Blogs from Oregon, United States, North America - page 113

Well today is the first entry of many I hope in what will be my greatest adventure yet. That is not saying much in that so far my adventures have been small but exciting. Enough of the past and lets look only to the future! So far I have bought a map; applied for my passport (BAD PHOTO!); and pushed in a few pins into that map of places I would like to see. Of course these places are the obvious ones that all virgin travelers want to visit. As we move forward and my research continues so to will my choices in locals that I hope will inspire and humble me into this worlds history and future. Here I go! ... read more

Its amazing to me how quickly this has all happend. It seems like not too long ago when this was all just a dream floating around in my head. I have a couple more nights before I leave. Bags are packed. Tickets are printed. Passport still doesn't look anything like me. Just counting the hours until I leave. Who would have know I would have been a candidate for travel anxiety. I can't wait for the State Fair, what a hell of way to be leaving. Heading out on the coat tails of Gary Allen and loads of deep fried twinkies. ... read more

The Oregon coast is renowned for its ruggedly picturesque border with the Pacific. We will have to take this for granted because when we drove down it, the weather was horrific with gales, driving rain and not enough blue sky to make even a sailor's hankie, let alone trousers. However all was not lost as there was a secondary reason for our visit. A few hours south of Seattle is the small coastal town of Astoria, which has pimped itself to Hollywood on amny an occasion, and has hence appeared in a number of celluloid horrors such as Short Circuit (Number 5 Alive!), Kindergarten Cop and Free Willy. However it redeems itself as the setting for possibly the greatest childrens adventure movie ever, The Goonies . Written by Speilberg, a bunch of kids (The Goonies) go ... read more

Medford is the western terminus of State Highway 62 - the Crater Lake Highway - and the western anchor for my research. The road has been straightened, widened, and realigned over its nearly 100 year existence but for the most part, modern travelers to Crater Lake follow the same route that the early stagecoaches and auto tourists used in the beginning of the 20th Century. The road passes through a handful of small communities, most of which have faded into the side of the road as time and tourists have rolled on - though a few have improved their standing with natural amenity related developments. The area had been based in timber during past decades but with the decline of the large scale timber economies in the west (due mostly to regulations) many towns and counties ... read more

A three hour drive further east from Sutherlin, OR brought us to Crater Lake National Park. Crater Lake is basically an old Volcano that erupted about 7700 years ago, then collapsed in on itself and then filled up with rain and snow. It’s the deepest lake in the country and it probably the bluest lake we will ever see. We spent most of the day driving around the rim of the crater stopping at every single scenic overlook there was. At one point we hiked down to the water’s edge and actually jumped in the water. The water wasn’t as cold as we were expecting. We have definitely been in colder water but we didn’t stay in very long regardless. After the hike, we were sick of driving and taking pictures so we went to set ... read more