Cottage Grove, Oregon

I've passed by the exit signs alerting drivers on Interstate 5 to Cottage Grove who knows how many times. Its name always intrigued me - I mean how could it not....Cottage Grove. Sounds so quaint! Oregonians endearingly refer to this town as "the covered bridge capital of Oregon." Apparently seven covered bridges are in or around the town, so when I found that out, I decided that the next time I passed by, I would take the exit and do a quick survey of the town and search out those bridges myself before hitting Interstate 5 again. Well, it's a charming little place indeed, but I only found one covered bridge. I hunted down the covered railroad bridge just a few blocks from the downtown only to find that it had vanished and is currently awaiting rebuilding. Sigh...

All's well that ends well, however, and now I have an image of charming Cottage Grove etched in my mind so that the next time I zoom past its exit sign, I'll visualize this:

Lots of murals...

Restored buildings lining the main street...

Lots of places to grab something to eat or drink...

Old advertisements painted on brick buildings..

Another mural...

Funky stores...

Colorful paint jobs...

Centennial Bridge...

The river under the bridge...

Cottage Grove has been awarded the All-America City Award from the National Civic League twice, in 1968 and 2004, so that alone definitely makes it worth a quick visit. There is also a loop road that takes you to the other bridges that are farther outside of the town limit. Maybe next time I'll give that a try. You never know what you may find off the beaten path!