacon bits, and shredded cheese. We ate our forgotten salad over the next four days. LOL.] Thank you for being flexible in getting together on such short notice. We had a great time! 

Tomorrow morning, we will do laundry at the RV park before we head south to Richardson Park in Veneta, Oregon to visit Bob's sister Lonnie and brother-in-law Drew who live in Eugene.