Portland, Oregon

On road trips we usually like to stay away from big cities but after hearing many good things about Portland, we decided that this time we would actually spend some time there instead of driving around it. We used Travel Portland, the city tourism bureau, to get a great deal on the Governor Hotel, a lovely historic hotel downtown which was built in 1909 and has been extensively renovated. Parking was included so we could leave it and walk or take transit everywhere.

Portland seems like a very livable city. Transit is excellent - streetcars, buses and light rail are free in the downtown core and a day pass costs only $4.75 if you want to go further afield. Lots of trees, many historic buildings, parks, interesting neighborhoods, and a good mix of low and high rises. It is said to have the highest number of bicycle commuters in the US. Wonderful places to eat, all the way from street vendors to high end restaurants.

We loved the Pearl District and Hawthorne Avenue, enjoyed the Chinese, Japanese and Rose Gardens, had lunch in the park listening to bluegrass music at the Wednesday market, and sampled several restaurants. Lots left undone for another visit!

Oregon coast and Newport

We have driven the Oregon coast several times in the last two years and it has to be one of our favourite places. This time we concentrated on the interior of the state but couldn't resist heading west for a couple of days by the sea. There was a dramatic change in the weather which had been very hot and dry since we left home, but now was cool and overcast. It was actually a welcome relief and the scenery was still spectacular but in a different way. There are miles of sandy beaches and also some that are quite rocky with tidal pools. We started at Reedsport, which is where the huge dunes begin and stopped several times for a walk, picnic and scenic overlooks.
By late afternoon we were in Newport's Nye Beach neighborhood and decided to stay in a B&B for the night. From there we could walk to local shops and a very good restaurant in a historic house across the street. The music was mellow (Diana Krall), the food excellent and the service friendly. In the morning we had a stroll on the beach before breakfast.
After making arrangements for a hotel in Portland for the next 3 nights, we headed up the coast again stopping at more scenic overlooks, one of which had a small winery. There were masses of golden Scotch broom everywhere. It may be an invasive pest, but it's certainly beautiful at this time of year. Rhododendrons were in full bloom in gardens and along the roads. This was our first time here in late spring and it was quite a contrast to fall.

Crater Lake

When we planned this trip to Oregon, we had several highlights in mind that we had either missed or not spent enough time in before. Crater Lake National Park, in the south central part of the state, was one of the former. There aren't very many places to stay in the area, so we got a hotel in Klamath Falls, about a hour south, which gave us the chance to visit Mount Shasta in California and see Crater Lake on the way north again.

The lake is nside a caldera formed about 7,700 years ago when a 12,000 foot volcano (Mount Mazama) collapsed following a major eruption. Later eruptions formed Wizard Island, a cinder cone near the SW shore. The lake is the deepest in the US, at 1943 feet and is 4.5 to 6 miles across.

Average annual snowfall is 44 feet and while the park is open year-round, only one of several access roads was open when we were there, all of the trails were closed, and only a small part of the 30 mile Rim Road was accessible. There is a very short season of about 3 1/2 months when everything is open.

However, we were able to get a good look at the lake, which is stunningly beautiful. We also checked out the Lodge, which opened in 1915. It would be a neat place to stay (although very expensive). We promised ourselves a return visit sometime to explore more.

Bird watching near Klamath Falls

On the way back to our hotel from Mount Shasta we drove through a huge wildlife sanctuary on the California/Oregon border. This area is on the flyway for migrating birds and while now is not a prime time for viewing the enormous numbers one could see in the spring and fall, we were still very impressed. Murray spotted a canal with 7 white pelicans sitting on the bank and we were able to get close enough to watch and photograph them. We also saw a great blue heron, a great egret, many avocets, quite a few white-faced ibises, a stilt and some canvasback ducks. All this was just from stopping the car at the side of the road; there were other viewing areas which we didn't have time to explore. A fascinating place!

Mount Shasta

There aren't many places to stay near Crater Lake National Park, so we compromised and chose Klamath Falls which is about an hour away. When we arrived at our hotel we realized that spending a day at the park would mean retracing our steps several times. This seemed like a waste, especially with Mount Shasta so close even though it is in California. This is the second time we have detoured into California from Oregon and both trips were really worthwhile. It took about an hour and a half, with a clear view of the mountain the whole way. We stopped in the small town of Weed for coffee at the local bakery (slogan: "it's a name not an ingredient") and then drove up the mountain to about the 7,000 foot level. The rest of the road was still blocked by snow. We had lunch in Mount Shasta City at the Coffee Connection, "a Christian cafe", which was a first for us. Good food, reasonable prices, friendly service - a real deal! The town only has a population of about 3,000 but we were very impressed with its three good bookstores on the main street.

Cascade Lakes drive

After staying in Hood River for a few days, we drove to Klamath Falls which is almost on the California border. The first part of the drive was on the same road we took to Mount Hood and we enjoyed seeing the mountain again in all its glory. As we headed south we could also see Mount Jefferson, the Three Sisters, and Mount Bachelor. Oregon has a number of Scenic Byways and we found one on this route called Cascade Lakes, covering about 65 miles of high mountain road. There was still snow for part of the way and the first lake had ice on it. We stopped for lunch at Elk Lake Resort and enjoyed the view of Mount Bachelor and people learning to sail on the waterfront. We appreciated this detour even more as we made our way further south through scrubland and trees with nothing much to look at until we got to Klamath Lake and arrived at our destination.

Mount Hood scenic drive and Fruit Loop

The town of Hood River, Oregon is in a beautiful location on the Columbia River but it is possible to drive through or even stay without realizing what lies to the south. We wanted to see Mount Hood close up, so we combined two drives - the Mount Hood Scenic Byway and the Fruit Loop, which overlap each other. The Hood River Valley is full of orchards, vineyards, fruit stands and wineries. Some of the trees were in bloom, there were many flowers and everything looked green and lush. The Fruit Loop drive takes you through all this, with descriptions of places to stop. Unfortunately most of the fruit stands aren't open yet, but it didn't really matter. It was a clear sunny day, perfect for mountain watching and we could see both Mount Adams, in Washington, and Mount Hood. We had a special view of the latter when we drove up to Lost Lake for a postcard image of it reflected in the water. There was a lot of snow still and we were told that the road had only been plowed in time for Memorial Day weekend and the campground still had 5 feet of snow on it!

There is still skiing and snowboarding now on Mount Hood. We drove up to Timberline Lodge which was built in the 1930s and is now a national historic site. It's at about 6,000 feet and the mountain itself is over 11,000 feet. The tunnel covering the front steps of the lodge hasn't been removed yet and there was still snow drifting against the building. From the upper parking lot we could see Mount Jefferson in the distance. We drove back through the small towns of Zig Zag and Rhododendron (intrigued by their names) and ended up at Panorama Point in Hood River, which had more stunning views and grounds covered in wildflowers.