If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 755

  

 

 

 

 

Battle Rock, Oregon coast

 

This is an unused color postcard featuring a photograph of Battle Rock also called Battle Rock Arch found on the Oregon coast inside the city limits of Port Orford.  It is “Another André Original” printed or published by Anderson’s Scenic Postcards of Portland, Oregon.  At the bottom of the center line on the reverse is “DBN-1 A, Mike Roberts.”  In the designated area for a stamp is also written B35.  The edges of the card are scalloped or deckled which help date it to around 1960 or earlier.  The blurb at the bottom left side on the reverse: “This unusual rock formation is at Port Orford, Oregon, the most westerly town in the continental United States.”  The blurb is not entirely correct and should have said “one of the most westerly.”  Battle Rock is in the Otter Point Foundation which is in the boundaries of the Cape Blanco State Park.  It is the cape that extends farther west than any point of land in the contiguous United States, except some places on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. 

 

The rock is mainly basalt.  At low tides it is connected to the mainland but at high tide it is not.  It is about 300 ft or 91 m long and approximately 60 ft or 18 m high.  It has some trees and other vegetation growing on it.  Geologists have estimated most of the land in the Otter Point Formation can be dated back to the Jurassic period. 

 

How did Battle Rock get its name?  In 1851, nine men were left at Port Orford by captain William Tichenor as part of the western expansion to the Pacific Coast.  That same year a skirmish broke out between the white settlers and the indigenous Quatomah Tutunis, Athapaskan people, who lived in the area.  The settlers eventually fled but later returned in greater numbers.  The leader of the nine men left by Tichenor, J.M. Kirkpatrick, published an account of the skirmish which inspired the name of the rock.  His account has become a local legend and part of Port Orford’s community celebrations and folklore.  Several native chiefs and a member of the nine-men expedition, who later died, are buried on Battle Rock. 

 Thanks to Bob for sharing the card.

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Rock

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 754

 

 

 

 

 

Sand Dunes, Oregon

 

The title on the front of this unused color postcard identifies the scene as the Sand Dunes, Oregon.  On the reverse center line at the top is “Another André Original.”  Printed on the center line is:  “Anderson’s Post Cards, Portland, Oregon, Curteichcolor.”  The code:  DFL-1A appears at the bottom of the center line.  At the bottom left on the reverse is a blurb:  “Miles and miles of drifting sand.  Dune riding is a thrilling sport.”  The card has deckled or scalloped edges dating it to between the 1930s and 1960.  

 

The Oregon Dunes are a National Recreation Area administered by the U.S. Forest Service.  The dunes stretch about 40 miles or 64 km north of Coos River in North Bend to the Siuslaw River in Florence, Oregon.  At approximately 7,000 acres of sand, it is the largest expanse of coastal sand dunes in North America.  Some of the dunes reach 500 ft or 150 m above sea level.   

 

The Dunes are estimated to be over 100,000 years old.  Erosion by wind and water formed the dunes.  Storm winds have been known to reach up to 100 miles per hour (160km/h).  Waves and tides carry sand from the ocean floor up on the beaches where the wind takes over and blows it into dunes. 

 

There are native plants that grow in the area that are vital to the ecosystem.  Things that grow here are: a type of grass called Red Fescue; Port Orford cedar, evergreen huckleberry, seashore bluegrass, shore pine, hairy manzanita, bearberry, bog blueberry, tufted hairgrass, slough sedge, Sika spruce, and skunk cabbage.  Many species of birds can also be found here in the wetlands; tundra swan, marsh wren, Canada goose, yellow rumped warbler, red-tailed hawk, sanderling, long-billed curlew, and sandpipers.  Other birds, like the great blue heron, American bittern, green heron, Virginia rail, cinnamon teal, common yellowthroat, common merganser, bald eagle, and osprey to name just a few are also seen here.  A patient bird watcher could see many different birds. 

 

There are numerous recreational activities available in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, such as off-highway vehicle use, hiking, fishing, canoeing, horseback riding, and camping.  We did not see or hear dune buggies when we visited but there are places where they can be used.  Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel Dune was partly inspired by these dunes. 

 

Bob and I were here in 2018 and took a couple of pictures.

 

 

 This sign is posted near the trail and has information and a map of the marshlands, and the beaches as well as the dunes.

 

 

This picture was taken from a viewing platform not far from the sign with the map.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Dunes_National_Recreational_Area

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 753

 

 

 

 

   

Bloedel Conservatory, Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, ca 1970s

 

Two postcards from the same place are shared this week.  The top card is identified as a Première postcard published by Natural Color Productions, Ltd. Richmond, B.C., Canada.  The unused card features a color photograph by Marty Sheffer of the Bloedel Conservatory.  There is a blurb at the lower left corner on the reverse:  “AW 80B … Queen Elizabeth Park features many colorful walkways.  This photo was taken from above the Quarry Gardens with the Bloedel Conservatory in the background.”

 

The Bloedel Conservatory is located at the top of Queen Elizabeth Park.  One of the Canadian centennial 1867-1967 projects, it opened in 1969.  The architectural design is a triodetic dome.  It is both a conservatory and an aviary, with around 500 different species of plants and 200 birds.  Three habitats are represented: tropical rainforest, subtropical rainforest, and desert.

 

Because the city of Vancouver already held a lease and had built an open air water reservoir on the proposed site for the conservatory on top of Little Mountain in the park, the project faced complications.  A lid was constructed over the reservoir, and conditions were attached to the conservatory, such as, it could not detract from the natural beauty of the site nor jeopardize the quality of the potable water supply to the city.  In 2009 the Vancouver Park Board voted to close the conservatory due to a budget shortfall.  Several groups lobbied to keep it open.  In 2010 the Friends of the Bloedel Association and the VanDusen Botanical Garden Association submitted a proposal to run the Bloedel Conservatory as part of the VanDusen Botanical Gardens.  A joint proposal was accepted.  In 2013 the Friends of Bloedel won the City of Vancouver Heritage Commission Award of Honour.  VanDusen Botanical Garden Association later changed their name to the Vancouver Botanical Gardens Association to reflect the joint management. 

 

The second card is a Majestic postcard also published by Natural Color Productions, Ltd., and printed by Lawson Graphics Pacific Limited, KS 6633.  There is a blurb at the lower left corner on the reverse:  “KM-91  Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.  This beautiful floral garden was the outcome of a transformed stone quarry.  To add to the beauty and interest the unique Bloedel Floral Conservatory was constructed.  The Conservatory and Gardens are only a portion of the reason thousands of people visit the park each year.  It features tennis courts, a pitch and putt golf course, walking trails and as the highest point in the city, an excellent view.  Photo by Gammarax Studios.”

 

 

 

Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, ca 1970s

 

Queen Elizabeth Park is a municipal part located on top of Little Mountain in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  It overs 130 acres and was once the site of basalt quarry. 

 

The park land was an old-growth forest and spawning ground for salmon before the European settlement.  By the 1870s settle population began exterminating the grey wolves, elk and bears, chopped down the old growth forest and paved the salmon creeks.  In 1936 the B.C. Tulip Assocation suggested sunken gardens could be created in the old quarries.  By the 1940s the site was turned over the Vancouver Park Board and became a park and recreational area.  A gift of $1.25 million by Prentice Bloedel funded open reservoirs and built the domed conservatory.  There are covered walkways, lighted fountains, and a sculpture by Henry Moore, “Knife Edge Two Piece, 1962-65.

 

Both cards come from Bob's scrapbook collection.  Thanks for sharing.

 

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloedel_Conservatory

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_Park,_British_Columbia