Read More]]> Mountain man

North of Grant’s Pass, the Manzanita rest area could be a tough place to run into car trouble, especially if there was no one around to help. The terrain is steep and mountainous, and the city of Grant’s Pass is just far enough away that it would be a difficult hike back to help.

Fortunately for Rebecca and Mitch Milburn, someone was there when their throttle cable snapped just as they pulled in from I-5 to use the restrooms.

Oregon Travel Experience Assistant Rest Area Supervisor Kevin Smolich was on duty and saw the Milburn’s standing in front of their pick-up truck with the hood open. Manzanita is not exactly balmy at this time of year, so Smolich got them warming up with hot coffee while he helped the couple decide how to handle the breakdown.

Since the Milburn’s had no towing insurance, Smolich used his personal Triple A card to help them out. Oregon Travel Experience does not provide towing coverage for their employees, so this “above and beyond” the call of duty was Smolich’s creative way of helping a pair of honest motorists who really needed it.

“Kevin was friendly and professional in his conduct,” said Rebecca Milburn. “He even helped us work on the truck.”

“He was very helpful and we really appreciated him,” agreed her husband Mitch. “He used his own Triple A membership to help us out. Unbelievable!”

Valley girl

When Santiam Assistant Rest Area Supervisor Nancy Tatum says she has a busy day, she’s not kidding. In addition to her regular duties, Tatum often finds herself in the middle of both north and southbound I-5 driver dilemmas. During one of her most recent shifts, Tatum helped two women make it to their destinations safe and sound.

“Right at the start of my day, I helped a woman from Portland who ran out of gas. She was on her way to Medford and had forgotten to check her gas gauge. She was totally ashamed. I gave her a gallon of gas and she tried to pay me, but I gave her one of my business cards and told her to remember us instead.

“I had just driven over to the southbound side when another woman from Portland flagged me down. She and her kids were waiting to meet the rest of their family traveling in another car when the youngest child got overly rambunctious and locked the family out. Of course, the keys, cell-phone, and purse were all locked inside. I unlocked the door, and the mom was so happy that she hugged me! She also swore she would never lock herself out of the car again!”

Tatum takes pride in her ability to serve the motoring public.

“Being able to help folks is the biggest reason I love my job. Giving and helping means a lot to me, and if I can reach out and leave someone with a positive feeling then I feel good about myself and the agency I represent.”

OTE’s rest area supervisor teams recognize that it is the motorist and commercial driver who benefit from supervised rest areas. Cleanliness, safety and convenience are what the public expect.

Rest area heroism however, is a bonus supported by the personalities and values of those who work for Oregon Travel Experience. And that’s something we’ll never take for granted.

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Read More]]> How long does it take to get my logo on a highway business sign?

One of the first questions our potential sign customers want an answer to is: “How long is the process, from start to finish, for my business to be featured on an interstate logo sign?”

The answer is more complex than a finite 30 or 60 days, since much depends on how quickly the customer responds to different steps throughout the process.

The process from application to permit follows a prescribed schedule by both Oregon Travel Experience and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). As soon as the initial request for a highway business sign crosses our sign coordinator’s desk, the process includes the following steps:

• OTE will review the application for accuracy and completeness within one to two days of receipt. Our highway engineer will visit the site to determine if there is room for the proposed sign. This review is performed within one to two weeks, depending on the number of permit applications in the queue already.
• The proposed sign permit is forwarded to ODOT who has State’s authority over roadways and highways. The proposed site is then reviewed by the State Traffic Engineer and the local (site district) sign crews who report back to the State Traffic Engineer. ODOT will then approve or disapprove the permit (depending on state and federal regulations– some of which include sign and traffic density). ODOT has 40 days in which to complete this phase.
• Once OTE has received ODOT’s approval, the customer is mailed a permit which must be signed and returned to our offices with payment. The sign customer then needs to select a manufacturer to create the reflective logo.
  • The process from ODOT approval to OTE installation can sometimes move very quickly if the customer returns their permit and payment promptly, and, if the manufacturer is familiar with the customer’s logo or brand.
  • If the business is new, logo plaque creation may take longer, depending on the customer’s artwork and length of the design phase. Additionally, artwork and sketches of proposed logos must be approved by OTE: logo plaques are required to be visible and readable to Interstate traffic.

The key to a smooth and timely installation will depend on how quickly the customer interacts with OTE’s request for permit signatures, payment, selection of plaque manufacturer, and logo design. OTE will do everything in its power to ensure your permit moves through the various approval channels swiftly.

If you need help with an Oregon Travel Experience highway business sign application, please call us at 1-800-574-9397 or contact us by email. Reviewing our Interstate logo sign Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) web pages may answer some of your other questions about our signs.

Be sure to read our other Highway Business Sign 101 blog topics:

What is the average cost of a highway business sign?

What types of businesses can be on a highway business sign?

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Read More]]> If it’s Valentine’s Day, it must mean love, right? But for heritage tree lovers everywhere, a trysting tree equals both romanticism and history at the same time.

Nominated for the 2012 Class of Oregon Heritage Trees, Oregon State University’s (OSU) 29 year old Trysting Tree will be one of four trees honored this year during an Oregon Arbor Week event in April.

The OSU Trysting Tree is actually a bit of a reincarnation. In 1987, the original tree was cut down due to advanced disease found in its limbs and trunk. Prior to its removal, one of several cuttings was rooted near the location of the original tree.

At some point in 1901, the parent gray poplar apparently received its name when OSU President Thomas Gatch admonished two students for meeting there regularly for romantic purposes. It is believed the original tree was planted between 1880 and 1885 by George Coote, a Horticultural College faculty member.

Romantically-minded Victorians reported the Trysting Tree had magical powers, since it seemed to affect students amorously in the springtime. Home Maris’ poem entitled “Carry Me Back” memorialized the poplar in verse: “I love to wander on the pathway, down to the Trysting Tree. For there again I see in fancy, old friends dear to me.”

Located within a National Historic District southeast of Benton Hall, the tree is a widely recognized symbol of OSU. The Trysting Tree Lounge in OSU’s Memorial Union also memorializes the tree.

Tree lovers everywhere are invited to attend the statewide dedication, slated for Friday afternoon, April 6, 2012. Exact time and location of the dedication will be announced on our website as soon as all details have been arranged.

Other Oregon Heritage Trees to be honored this year include: The historic Shipley-Cook Grove, Lake Oswego; the Tub Springs Sugar Pine, Ashland; and the Smokejumper Pine, Cave Junction.

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Read More]]> Fact: Nearly a quarter of a million Oregonians suffer from hunger “insufficiency.” So why would Oregon Travel Experience care about a United States Department of Agriculture report on hunger? For one thing, with figures this high, it means that most likely someone in your own neighborhood is either skipping meals or going an entire day without food. One in four children will go to bed hungry and that’s one too many as far as our employees are concerned.

OTE employees actively sought inclusion in the 2012 Governor’s State Employees Food Drive. As part of their mission to uphold the organizational values, employees recognize that the OTE brand standard of purpose and the internal value of teamwork­ extend to the communities they live and work in.

Employees also embrace the organizational promise to possess an entrepreneurial spirit within a publicly responsible organization. These principles are carried forth into any agency sanctioned employee activities—especially when solutions are generated.

OTE highway business sign customers contribute

While only 36 employees strong, OTE knows its contributions to the Governor’s Food Drive make a difference. One of the activities employees will host is a pizza sale.  All profits  will be donated to the food drive. OTE also hoped it could persuade one of their highway business sign customers, Figaro’s Pizza, to partner in the event.

Why Figaro’s? OTE happens to share the same office building as the corporate offices for Figaro’s—and, our Director of Sales Harry Falisec just happens to know Figaro’s President Rick Glenn. Harry called Rick and asked if he would like to donate pizzas for the OTE food drive. Rick then phoned several Figaro’s franchise stores in the Salem area and asked if they would like to participate. Independent owners donated $40 in pizza coupons to OTE so that employees could sell the slices to raise money.

Figaro’s is a regular contributor to Oregon communities. Their Helping Education with Love & Pizza (H.E.L.P.) Program makes grants available to schools with projects that improve student learning.  They also believe strongly in community involvement and helping church youth groups, bands, athletic teams, and local affiliates of national health organizations.

If you are an educator or a non-profit interested in the H.E.L.P. Program, grant applications are available on Figaro’s website at http://www.figaros.com/h-e-l-p/.

For more information on how to participate or donate to the Governor’s State Employee Food Drive, visit the official drive site http://www.oregon.gov/FOODDRIVE/.

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Read More]]> Updated: 8:15 a.m. February 7, 2012:
The access road underneath the 1-5 bridge which allows sportsman and officials entrance to the opposite side of the freeway at Santiam rest area near Albany, Oregon has been reopened.

The boat ramp for sportsmen is also reopened. Jason Nash, Oregon Travel Experience rest area supervisor, said he is still in the process of clearing debris left from the flood waters.

Read More]]> How the rain, floods, and snow impacted OTE.

Highway business signs What types of businesses can be on a logo sign? Are you a business owner looking for better exposure and a way to capture a steady stream (pardon the pun) of traffic. Do you think only major chains can be posted on those signs? We’re happy to say that Oregon Travel Experience highway business signs are for any size business. It doesn’t matter if you have one employee or 100—you qualify if you meet certain minimum criteria and location regulations. OTE is committed to helping locally owned businesses integrate economic development with highway travel. Call us at 1-800-574-9397 to see how we can help. Oregon Travel Experience highway business signs are one of the tools we use to help you achieve success. Best of all, if you are already one of our highway sign customers, we’ll feature your business for free in this newsletter and on our website. Please contact us for more information about our sign customer spotlights. Huskies visit Boardman Traveling with animals of any sort can be a fairly tricky venture. However, make that 22 high energy dogs and you’ve got a story in the making! Boardman Rest Area Supervisor Joleen Odens writes about her encounter with a team of sled dogs. “Tuesday afternoon we had a dog sled team and their owners stop in at the Boardman rest area. They were headed for the “Eagle Cap Extreme” dog sled race in Joseph, Oregon. Tim and Julie Curley from western Oregon had their dogs out for a rest period when we spotted the dog sled on top of the trailer and went over to investigate.” Read the full story. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter   Weather is supreme In the last month, Oregon has experienced record rainfall, flooding, snow and ice storms. Its affected everyone from travelers to sign customers. Oregon Travel Experience program employees were kept busy with repairs, clean-up, and closures. Throughout it all, they kept their heads and sense of humor. We thought you might enjoy reading some of their stories below. Fire and ice At the Boardman rest area, Assistant Supervisor Jon Tucker found a trucker in trouble. “I thought he might be stuck, so I introduced myself and asked if I could help,” Tucker said. “He told me that he had just made a quick stop to eat some breakfast and when he tried to get back on the highway the brakes froze and locked up on him.” The California trucker, Joey Lopez, called a repairman, but it was going to be at least three hours before help arrived. Tucker suddenly thought of a possible solution. “I told Joey I had a weed torch. I thought maybe he could use it to heat up the brakes and see if they would release. It ended up working great!” “Joey told me that I had just saved him and his company, Contractor’s Wardrobe, a thousand bucks. It was just the fix he needed. Joey was able to chain up and make the rest of his drive to Walla Walla, Washington for his delivery.” The flood journal Santiam Rest Area Supervisor Jason Nash submitted the following story and Assistant Supervisor Nancy Rold grabbed the photos. “What a change from our mild winter we have been having in Oregon. It was January 21, as I sat in our OTE office watching as the Santiam River kept creeping up towards me and started wondering if we shouldn’t invest in a small fishing boat. Nancy Rold, my assistant supervisor had gone home at noon because she was worried about being able to return home because many of the roads were being closed down. I had already decided to close the access road connecting the northbound and southbound rest areas. When I left work I decided I better come back every couple of hours to check its status. When I returned at 6 p.m., I closed the northbound rest stop because the water was rising too quickly–it had already partially flooded the parking lot. The southbound was okay but when I return a little while later it too was almost completely flooded. I closed it as quickly as I could. It took the whole day Friday for the waters to recede, and when I returned Saturday morning, I informed Nancy that we would be reopening both sides. We got to work and got it done! I am still wondering how to fit that boat into the budget as it continues to rain.” Update your profile or unsubscribe from this email listThis email sent by Oregon Travel Experience at 1500 Liberty St SE, Suite 150, Salem, OR, 97302.

Read More]]> Creative minds often do their best work when the space around them empowers dreams. Oregon landscape artist Michael Gibbons and his wife Judy carried this premise one step further when they created an environment which not only sustains them creatively, but also enriches the community in which they live.

Gallery Michael Gibbons is located in Toledo, Oregon—an historic hamlet established in 1866. As the local timber industry unraveled, the Gibbons’ experimented with a new paradigm—and ended up reshaping the center of their town into an artist-driven and supported destination. Their gallery and museum now attracts visitors from around the globe.

“Cultural tourism works really well for the fine arts,” says Michael. Gibbons’ statement has merit—his own curriculum vitae is peppered with exhibitions at the Portland Art Museum and prestigious galleries. “It now seems as though more people are moving to town specifically because of the fine art environment.”

A prolific painter, Michael has generated a large body of work over his lifetime. He and Judy deliberated on how best to preserve his collection for future generations. Their conversations bore fruit when they created the Yaquina River Museum of Art. Michael and Judy live and work in the “house museum” with the intention that one day, the Toledo community will inherit its contents. Paintings and sculptures by other accomplished artists are included in the collection. The house is now part of living history, for as long as the couple resides there.

“We kept asking each other ‘what are we going to do with all this work’” says Judy. “We got everything together, know where it all is, and can now leave a real legacy to the community. In fact, that’s how we were able to get one of OTE’s museum signs.”

A studio with a French connection

For many artists, access to an open and airy space is fundamental to serious work. When an artist prepares a “construction zone” within their studio, it’s often an interlude to a fugue state. Skewed hours and non-definitive work schedules enable artists to enter the zone without worrying about interruptions.

Michael and Judy were touring and painting in France, when Michael realized there were few accommodations for artists to be in-studio away from home.

“It occurred to me that I could find a great place to live temporarily, but where was I going to paint?” Michael says. “We ended up at a hotel with a small building behind it that had been made into a visiting artist’s studio. And that’s when I thought about our own little building back home in Toledo. As my late friend, Senator Mark Hatfield once told me, ‘What are you going to do with all of this? You’ve got the place, now just do it!’”

The Gibbons’ back-yard building was originally used as a justice of the peace office in the 1920s, but with the help of Michael and Judy, converted into a short-term living and working space for artists, writers and composers. The Justice of the Peace studio is now available for reasonable weekly rates and includes cozy sleeping quarters and kitchen facilities on the bottom floor.

“We also started a program where we invite well-known artists to stay in the studio for a month for free,” says Michael. “But there is a cost—they have to leave behind a piece of work that was created during their stay and donate it to the museum collection. It’s great to have something like this where we can draw in high caliber artists from around the world and at the same time, build a community collection. There’s really no way to put a value on what these visiting artists can give back to the community.”

Highway signs point the way to a town powered by imagination

Judy Gibbons tells OTE that the gallery’s Tourist Oriented Directional (TODs) signs have drawn significant traffic from Highway 20 and into the Toledo community. “We’ve been here for 25 years, and actually tried a billboard for awhile. The billboard was kind of hidden behind some large trees. Plus, it was really expensive.

“We decided to try out the TODs in 1998. What’s great about them is they’re right at eye level, so people can see them easily. They’ve made a big difference for us. We would ask people ‘Did you like our billboard?’ and they hadn’t even noticed it. However, they always would always say it was our blue and white TODs which encouraged them to stop.”

The Gibbons’ gallery eventually opted for TODs instead of billboards and added a museum sign after the Yaquina Bay Museum of Art was established.

For Judy and Michael, their livelihood and their endowment depend on travelers finding their way into historic Toledo. They both agree that highway signs have been an important piece of their business and mission’s success.

If you would like to make Gallery Michael Gibbons a destination on your next visit to the Oregon coast, you can read more about Michael’s paintings, the studio’s hosted events, and the little town where art reigns supreme at www.michaelgibbons.net.

Interested in your own TOD or Oregon highway business sign? Contact Harry Falisec via email or phone 1-800-574-9397.

Already an OTE sign customer? Want to be featured in OTE’s Customer Spotlight and on our website? It’s free as part of your customer care package. Contact Madeline MacGregor via email or call 503-373-0090.

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Read More]]> Story and photos submitted by Boardman Rest Area Supervisor Joleen Odens

Tuesday afternoon we had a dog sled team and their owners stop in at the Boardman rest area. They were headed for the “Eagle Cap Extreme” dog sled race in Joseph, Oregon.

Tim and Julie Curley from western Oregon had their dogs out for a rest period when we spotted the dog sled on top of the trailer and went over to investigate.

This is the Curley’s third year racing up at Joseph. Jim hopes to make qualifying time to enter the Alaskan Iditarod. He has 21 years experience sledding and often speaks at schools telling kids about the dogs and their adventures. Jim said he has learned not to bring the dogs to school with him because they always steal the show.

The Curley’s own 22 dogs—and their lead dog is named Eagle in honor of the Joseph Eagle Cap Race. In 2008, Eagle’s mother was pregnant with seven (including Eagle) when she participated in the race. The Curley’s had no idea she was expecting when they ran her. So officially, Eagle and his siblings had 100 miles of racing experience before they were even born! Five of the pups have names inspired by that memorable 2008 race. Eagle, Olicot, Tyee, Summit, and Bear are all returning this year to compete once more.

When asked why the dogs are smaller than most sled dogs you see in photographs or on television, Jim said that his dogs are trained only for racing and so are smaller and faster. Eagle and his mother are German shorthair and Alaskan Husky crosses.

Lighter dogs like the Curley’s have no problems pulling the sled, which carries only enough supplies to get from checkpoint to checkpoint. A typical load includes one pound of dog food per dog, so the dogs do not have to pull a lot of weight. The bigger more muscular dogs some of us might be more used to seeing typically pull heavier sleds under different circumstances.

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Read More]]> When Oregon extreme weather hits, it packs a wallop. Last week, Oregon Travel Experience rest area supervisors handled everything from floods and rest stop closures to record snowfall and treacherous ice. Through all of it, supervisor teams remained steadfast. The following story-lines were submitted by OTE’s Boardman rest area crew.

Fire and ice

At the Boardman rest area, Assistant Supervisor Jon Tucker found a trucker in trouble. “I thought he might be stuck, so I introduced myself and asked if I could help,” Tucker said. “He told me that he had just made a quick stop to eat some breakfast and when he tried to get back on the highway the brakes froze and locked up on him.”

The California trucker, Joey Lopez, called a repairman, but it was going to be at least three hours before help arrived. Tucker suddenly thought of a possible solution. “I told Joey I had a weed torch. I thought maybe he could use it to heat up the brakes and see if they would release. It ended up working great!”

“Joey told me that I had just saved him and his company, Contractor’s Wardrobe, a thousand bucks. It was just the fix he needed. Joey was able to chain up and make the rest of his drive to Walla Walla, Washington for his delivery.”

Black snow

What happens when a truck begins to leak potentially hazardous fuel at a rest area? OTE attending supervisors immediately tag-team the situation and ensure that travelers or the environment are not harmed.

Trucker Brian Abbott had stopped for a safety break, but as soon as he stepped out of his cab he smelled diesel fumes. He looked under the rig and realized his fuel line was leaking. He noticed Assistant Supervisor Jon Tucker clearing snow nearby and asked him if there might be anything to contain the diesel with.

Tucker grabbed some five gallon buckets and put in a call to Supervisor Joleen Odens. Joleen told Tucker to use some of the pig blankets that were in OTE’s onsite storage unit. Odens then notified Director of Rest Area Operations David Patton about the spill.

When Joleen arrived on the scene, the spill had been contained by pig blankets and the driver had plugged the fuel line with a stick. Roadway Trucking was notified by Abbot, and had contacted an environmental crew from the Tri-Cities, Washington area. Tucker placed cones around the truck to prevent pedestrians or traffic from accessing the contaminated zone.

Before the hazardous-materials crew arrived, a local mechanic began repairs to the impaired fuel line. Abbot cooperated fully with the rest area team and waited for the cleanup crew to arrive. When the crew assessed the amount of diesel on the ground, snow had once again started to fall. The crew applied dry absorbent and used more of OTE’s blankets to soak up the diesel. Collecting diesel soaked snow with their huge vacuum truck, the crew said Tucker’s actions had made the cleanup much easier.

Running on empty

Boardman rest area became a much needed port in the storm for stranded motorists in last week’s blizzard. I- 84 traffic had slowed to a crawl around 3:30 in the afternoon, right about the time that Jon Tucker normally would head home from his shift.

“All of a sudden, the rest area began to fill up with trucks, and they just kept coming in a steady stream and parking where they could, even in our car-park area, so I had to take the reins and direct them.”

Tucker helped everyone find space to park, and made sure there was emergency access. When he slowed down long enough to find out how many vehicles had piled in, he counted 58 trucks and 10 cars. “They had closed the freeway two miles down the road,”  Tucker said.

“No one was going anywhere, including me. For the next five hours, trucks kept coming and I was running out of room. I had them stacked in like sardines! Finally Oregon State Police reopened the highway at 10:30 p.m., but when I drove home I knew I was going to face the same thing all over again in the morning. Sure enough, that’s exactly what happened.”

Around eight in the morning, Tucker pulled in and found five trucks in the rest area with frozen brakes. “I was really stuck then, because one of the drivers had his trailer brakes locked up tight, cutting me off. I finally got some coffee at 10:00 a.m. when the highway restrictions were lifted.”

As  inclement weather isolated and cut-off thousands of people from their homes and places of work, OTE rest area crews across the state worked tirelessly to clear flood debris and help truckers and motorists keep to their schedules. We give them an enormous salute.

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Read More]]> From the log of Oregon Travel Experience Santiam Rest Area Supervisor Jason Nash, photos by Assistant Supervisor Nancy Rold

What a change from our mild winter we have been having in Oregon. It was January 21, as I sat in our OTE office watching as the Santiam River kept creeping up towards me and started wondering if we shouldn’t invest in a small fishing boat.
Nancy Rold, my assistant supervisor had gone home at noon because she was worried about being able to return home because many of the roads were being closed down.
I had already decided to close the access road connecting the northbound and southbound rest areas. When I left work I decided I better come back every couple of hours to check its status. When I returned at 6 p.m., I closed the northbound rest stop because the water was rising too quickly–it had already partially flooded the parking lot.

The southbound was okay but when I return a little while later it too was almost completely flooded. I closed it as quickly as I could.
It took the whole day Friday for the waters to recede, and when I returned Saturday morning, I informed Nancy that we would be reopening both sides.
We got to work and got it done! I am still wondering how to fit that boat into the budget as it continues to rain.