Saturday, June 6, 2009

quiet streets


Last month, while visiting Manhattan, I looked across the street at an enormous building and saw that it was the post office. The imposing building stretched a block long and a block wide. In this roadside photo, a theme for Unique's Photo Challenge, the difference between the two environments couldn't be more dramatic. Along U.S. 26 175 miles East of Bend is the post office in Ironsides, Oregon. The flag adorns the newer building! This spot is along the Oregon Trail, which was used by settlers, ranchers, farmers, miners and business men between 1841 and 1869. Once the Union Pacific was established, the trail's importance diminished. Even today this is a lonely stretch of road. If you are looking for another perspective of Oregon or are interested in sensing the "old West", perhaps a trip on this road is in order.

3 comments:

tapirgal said...

What an interesting post! I wonder what kind of volume they do! I like the older building :)

Lowell said...

I used to teach the Oregon Trail in middle school and always found it fascinating...that makes this photo even more interesting to me! What a terrific shot. Glad to see the U.S. Postal Service is still serving residents in the boonies!

cieldequimper said...

Yes, I think I will need to do that one day. I've never yet ventured on gravel/dirt roads in Oregon, I stayed on the main roads. It is a gravel road, isn't it? Fascinating, thanks for showing it.