Well, they did...Man, this is reallya small town...
As mentioned earlier, the town was named after John Kalama, a native born Hawaiian who set out for the Pacific Northwest for a very different life from the islands. Before we went to our next destination, we thought we'd stop by City Hall and ask for directions...
TC will soon be learning about the Oregon Trail when she is in middle school.
City Hall was closed but right next to it was their tiny library. The librarian was nice enough to give me "general" directions as was a kid who was at a computer terminal. When I asked the easiest way to get to the "totem pole", the kid said, "It's under the freeway next to the park". No street names were given even after I asked. Hello?
We got lost trying to find it. Haha, check out the sign below - "Kalama - Twilight location"! Really?
Well, Bert and I figured out that the street they told us didn't quite go "under" the freeway. Look at all of those logs!
After a few missed turns,we saw it...
The World's Tallest Totem Pole - carved from a single log!
Located at the Port of Kalama Marine Park, it's right by the water. The day we visited was a really beautiful day. The weather gods were kind to us our first day in Oregon and Washington. Lots of folks were out in the park and in the playground with their children and pets.
There are four totem poles, all carved from cedar. The tallest one is 140 feet tall and carved in the 60's by Chief Don Lelooska. The mythical symbols and creatures on the totem pole are indicative of Pacific Northwest Native American culture.
The weather was pretty warm that day too. It felt like the high 70's. We came to Oregon dressed up in layers of long sleeved shirts and sweaters. After Tonalli's Donuts earlier that morning, we pretty much peeled off our layers because we were burning up!
Nice view of the Columbia River...
More info on the figures carved on the totem pole...
After our last "oohs" and "aahs" (mostly from me and Bert), we prepared ourselves for the drive back to Portland so we could check into our hotel, a very small place with suites on the edge of downtown.
Want to visit? Check out this link for directions and a blow by blow description of the symbols and creatures carved on the poles (like the eagle, dragon fly,shark, and grizzly bear to name a few).
After "freshening up" at the hotel, our plan was to meet up with KD's brother (heretofore known as KDB) for dinner.
2 comments:
Cool! I took a "Non-Western" Art class in college and loved the section on Inuits. Actually, I really enjoyed the class and I even carved an Akuaba doll for extra credit. Now I'm just rambling.
hi c - you would have liked seeing this in person!
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