Murals & Bears in Grants Pass

Thursday, 10 May 2018
Valley of the Rogue State Park — Gold Hill, Oregon
Temps: 66F (19C) / 51F (11C)

This was to be our easy day … resting up after two days of sightseeing … preparing for the next two days of driving.  That’s not to say that we did nothing … no sirreee!

Sue had planned a day touring in Grants Pass, but Mui had to beg off to prep for hosting Sue and Mo for lunch at the Phaeton.  So, it was just the two of us who wandered the streets of the city in search of murals and bears … and boy did we find a fantastic selection of both.

But first, we stopped to check out some windmills Sue though might present us with some interesting photo ops.  She was spot on.  I’ve since researched the place we stopped at and learned that what we took pictures of are part of a collection put together by a man named Gary Peterson … and they are on the grounds of his company.  Hopefully he doesn’t mind that we trespassed … but in our defense, there were no signs to warn us off and we did not venture too far in anyway.

Grants Pass has lovely murals around the city — some new … some old.  We started out with one on Ringuette Avenue — The Gateway by Bob Eding.  It represents the Rogue Valley.  I read in one article that this public work of art is 150 feet (45 m) long … another one said it is 200 feet (60+ m) in length.  Either way, it is quite large.

That’s one long mural depicting the diversity of the region.

Representing the Rogue Valley, the mural consists of scenes that underscore the diversity of the region … from the Boundary Springs at Crater Lake and the Rogue River, to the vineyards and Redwoods, to the coast.  Some 3D elements and hidden features, such as fairies and a black bear coming out of its den, make the mural particularly special.

The vineyards … another time we’ll do the Applegate Wine Trail.

Note the woman at the base of the redwood tree on the right.
Not only does she provide perspective for the giant trees, but she
represents Mary … Lisa Volkert’s mother and the inspiration for the mural.

I’ll keep the words to a minimum and share some more murals we came across during our walk …

The Garden Mural

First National Bank of Southern Oregon

The Josephine Hotel, built in 1893 … long gone now.

Apparently there are some 180+ bears that hibernate at the “Bear Hotel” during the winter and come out to add fun and cheer to the streets of Grants Pass in the summer.  As we searched out the murals, we also enjoyed looking for some of the BearFest acrylic sculptures.

just two of the 180+ bears that have been born since the inception of BearFest in 2003.
Can you guess which one is Polar Peter Pumpkin Eater and which one Carmen Bearanda ;-)

I really enjoyed the BearFest bears, which lived up to the motto that “art doesn’t have to be serious to be great.”  My favorite was a sculpture from 2005 — Bearly Noted.  Decorated with scenes and quotes from the pioneer days, I found it to be rather moving … whereas the others were whimsical and fun.

Note the beautiful details from Oregon’s pioneer past.

1843 … the great migration of more than 1,000 settlers heads for Oregon.
Elkanah Walker writes to Mary Richardson: “I love you, therefore I want you …”

We could have wandered around much longer, but Mui was expecting us for lunch at 12:30p.  So we cut our walk short, drove to Sunset House to pick up Mo and Mattie, and headed to Valley of the Rogue State Park for a home-cooked Turkish meal and plenty of conversation.

We sat outside at first for drinks and snacks — which included hummus and chips — but the light breeze made it feel quite chilly since the patio was in the shade.  When Mattie started shivering, we decided to move indoors for the main meal — which consisted of köfte [beef and lamb patties], ancient grains pilaf, and cacık [cold yogurt and cucumber soup].  Dessert was orange-flavored brownies à la mode.  We finished off our visit outdoors when the sun moved onto the patio … though it was still fairly chilly.

Munchies on the patio …

… lunch indoors when it gets too chilly to sit on the patio.

We had a delightful three days in Oregon’s Banana Belt.  Certainly there is plenty to see and do.  We look forward to returning for a longer stay to explore the area and spend more time with Sue and Mo.  Tomorrow, we continue our drive north.

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