Wild world of the Umpqua.

Byline: Winston Ross The Register-Guard

REEDSPORT - The sun is rising behind the tidewaters of the Umpqua River, casting the autumn day's first light on a mighty elk rearing its head for a look around as the burning fog clears a view.

A raccoon peeks out of the grass. A bald eagle rips a Chinook salmon out of the river. Cattails and blackberry bushes blanket an estuary shore dotted with spruce and fir trees.

It would take days of patient waiting to see all these majestic sights in one place. Now there's a way to see it all in one afternoon: Take in the 10-foot-high, 39-foot-long mural that serves as the awe-inspiring opener of the new $1.2 million exhibit at the Umpqua Discovery Center in Reedsport.

And the mural is only the beginning of "Pathways to Discovery - Exploring Tidewater Country," a journey through the 16 zones of rich ecosystem in the basin, guided by tiny "Rumpies" - the mascot, if you will, of the River Umpqua.

Designed to lead visitors on a hike through four seasons, a recycled rubber switchback trail wends its way through the exhibits, all designed by artists Peggy O'Neal and Larry Watson, partners in WOW Arts & Exhibits of North Bend.

After a trek through an LED-lighted geologic tunnel, made to look as if it were carved from a sandstone mountain, animal tracks lead to the first of O'Neal's 2,000 square feet of murals, designed to encourage visitors to view it from all eye levels.

From there, the hiker follows a mountain stream trickling down from the Coast Range on its way to the river. Children can stop at a storybook panel and identify the sounds of different birds, or listen by means of "sound sticks" to local residents tell tales of encounters with wildlife.

Continuing up the trail, a bear cave looms into view, accessible via an adult-sized slide or a short jaunt around the corner. There, a family of black bears welcomes visitors into their rock and root cavern, which they share with moles, gophers and ground squirrels.

A few yards up the path, the trail softens, giving hikers the feel of the deep Douglas fir and hemlock forests, including nurse logs feeding ferns. Then it's off to the peaks of the Coast Range in winter, where floor panels reveal the critters that inhabit the soil layer below.

Through another opening is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather station and a stellar view of the Umpqua River itself - the real thing, that is. The station allows users to monitor the rising and falling tides and learn how tsunamis work.

The trail continues to the forest canopy, complete with a waterfall. It's dark here, but rays of light break through, revealing eagles, hawks and the nest of a great horned owl.

Then it's off to a mountain meadow in spring, where the sounds of small creeks and birds fill the air. A puzzle panel helps visitors identify common wildflowers.

Finally, the hikers encounter the features for which this region is perhaps best known: the Oregon Dunes. Visitors learn how the dunes were formed and about the many creatures that live there.

In case they haven't learned enough by this point, a subterranean education room and theater supplements the other exhibits, revealing more secrets of the Umpqua estuary.

The museum's executive director, Portia Harris, says she hopes the new exhibit will provide an educational forum for local residents and schoolchildren, and pull motorists off of Highway 101 and Highway 38 into struggling downtown Reedsport, which has had a hard time reinventing itself as a tourist attraction, save for its access to the dunes.

"This will help them learn more about the uniqueness of tidewater country on the Oregon Coast," Harris said. "I hope it increases the cultural and educational value of the center."

The exhibit's grand opening is Feb. 25, but it is open now at half price, until March 1. To get there, follow the signs from downtown Reedsport.

Winston Ross can be reached at [phone] or rgcoast@ oregonfast.net.

NEW EXHIBIT

What: "Pathways to Discovery - Exploring Tidewater Country"

Where: Umpqua Discovery Center, 409 Riverfront Way, Reedsport

When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (summer hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

Admission: Half price until March 1. Afterward, $8 adults, $7.50 seniors, $4 children between 6 and 18, free for children 5 and younger

More information: [phone]

CAPTION(S):

Portia Harris shows murals by Peggy O'Neal that represent a summer sunset on the river (above), a Roosevelt elk in an estuary (below) and a cougar in tall timber (bottom). Kevin Clark / The Register-Guard A fox waits in the Oregon Dunes, one of the many ecosystems represented in murals by Peggy O'Neal in the "Pathways to Discovery - Exploring Tidewater Country" exhibit at the Umpqua Discovery Center in Reedsport.