Exploding Whale Memorial Park – Florence, OR

“Call me Bob.”  (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)  We began to recognize our proclivity for odd places after discovering the Exploding Whale Memorial Park in Florence.  Noticing the entry sign near where we were staying, exploration was required.   Strangely, there were no signs explaining the park’s name.  When asked about the lack of explanation, a local resident simply said, “it’s not something we’re proud about.”

Google and YouTube came to rescue.  In 1970, a 45′ whale carcass came ashore and debate arose about how to get rid of the eight-ton body.  No one wanted to cut it up and bury it.  Evidently towing it back out to sea wasn’t an option.  Instead state highway officials decided to use a half-ton of dynamite to blow it up.  The explosion succeeded far beyond expectations, with large chunks of whale landing on bystanders and even crushing a car.  Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt.  A hilarious, tongue-in-cheek video about the day’s events can be watched on YouTube at https://youtu.be/ax7kENH-a7s

Despite its grisly history, in 2020 Florencians decided to name the park after the incident, although they didn’t want to provide any information to curious visitors.  Even without the intriguing title, the pleasant park is worth checking out.  Located along the Siuslaw River, there are benches, short trails, and good views of the bridge crossing the river.  It would make a good stop for a picnic or a hot cup of coffee.

Anne

The dedicated reader (do we have any other kind?) will have noticed that Anne tends to write the useful historical and descriptive material, while Bob mostly indulges in multidimensional speculation about the quantity and quality of oddness involved.  So be it.  In this case there is nothing obviously odd at the site other than the site and the sign — you might want to take along some device on which you can play the (highly entertaining) video linked above while standing at the actual epicenter.

The EWMP scores high on the uniqueness scale; if any other knucklehead has tried this method of whale disposal, they certainly haven’t publicized it.  Dead whales happen, as does human stupidity, but this particular site combines two common occurrences into one spectacular oddity.  If any of the perpetrators had suffered as a result, it definitely would have been in the running for a Darwin Award.

The drawback is that there isn’t really too much for the casual tourist, but for us, serendipity was part of the charm — we were both familiar with the exploding whale story, but had no idea of exactly where it happened until we came across the sign while driving down a beachside road in Florence. “OMG (or words to that effect)” we shrieked as we skidded to a halt.  And the rest — or in fact almost all of it — is history.                      Bob