One of the many features that give the pacific coast its character and charm is the remarkable architecture and engineering that has gone into the bridges that span the rivers and inlets. Completed in 1936, the Yaquina Bay Bridge in Newport, Oregon is without question, one of the most recognizable bridges along the coast.
In Canada, prickly pear cactus can be found in small pockets scattered through the western provinces. They only grow to about the size of a football. Travelling through Arizona, I was amazed how big they grow when given year round sun. This plant sprawled out and was about 5 feet tall.
This was my first experience in the remote regions of the Kofa Wilderness Refuge in Arizona. During my visit, I was the only person in the park. You could see for miles in all directions. As my first day drew to an end, an eerie calm resonated through the desert as night approached. I have never been anywhere so quiet in my life. Alone, and lost in my thoughts I remember sitting in the back of my car with the hatch wide open, just looking at the vast landscape and enjoying watching the remaining sunlight slowly disappear behind the horizon. Of the few times I have visited the deserts of the American Southwest, it is the silence that I enjoy the most.
