Tigard -- Franz Bakery Outlet

Tucked away on Cascade Avenue, right by 217, is a Franz Bakery Outlet.

While I admit this is not exactly a glamorous tourist location, it was nonetheless a fun visit.

First of all, they do lean fully into the cuteness that my sisters adore so, celebrating their mascots in decorations and bags.

If you don't know, "Superslice" and "Dotty" are often joined by an orca and a pink elephant, though I cannot find that those have names.

,

Dotty (who just got a new, limited-edition berry doughnut) and Superslice are featured on the reusable bags, available for $2.

They also have coloring pages available.

I was impressed by the variety of products available. In addition to Franz products there was also Little Debbie, Dunford, Bear Creek, and others.

That included food for animals, though, of course, bread is not ideal for birds and waterfowl. There are livestock that can have bread; this is for them.

I was not initially too impressed by the prices. They may have seemed a little lower, and there are in-store specials, but it did not seem that low, until checkout.

Once added up, the savings were more obvious. Then, there can also be additional savings opportunities.

That can be reason enough to go, but Franz is also a part of local history, when the Franz brothers purchased their first bakery in 1906. Many residents have toured the bakery on field trips.

We hope to make it onto one of the general tours in the future. For now, it was a fun little shopping trip, with multiple options for how to shop.

COVID: This is an enclosed space, so wearing a mask is advised.

Accessibility: There are ramps available, and aisles are reasonably wide.

It's worth taking a look.

https://franzbakery.com/

Depoe Bay -- Whale Research EcoExcursions

About two years ago we visited three locations in Depoe Bay.

We saw some whales spouting from the OPRD Whale Watching Center, and we both ate at Whale Bites Cafe and explored the Whales, Sea Life, and Sharks Museum, but we did not go out on a whale watching cruise.

We were sure that we would come back and do that at some point, and we knew that we wanted to go with Carrie Newell, but we didn't have a more detailed plan than that.

Last week, we went. After viewing a short film you head down to the boat, donning life jackets on the way.

One thing I remembered from our last visit to Depoe Bay was that the fog rolled in and out very quickly. Because of that, I was not too concerned with the haze.

It was pretty foggy.

It did lift some, but we did not have clear weather. It didn't really matter. Nature being what it is, there is no certainty about what you will see. We were very satisfied.

On the way to the kelp beds, we passed a harbor seal, and then four California sea lions lounging on a buoy.

We also saw a lion's mane jelly fish.

The kelp beds are just a few miles out of the harbor and full of mysid shrimp. This makes it a good feeding ground for gray whales, full of food and shallow enough to decrease the orca threat.

While many gray whales migrate to Alaska, there is a resident population at Depoe Bay, increasing your chances of seeing whales for more of the year.

We saw two, a male and a female, spouting and surfacing every three to five minutes.

I initially thought I did not get a single picture of them, consistent with my luck for cetacean photography. On a closer look, I did catch a bit of tail as one was going back down onto the right side, leaving a little triangle showing reminiscent of a shark dorsal fin.

(Apparently Depoe Bay does get great white sharks, though only in September.)

I try not to worry too much about whether I will get good photos, lest I miss the experience. There is something thrilling about seeing whales and the crew was good about positioning the boat so that everyone got good looks.

Again, it is not completely predictable; something amazing happened that we could never have planned on.

We had seen a few birds already: Western grebes, Western gulls, pelicans, cormorants, and murres, but suddenly there were lots of birds, all over.

We could only assume that a bait ball had formed, possibly of anchovies, and all of the birds were coming to feast. 

In addition to the species we had already seen, there were some unexpected rhinoceros auklets.

Just getting to observe the behavior was amazing, but there were two things I want to note.

First of all, being out on the water made a huge difference. I remember spotting cormorants and gulls from the Whale Watching center, because those are kind of distinctive shapes, but for a lot of the others, it is much harder to tell.

In addition, even though you know they look small from a distance. The scale is not clear. They are much bigger than I realized.

Then, part of being out with a marine biologist is the identification. I can recognize a cormorant; I did not know that they were specifically Brandt's and pelagic cormorants. 

I never would have identified the auklets on my own, but once she identified them I looked at the profile and it kind of made sense.

In addition, I know more about each of those breeds now. 

Especially for this place and this population, you could not have a better guide. Carrie's knowledge and enthusiasm is unmatched, and there are whale spotting dogs.

COVID: You are outside on the boat, but in somewhat close quarters. Then, at the beginning for the video, you are inside. Use your best judgment.

Accessibility: Normally you go down two flights of stairs and then a long ramp. There is an accessible dock available, though it is not available for three of the time slots. Make sure that you are scheduling the right one. I recommend asking, as we did find all of the staff helpful.

It is not a bad idea in general to go over the FAQs and think ahead. We had ponchos and water bottles that we did not end up using, but I don't regret being prepared.

As they say on their site, whale watching is best June through September, so it is winding down for the year, but there are still bookings available through October 13th.

https://www.oregonwhales.com/

Bend, Oregon --- The High Desert Museum

When you drive out to the High Desert Musuem, it feels like you are in the middle of nowhere, entering vast spaces.

Things can look deceptively small, and end up being bigger than you thought. 

This was especially true of two of the exhibits, Spirit of the West and By Hand Through Memory.

It looks like you are entering a room, but then there are twists and turns and you are traveling through a space, but also through time. 

There was a lot in there, and I thought they did a good job of presenting the information.

Those are among the permanent exhibits. 

I felt some wonder, turning corners and finding still more. At times the lighting was dim.

There was also a temporary one, Sensing Sasquatch, which did more to give a feeling of the legend, which is probably the most appropriate method for that subject.

Even with all of that -- which was a lot -- there was still more.

Desertarium shows you some of the creatures associated with the area. 

You can find owls both there and at the Donald M. Kerr Birds of Prey Center.

There is also The Autzen Otter Exhibit.

And Porcupines.

There doesn't seem to be a separate name for the bobcat; is Timber actually a part of Porcupines?

Having a large campus means that they can offer many different types of experiences.

There was also some really cute statuary.

For the Portland Metro Area, it is a bit of a journey. I was comparing routes, but there is a trip through mountain and forest that just can't be avoided, not matter your approach.

It is worth seeing, though. If you are in the area, it makes sense to go.

(And also check out the last Blockbuster while you are there.)

I would say the worst part about it was that if you need to eat while there, your options are very limited. 

This is not saying the food was bad; it was fine. The prices were a little high but not gouging.

That also leads to something else.

COVID: There is outside seating, but we were there on a poor air quality day, and the outdoor seating was closed. It was incredibly crowded, and in the one place you can't mask.

There was some frustration with that. Otherwise, I masked inside. The air was not quite bad enough for me to mask outside at that point.

Accessibility: In addition to being pretty good for mobility, the museum has many sensory options and continues to add accommodations.

https://highdesertmuseum.org/accessibility/ 

There are steps in many places, but there are always other routes with ramps or flat entrances.

I did worry about some of the dark areas in Spirit of the West, but given that as an institution they seem to take accessibility very seriously, I would ask any questions that come to you.

I understand why it consistently ranks high on lists of top museums and top attractions.

https://highdesertmuseum.org/