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| Keith | 
On a sunny, beautiful Fall day this week, Guy suggested we take a short 
road trip to have a look at the Fall colors.  After I reminded Guy to grab 
his camera, I hopped into the car and off we went, north on highway 99 to Sarah 
Helmick State Recreation Area, which is about 15 miles north of Corvallis, just 
west of highway 99.  Watch for the State Park sign.
 
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| Willamette River in Independence
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| Luckiamute River at Helmick Park 
 
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| Keith - Amphitheater in Independence 
 
 
 
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| Helmick Park 
 
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This is the second park we’ve visited that is along the Luckiamute River 
(the other one was Luckiamute Landing).  There are paved, level trails 
throughout the park, as well as paths that meander just above the river.  
There are a lot of large maple trees that provide a lot of shade if you come 
here on a warm summer day.  
There are two large picnic areas (electricity, water, restrooms provided) 
that can be reserved for groups of up to 150.  There are also a bunch of 
other picnic tables scattered throughout the park.  
This is a beautiful little park, easy to walk around and usually not 
crowded.   There is a fee if you reserve one of the large picnic 
areas.  Apart from that, this is a day use park with no fees.
After we left Helmick State Recreation Area, we meandered up to Independence, a quaint small town on the Willamette River.  We wandered up and down the streets and Guy took some more photos, including one of me in the amphitheater area of the downtown park.