Feeling Like Lewis & Clark Trekking Across The Pacific Northwest Frontier!…read more SITREP As I barreled up Northbound I-5 - immediately adjacent to Salem, OR - this *NOTICE* appeared at the side of the road. If you *blink*, you would have missed it. [Fact is, the sign barely registered on my mind until I was already PAST it. It took me the next exit 4 miles up, to turn around and go South until adjacent with it, and THAT next exist was not for another 2 miles further South. So that was an extra 8-miles to make that U-turn. And there was in fact another similar sign on the Southbound side, except it was on the LEFT-hand side of the Southbound freeway - not making it very efficacious nor safe to snap a shot of it. The Northbound side at least had the right-side gravel turnout for the quick photo-snap.] THE SETUP It is a very unusual sign from the standpoint that it isn't actually informing you of a destination that you are most likely to be driving to in your car (in this instance most likely "Portland" which is the stop I was planning on) nor like it's counterpart sign immediately adjacent on the other side of Southbound I-5. EQUIDISTANT BETWEEN THE EQUATOR & THE NORTH POLE That is not to say you couldn't drive to the Equator, since after traversing several country borders (and Drug Cartels, and Militia Death Squads), highways and roadways DO exist that would take you to the Equator. However, you would need an ice-cutter to get to the North Pole. At it's most basic level, this sign is just a fun, true novelty, imparting to the curious, a motivation to know more about the geography of this world we live in. 45TH PARALLEL The 45th parallel north is a circle of latitude 45 degrees north of Earth's equatorial plane. Crossing, Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean, the 45th parallel north is often called the halfway point between the Equator and the North Pole. But true halfway point is actually 16.2 kilometres (10.1 mi) north of 45th parallel because Earth is oblate: it bulges at equator and is flattened at poles. At this latitude, sun is visible for 15 hours, 37 minutes during Summer Solstice & 8 hours, 46 minutes during Winter Solstice. Midday sun stands 21.6 degrees above southern horizon at the December Solstice, 68.4 degrees at June solstice, and exactly 45.0 degrees at the two Equinoxes. THE LOWDOWN It is true random fun to see marking of a large geographical concept at the side of the highway, and is something that just makes one realize how insignificant they are when placed on a planetary scale.

Throughout the year I have to say that living on the 45th parallel averages out to 3 stars. Had…read moreactually spent the prior 21 years a couple of degrees farther north before the last 4 here. Summer is amazing, sun rises early and sets late, plenty of time even after work to get in at least 15-20 mile bike ride before dusk. Unfortunately winter is the exact opposite. Seasonal Affective Disorder kicks into high gear and so many require oral Vitamin D and/or a trip or 2 closer to the tropics during this time just to keep the doldrums from overtaking us. If you can survive the dark and dreary winters, however, the summers and the gorgeous scenery make it so worth living here and even farther north.

We love the library! Friendly, knowledgeable staff and a good selection for its size. Free computer…read moretime. A peaceful, pleasant place. And kids' materials too.

Historical singularity has been lost in the move to a modern building which is more institutional,…read moreand which has revealed the paucity of the holdings, and I was not real crazy about my reception the day I was there. Serves its purpose in providing childrens' programs, DVDs and popular fiction. The sliding interior doors are of very original design and may be of interest to those who study architectural millwork.

This place is old and falling apart. Outside stairs are rusty and unsafe looking. We were there to…read morevisit, and I am in a power chair, so you are supposed to ring a bell to notify staff you are there. When I reached up to press the bell, it fell off the wall and just dangled there, broken. The phones in the visitor area were largely out of order as well.

No, I didn't go to the slammer. I did however go to the OSP Car Show to benefit the children of…read moreincarcerated inmates. The Show has been going on over 42 years now and proceeds go to fund inmates children to go to a two week summer camp with other kids whose parents are incarcerated. The inmates look forward to this every year and entry is $45.00 (they have to do a background check) and you get notification you are in about 1-2 months before the show. They provide you with an orange shirt which is your to keep, have a great raffle with some pretty cool prizes with some actuallybeing made by the inmates. They also feed you breakfast and lunch (pizza) as you are in there for the duration (about 8 hours). If into classic cars, worth looking into the most unique car show in the state.

Found this marker along Mill Creek in Salem. It marks the spot where Salem Oregon began. Long…read morebefore it was even the Capital of the State. Great little part of History.

Excellent place for Oregon history, genealogical resources and access to Oregon government…read moreinformation.

Love the smaller size and selection, and that you can get your holds shipped there. Friendly staff…read moreand not ever busy.

The selection is sufficient if just browsing and yes, the parking lot is small, but that's rarely…read morean issue. The staff is friendly and helpful, and best of all, you can easily order most any book and pick it up without much wait at all (for comparison, in other library systems I have had to wait months for a requested book to arrive). My biggest complaint is that the outside drop off box is closed, so you have to return books during hours or at another location. Other than that, it's a very acceptable library.

This is the bridge that connects the rest of salem to the west salem folks…read more It is most unfortunate that this bridge is busy during peak hours. It is most fortunate we are salem so traffic on this bridge isn't really bad. This bridge allows drivers to go 30mph. There is a mini side walk for pedestrians. Hopefully this bridge will get an expansion soon

Exercising my right to vote has always been important to me and I had decided in the last few years…read moreto make sure I vote in every election, even for the local school board. So when I got my ballot in the mail for the Salem-Keizer school board elections I filled out my card and sealed the ballot in its envelope...then realized I had forgotten to sign my ballot so had to rip open the envelope! I ruined my perfect ballot!! Arrgghhhh!!! On the very last day to vote I drove down to the Marion County Elections office on Commercial and pulled into the lot with exactly four minutes to spare before they closed. I ran into the building doing the cartoon speed skid as I made a sharp right turn and hurriedly explained to the staff about the torn envelope. I felt like a fool as the lady up front smiled and used scotch tape to seal the envelope. DOH! Anyway, she was very kind and I got my ballot in on time! Whoooo hoooo!