Up Up and Away

Wah Chang Northwest Art & Air Festival
August 28 - 30, 2009
Timber Linn Park
900 Price Rd SE
Albany, OR 97321

3...2...1...Lift-off

Wah Chang Northwest Art & Air Festival

August 28 - 30, 2009
Timber Linn Park
900 Price Rd SE
Albany, OR 97321

"Cruise-In for Corn"

Aumsville Corn Festival
Porter Boone Park
1105 Mill Creek Rd
Aumsville, OR 97325

Bowls and bowls of free sweet, buttery goodness.

Smashemup!!!

Oregon State Fair
Demolition Derby
August 28, 2009
Oregon State Fairgrounds
2330 17th St
Salem, OR 97303

Minimum Security

Oregon State Penitentiary
2809 State Street
Salem, OR

Marquee Sign

South Salem Drive-In
362 Lancaster Dr SE
Salem, OR 97301

Only remnant of the drive-in shuttered in the 90's.

Signs of the Time

Rumours Restaurant and Lounge
282 N 3rd Ave
Stayton, OR 97383

Racing Silhouette

LifeSource Natural Foods Salem Mountain Bike Short Track Series
Week 3
August 24, 2009
Oregon State Fairgrounds
2330 17th St
Salem, OR 97303

Bucking Horses

Capitol Center
388 State St.
Salem, OR

Sunset Balloon Burn

2nd Annual Loose Goose Hot Air Balloon Fly-Out

Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum
August 22 - 23, 2009
3685 NE Three Mile Lane
McMinnville, OR

Burnout Alley

Night of Fire Benefit Show
August 21, 2009
Salem Evangelical Church
455 Locust St
Salem, OR 97305

Hot August Days

Willamette River
Salem, OR 97301

The Big Tomato

Capitol Building

900 Court St NE

Salem, OR 97301

13-1/2 foot tall tomato touring Oregon with a 'It's Too Big to Miss' message. 'It' being the Oregon State Fair (Aug 28 - Sept 7).

Flying Lesson

LifeSource Natural Foods Salem Mountain Bike Short Track Series
Week 2
August 17, 2009
Oregon State Fairgrounds
2330 17th St
Salem, OR 97303

Dance & Drums

Grand Ronde Contest Powwow
August 14 - 16, 2009
Uyxat Powwow Grounds
9390 Highway 22
Grand Ronde, OR

Dark Skies

5th Annual Silver Falls State Park Star Party
August 15, 2009
Silver Falls State Park
Silverton, OR

Oregon's State Parks and Recreation Department, Salem's cosmic gurus of Night Sky 45 and the volunteer group, Friends of Silver Falls conducted a mini (9PM-12AM) crash course in astronomy last night. We all had a great time learning the star gazing basics, looking through different types of telescopes and feeding on cookies and hot cocoa. The biggest treats of the night...seeing a shooting star and dancing with the free glow in the dark bracelets.

Sidewalk Chalk Art

T-Horse and Harvest Swap
August 15, 2009
First Congregational United Church of Christ
700 Marion St NE
Salem, OR

Help 'Strike Out" Breast Cancer

8th Annual Play for the Cure Softball Tournament
August 14 -16, 2009
Wallace Marine Park
200 Glen Creek Rd NW
Salem, OR 97301

For $5 you can sponsor a ball in honor of a loved one who has battled breast cancer. The ball with the message or name written on it will put into play some time during the tournament.

Early Oregon

Fort Yamhill State Heritage Area
Polk County, OR

1850's period-style flagpole made from a single tree, placed in the geographical center of the former fort's grounds.

Fresh Tastes Better

Wednesday Farmers Market
Chemeketa Street NE
Between High & Liberty Streets NE
Salem, OR 97301

A Wednesday Farmers' Market featuring local plants, produce, cut flowers, baked goods, meats, prepackaged foods and on-site prepared foods.

Every Wednesday, May through October, 10 a.m to 2 p.m.

Ladder Walk

Smokestack
Salem, OR

Pedaling Forces

LifeSource Natural Foods Salem Mountain Bike Short Track Series
Week 1
August 10, 2009
Oregon State Fairgrounds
2330 17th St
Salem, OR 97303

Exclusive Bloodline

Homer Davenport Days at GeerCrest Farm
August 8 - 9, 2009
12390 Sunnyview Rd NE
Salem, OR 97317

Each year The City of Silverton pays tribute to the successes of their hometown hero, Homer Davenport (1867-1912). Homer was a highly influential satirical cartoonist, credited with drawing Teddy Roosevelt into his second presidential term. At that time, he was the highest paid political cartoonist. One of Homer's lesser known contributions to the US was his introduction of an exclusive breed of Arabian horses, Davenport Arabians, with lineage direct from the (Syro-)Arabian Desert. Pictured above is one such horse. Unfortunately, Homer Davenport died long before his dream of bringing these horses to Oregon was realized. Today, there exists a group of 'preservation breeders' in the Willamette Valley that continue to keep the bloodlines pure and thriving.

The Stinky Rose

"Fun Stinks"
The World's 12th Annual Elephant Garlic Festival
August 7 - 9, 2009
Jessie Mays Community Center
30955 NW Hillcrest
North Plains, OR 97133

"Elephant garlic is as close as you can get to garlic without being truly garlic. It's actually related to the onion family," the vendors assured me. "It's taste is milder and sweeter," they said. Make no mistake, after the first bite of garlic ice cream, elephant garlic is just as smelly and pungent as the 'real Mccoy'. And just as I suspected, the ice cream tasted...interesting. We also tried the garlic trifecta - Garlic chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and garlic green beans. Yum! I was in garlic heaven. I could have used a stick of gum or two afterwards. A booth of mints and mouthwash would profit at function like this. I've been to the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California and I have to say that that the little burg of North Plains, OR does just as good a job representing the garden leek known as elephant garlic.

Hen & Chicks

2009 Polk County Fair
August 6 - 9, 2009
520 S Pacific Hwy, W
Rickreall, OR 97371

More 4-H livestock photos.

Resting After the Show

2009 Polk County Fair
August 6 - 9, 2009
520 S Pacific Hwy, W
Rickreall, OR 97371

Below: More scenes from the fair.

Dancing in the Streets

1st Wednesday Celebration
August 2009
Downtown Salem, OR 97301

Arches

Yaquina Bay Bridge

Newport, OR 97365

Fishing Fleet

Yaquina Bay

Newport, OR 97365

Crispy Curlies

16th Annual Bite of Salem
July 31 - August 2, 2009
Riverfront Park
101 Front St. NE
Salem, OR 97301

Always a crowd pleaser with the kids...curly fries.

Theme Day: Night

Oregon Coast Aquarium
2820 SE Ferry Slip Rd
Newport, Oregon 97365

Jellyfish swimming in water dark as night.

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