I previously mentioned how Ashland was the inspiration for the setting of the recent movie, Coraline. While on a recent bike ride the view in the above photograph reminded me of that movie, at least the foreground. If you’ve seen the movie you’ll remember the environment surrounding the well. Where I took this picture from, the terrain, trees, and general atmosphere is very similar.

There are many other things in Ashland that were drawn on and appeared in the movie. The most obvious, of course, is the letter that says “Ashland, OR” right on it. But there are others that I’ll share with you in the future.

Posted on April 12th, 2009 under nature, only in ashland, places. Tags: clouds, coraline. Comments: 1

The box office for OSF has moved across the street this year to Carpenter Hall. To the left of the box office in this picture is the “New Theatre” (now in its seventh year).

Posted on April 11th, 2009 under only in ashland, places. Tags: buildings, oregon shakespeare festival, spring, trees. Comments: 3

The Black Sheep, like Omar’s, is an Ashland icon. Fashioned like a British pub, you can play darts, make calls from a London-style phone booth, or just enjoy an English beer or meal. On Sundays they have Celtic music. I’ve actually been to the Black Sheep twice in the past couple weeks. I’ve never been in Louie’s (bottom left), but I’m guessing it, and the Black Sheep, were quite crowded last night for St. Patty’s Day.

The building the Black Sheep is in is more than a hundred years old (130 years next year to be exact). The Cafe sign on the side of it isn’t that old but I’m guessing it is several decades old. The heraldic banners you see in this picture are all over town, especially the plaza area, because of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Posted on March 18th, 2009 under only in ashland, places. Tags: buildings, plaza, signs. Comments: 3

Someone decided to dress up the rock art on the SOU campus.

Posted on March 17th, 2009 under only in ashland, places. Tags: campus, Southern Oregon University. Comments: 4

Today’s entry goes along with this one from last week. For easier reading, try clicking on the image.

Posted on March 11th, 2009 under lithia park, only in ashland. Tags: plaza, signs. Comments: 3

The other day on my way to work I slipped my camera into my pocket as I headed out the door. My wife asked, “What are you taking that for?” My response was, “Because I can.” I smiled as did she. You see, previous to my LX3 purchase I only took my old, large camera places on “special” occasions. It was simply too big and too much of a hassle to haul around. Not so anymore.

Later in the day, the clouds started going crazy so I had opportunities to take several pictures that would never have been captured in my old S3 days. The above is one of them. Omars is an Ashland landmark, but I’ve never had a reason to take a picture of Omars before. Nor have I ever had a camera on me when in the vicinity of Omars. But while waiting to cross the street, Omars looked rather marvelous with the sky doing its thing so I whipped out my LX3 for a quick picture.

Omars has been around for more than 60 years, something few restaurants/bars can say–especially on the west coast. The name is a fluke of sorts. The original owner’s name was Omer. But when he ordered this sign the company made a mistake and spelled his name Omar, and the rest is history. Have yourself a great steak, fine seafood, or just grab a beer at Omars the next time you are passing through Ashland.

Posted on March 9th, 2009 under only in ashland, places. Tags: buildings, clouds, food, lx3, skywatch. Comments: 2

Grizzly Peak panorama

This image isn’t done justice in a blog window. Hopefully you have a decent monitor (18+ inches) and can click on this to expand it to its full width.

If you look closely you can see not only cows but also some trucks on I-5.

Posted on March 7th, 2009 under nature, only in ashland. Tags: grizzly peak, landscape, mountains, panorama, snow, wildlife, winter. Comments: 1

On the plaza sits these enticing “natural Lithia water” fountains. Don’t they look inviting? For kicks, on a hot summer day I should stand nearby and take pictures so you could see the looks on tourist faces when they sample the natural water. Let’s just say that no one who samples this water once tries it again.

Posted on March 6th, 2009 under only in ashland, places. Tags: plaza. Comments: 3

A new animated movie came out today called “Coraline.” I wasn’t planning on seeing it, but I just found out that the setting is Ashland, Oregon so I may have to check it out to see if I can see my town. Of course, it’s not really Ashland since it is animated, but Ashland is supposed to be the basis for the setting somehow. Apparently there is a good town and an evil twin town. Ashland is supposed to be the evil twin town I hear.

Posted on February 6th, 2009 under only in ashland. Tags: coraline. Comments Off on Coraline