Oregon150

Rain on the Siletz River

kathleen ritzman
Siletz

by Kathleen Ritzman
Newport, OR
Nighttime. Sleepless. Too many sounds outside my door to rest comfortably. I quietly shifted out of bed and padded down the hall to the new living room. When I opened the door, I could hear the chuckling hum of the Siletz River as it vibrated the soles of my feet. Shouldn’t [...]

Oregon the Beautiful

Bayley Wallace
newport

by Bayley Wallace
Newport, OR
Oregon, the state of green trees and rain. What can I say- it rains half the time and never gets above 50 degrees and yet Oregon residents still are able to do their daily work. Where else does it snow on the beach, an amazing life time experience that you will never [...]

Imprisoned by Mother Nature

Kc Steensen
Oregon

by KC Steensen
Newport, OR
I was born on the Oregon coast in Newport, and brought into this world by a loving family. Only to be imprisoned by a possessive Mother Nature. No matter what time of year, it is always raining, always windy, and always the same temperature.
However there are amazing breaks in the tempest, amazing [...]

the green magnet

megan alcorn
newport oregon

by Megan Alcorn
Newport, OR
My parents forced me to move here. I became a prisoner of the relentless rain and lime green mold. I came to hate the rain along with all the other bad things that follow Oregon.
A few months into this place, however, I began to notice the green; it started to draw me [...]

Not freaking out

Michaela
Newport High School

by Michaela La Puentes
Depoe Bay, OR
With so much rain you would think people would think about using an umbrella or at least on special occasions. But instead they just walk around in the rain like nothing’s happening. It was funny because two years ago it started to rain in California for the first time in [...]

The Wild that We Traverse

Katherine Rose
Yachats River Valley

by Katherine Rose
Yachats, OR
Ancient REI, Columbia, Gortex and other well-worn articles of outdoor gear collect themselves at the doorway from the recesses of our basement. The bright aqua and cool greens of the thrift-store-special-equipment wear the scars of the wild of which they have traversed. The small threads of the backpacks and tents [...]

My Oregon Life

Mayra Landa
Newport

by Mayra Landa
Newport, OR
Sunshine, warm sand and sun tan skins are what we don’t have. Oregon doesn’t sound like the best place to many people, but to me it is.
When I visit a hot place I feel like I’m suffocating. I love Oregon because it’s full of green trees and has the coldest beaches you [...]

Accident in the rain

Kelso Gwinup
Florence

by Kelso Gwinup
Newport, OR
It was late at night and I had just gotten a call from my mother telling me she wanted me home. I didn’t want to walk alone; he was the only one who could walk me home so he did.
And I hated him with a passion; I never hated anyone as much [...]

Ona’s Teeming Masses

Steve Snow
Ona Beach

by Steve Snow
South Beach, OR
On an open beach with no fences, I run my Border Collies. No one is there. We see birds gathered around something washed up on the sand. A bald eagle stands on top of a spawned out Chinook salmon. The eagle watches my curious dogs. I call [...]

Oregon Rain

Carla Perry
Oregon

by Carla Perry
Newport, OR
The water whispered at first
and found me among the low mounds
of Kansas strip mines, living in drought
It padded alongside
as I scratched at the earth of Missouri
perspiring on parched soil
trying to be sensitive about hidden springs
as I peered into empty winter wells
In Iowa the water enticed, cajoled,
then insisted
I dream about a land
where water [...]

Grateful to be an Oregonian

Patty Soza
Salem, Oregon

by Patty Soza
Salem, OR

I’m living in my favorite part of Salem, Oregon, south Salem, across the street from a huge, nearly 1,000 acre wilderness park, Minto Brown Island park, and not far from the historical district and the capitol. The unique, natural beauty of Salem, Oregon is probably the best kept secret in the [...]