Monday we left off in Camas, Washington which is the sweetest little small town on the border of Oregon state. On Monday, October 15th, we found ourselves driving through the gorgeous, windy Columbia River Gorge on our way to check out Multnomah Falls.
Getting to Multnomah Falls turned out to be a little tricky, but driving around in the Columbia River Gorge trying to figure it out was not a bummer by any means. It was beautiful. The exit we wanted to take was closed so we ended up turning around a few times before we finally figured out where we needed to get off and park to walk up to the Falls. Multnomah Falls is lovely. Unfortunately, the hike to the top has been closed for some time so we couldn't go any further up than that pretty bridge in the photo. (And believe me, I looked for a way.)
Once we left Multnomah Falls, we headed into downtown Portland in search of Powell's City of Books.
Powell's is, for sure, the coolest bookstore I've ever been in, including The Strand in NYC. It was massive and well-organized and I ended up with a few books from my Life List that are hard to find just anywhere. Other than Powell's though, we were not impressed with Portland. It was dirty, the people were snobby, and we were not at all interested in exploring it further. I had jotted down several different things to check out in Portland, but after grabbing some pizza at a fun spot called Sizzle we decided to head back to Camas to relax in our cute hotel for a couple hours until our Portland Underground tour that evening.
At around 5:30, we headed back into Portland to make it to Hobo's Restaurant & Lounge for our 6:30 Shanghai Tunnel Tour. The whole tour lasted about an hour and a half, and I thought it was really interesting (Cody said he could take it or leave it, so if you're not a history nerd like me then this may not be a must-do attraction for you). A small group of us met up at Hobo's and once we were all assembled, we met our guide Haley who has been giving these tours for the past 2 years. She went over a few safety issues and then she pulled open this big metal plate in the sidewalk and we found ourselves underneath Portland armed with flashlights exploring tunnels that were once used to shanghai men and hold women who were used by white slavers for prostitution. The history was actually pretty horrifying, but it was fascinating to see these old tunnels and hear about some of the ways men were kidnapped (like the bars and saloons having trapdoors in the floor where they'd just unexpectedly drop some drunk down into the tunnels, never to be heard from again). Once our tour was over, we walked down the street to the original Voodoo Doughnut to pick up some sinful midnight snacks. I had to get the Voodoo Doll, of course, but honestly the raspberry jelly was a bit much for me. After that it was back to Camas and good riddance to Portland.
Tuesday, October 16th: we checked out of Camas, said our final goodbyes to Washington state, and hopped in the car for the three and a half hour drive down the Oregon coast to Florence. Once there we grabbed some Taco Bell for lunch then went off in search of the Heceta Head Lighthouse.
Y'all. If you ever find yourself on the west coast, do not miss this hidden gem. It was probably the most breathtaking stop of our entire trip and one of our favorite days. We spent the rest of the day doing lots of hiking, hanging out on the beach, dipping our toes in the freezing cold Pacific, and watching the sunset. 10 out of 10 would recommend to a friend. We (reluctantly) left Heceta Head and found our motel (the Villa West) then went to a local chowder house called Mo's for dinner. This was definitely our favorite food stop in Oregon, super-cute and right on the water (not that we could see it because by the time we were eating, it was pitch black outside).
Wednesday, October 17th: checked out of the Villa West Motel and grabbed a hot breakfast at the Dunes Cafe which was a tiny hole-in-the-wall spot with the kinda people who make you feel like family as soon as you step inside. After breakfast, we had plenty of time so we ended up taking an unplanned detour around Mercer Lake which was gorgeous and no picture could even come close to doing it justice so I won't even try. We then went to C&M Stables where we were booked for an 11:30 ride through the woods, over the dunes, and onto the beach.
This was too fun. Cody was on the biggest most majestic horse named Tennessee and I was on Duncan, my spirit horse. Our guide told us that she is able to get all the horses to get in the water regardless of if they want to or not, except Duncan. Brother ain't goin' in that icy water and I can relate and respect that. None of the horses went in the water that day, but we had fun trotting them down the beach. It was a perfect, clear day, as you can see, and this was a great way to start it before getting in the car for hours of driving.
Driving that was an absolute pleasure. We ended up on the Old Mackenzie River Scenic Byway in the Deschutes National Forest climbing up to the Dee Wright Observatory. This was another unplanned part of our trip and it was awesome. We wound through miles and miles of tall trees until we broke out into all this open space and lava fields as far as the eye could see.
By this point, we decided that all of Oregon pretty much belongs on a postcard. We drove through an old cowboy town called Sisters and kept beating it southeast till we made it to the last Blockbuster in America.
Cody and I are '90s kids so we were 100% there for this stop. Nostalgia like you wouldn't believe. We browsed for a while, found a couple movies to buy, and got some souvenirs like the tourists that we totally were and then found an Olive Garden to sit down for some dinner before driving for another couple hours. Apparently, the Olive Garden in Bend, Oregon is the hot teen date spot which made for some entertaining dinner conversation.
After stuffing ourselves full of breadsticks and alfredo, we were back on the road for the two hour drive to Union Creek Resort in Prospect, Oregon.
Pro tip for the traveler unfamiliar with this area of Oregon: make that drive during the daytime. It was blacker than black and my headlights were barely worth anything. I spent the last hour of driving feeling very nervous about hitting a deer (we must have passed almost 100 on the roadside which we couldn't see until we were literally right next to them) and I was beyond relieved when we finally pulled into Union Creek around 10:45 and found an envelope taped to the front door with our name on it and a map to our room inside. We found our teeny tiny wood-paneled room and crashed.
Thursday, October 18th: got checked out of the lodge, found an ancient gas station (the only one around) to fill up before heading into Crater Lake National Park. And now I will flood you with photos of Crater Lake from every angle because wowza! It was gorgeous.
We spent most of the day driving around the lake, hiking up the steep sides, and taking our fill of the beauty around us before getting back in the car for—you guessed it—more driving. This was a massive roadtrip, you guys, and the driving was half the fun. We stopped in the cool town of Rogue River, Oregon to eat dinner at BeeGees Diner which was a fun spot with a huge menu. Then it was adios Oregon and onto California. Come back in a few days for my Cali post!
After stuffing ourselves full of breadsticks and alfredo, we were back on the road for the two hour drive to Union Creek Resort in Prospect, Oregon.
Thursday, October 18th: got checked out of the lodge, found an ancient gas station (the only one around) to fill up before heading into Crater Lake National Park. And now I will flood you with photos of Crater Lake from every angle because wowza! It was gorgeous.
Oregon : done.
Have you been to Oregon? What's the most beautiful place you've ever visited?
