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Published: July 26th 2009
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Ann and I embarked on our 10-day loop tour of British Columbia, Washington and Oregon on Friday, June 26. We visited the Okanagan Valley to enjoy some wine tasting and purchased more than we were supposed to for our later US border crossing. We continued on to Nelson where they were holding an after work festival in honour of our arrival. We stayed at a fantastic B&B called the Cloudside Inn, which was run by two travel- and photo-savvy owners. The next day, we attended Erin and Kris’ wedding. Erin and I went to UBC together over a decade ago. And that night we partied with old and new friends alike.
We managed to get an early start the next morning and covered a lot of ground, following the Columbia River canyon, stopping in at Hunters for lunch. We arrived late in the day in the city of The Dalles in Oregon, but had enough sunlight remaining to go see Multnomah Falls (tallest waterfall in OR) and had some dinner in Hood River. We continued the drive down the interior of Oregon, visiting historic Sisters, a fish hatchery, Bend, a volcano park, Lava River Tube, the Obsidian Flow and finally
ending up at Crater Lake.
We were attacked by mosquitoes in the evening at Crater Lake and feared to go back the next day. However, we were lucky that the mosquitoes hid in the daytime, and the Rim Drive around the Crater was opened for the first day of the season. We took hundreds of photos in this beautiful crater that contains pristine water. We continued to Ashland to take part in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and try a couple Oregon wines. Ann got her first opportunity to stay at a hostel here.
The next day, we visited historic Jacksonville and took a 1.5-hour tour through the Oregon Caves. This made for a long day which didn’t leave a lot of time for the Redwood Forest hike. We stopped at a couple spots along the highway and made it as far as Paul Bunyan and his Ox. I have great memories of visiting Paul on my last drive down the coast on a family vacation in 1981. We were completely fogged up along the coast and didn’t see any views that evening. We stayed at a small motel in Coos Bay.
The following days we travelled up
the Oregon Coast stopping for the views, a couple hikes and some great attractions like the Dunes National Park, the Elk Viewing Area, Heceta Beach, the Sea Lion Caves, Cape Foulweather, Yaquina Lighthouse, Depoe Bay harbour, Devil’s Churn, Lincoln City, Cape Kiawanda, Cape Lookout, the Tillamook Cheese Factory, Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, Seaside Promenade, and Westport, WA. There are so many fabulous nooks and crannies to explore along the coast. We ended up in Bellingham at Vrainia and Jason’s house for a great 4th of July party before heading home. A great trip that I would recommend to anyone.
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Carol
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http://www.campinginoregon.org
Great post... I think you had a wonderful time and you really maximized your stay here. A trip here in Oregon is such a wonderful idea. Not only for its amazing natural beauty, but also for the wonderful campgrounds that will give you a treat of a lifetime. Not to mention, the number of possible activities that you can enjoy.