Although I don't have any cow pictures, I always say if I was a cow, I'd want to live in Ferndale. The grass is lush and the contented cows are everywhere.
I slid down a muddy hill to get this picture of the bridge which just celebrated its 100th birthday. Speaking from experience, it is a bit narrow for today's trucks and RVs.
And the Victorian architecture is splendid. Although you can see with the stores on Main Street, it's kind of a skin deep beauty with fancy fronts.
But elsewhere, there are plenty of beautiful old buildings that were built in the town's heyday. Known as 'butterfat palaces', these houses were built with money from the prosperous dairy industry.
I guess these people just kept adding on as they had more children.
But wait! Every Memorial Day weekend, Ferndale, along with neighboring Eureka and Arcata, host the Kinetic Grand Championship, the Triathlon of the Art World. I attended this event twice and if you have never seen it, you have to go! Contestants come from all over with their kinetic creations, which must be people powered and able to move on land, through sand or mud, and float on water. These creations can be as simple as a decorated bicycle with one driver to a huge machine with multiple drivers. It's probably the most fun I ever witnessed.
Ferndale has a small Kinetic Museum with a few of the sculptures on display.
But you really have to witness the craziness involved to appreciate this 3-day event.
Love the bridge; thanks for going to the effort of getting it ... hope you didn't ruin your pants :-))) That kinetic art championships does sound like fun. I'm always amazed by the creativity of people to come up with fun and funky stuff.
ReplyDeleteThats a great picture of the bridge, I love Ferndale and the area. Have been across that bridge several times towing our trailer. The cheese place is also a great stop, just north of Ferndale. Hwy 101 is one of our more favorite roads from WA to So. CA. Have fun.
ReplyDeleteHooray for the contented cows...thats a beautiful bridge.
ReplyDeleteTerrific to see what the imaginations of the contestants can conjure up for the kinetic arts!
The lengths you'll go to to bring us pretty pictures, sliding down a muddy hill. Hope you were still standing when you got to the bottom (the hill's, not yours!).
ReplyDeleteLovely houses, they look timber to me, if so they have done well to last this long. We have a Ferndale not far from here, but its a very different place to this. I'll try and remember to take some picturess of it.
ReplyDeleteI always thought that Ferndale was Cow Heaven.
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