Oregon

  • Oregon

    South Sister

    September 26, 2016 - By 

    After our first trip to Bend in 2015, I knew that we’d return. Again and again. Sure enough, exactly a year later, we found ourselves passing through Bend. This time we made sure to summit Oregon’s third highest peak, South Sister. Sprawling between Eugene and Bend, the gorgeous Deschutes National Forest is home to lakes, ski runs, campgrounds, trails, and mountains, the notable mountains being Mount Bachelor and The Three Sisters. Of The Three Sisters, the South Sister is the tallest at 10,358 feet, the least technical to summit, and offers incredible views of the other two sisters. At approximately…

  • Oregon

    Hells Canyon and Around

    November 10, 2015 - By 

    Perhaps the most remote destination in the Pacific Northwest, Hells Canyon sits along the border of Oregon and Idaho with the mighty Snake River below carving the deepest river gorge in the U.S. Even during the scorching hot peak season of summer this national recreation area seldom sees tourists due to its far location from any major city, meaning the off-season would entail pure solitude. Two things I had to consider before making the trip to Hells Canyon: whether or not the roads were still open (some typically close by end of October), and if the long drive through tiny hamlets…

  • Oregon

    Mount Hood

    October 13, 2015 - By 

    Had it not been for the hunting hillbillies telling us we weren’t welcome at a dispersed camping area outside of Mount Hood, we wouldn’t have spent the next 45 minutes driving in the dark frantically searching for a place to spend the night. I studied a map and finally suggested driving up a random forest service road in search for a secluded dirt turnout. That not only worked out beautifully, but also generated a new method of searching for dispersed camping that we would end up using repeatedly in the near future. The next morning we drove up to Timberline Lodge.…

  • Oregon

    The Northern Coast of Oregon

    October 12, 2015 - By 

    Despite its epic reputation, we hadn’t planned on making it over to the Oregon coast.  But we did, and boy, were we glad we did.  The original plan was to mosey over to Mount Hood after Portland, but I found out about a fiberglass RV meet-up at Fort Stevens State Park at the last minute. It would be our first fiberglass gathering, which was dubbed Egg NOG (Northern Oregon Gathering). We only spent 1 night at Fort Stevens State Park.  As avid boondockers, we couldn’t bear to spend $29/night for more than one night just for a campsite!  During our stay we…

  • Oregon

    Willamette Valley

    October 7, 2015 - By 

    With wine country being just a convenient, short detour southwest from Portland and with the weather so perfect for sipping wine outdoors, we spent one brief day in the Willamette Valley.  After touring our local Napa wine valley and Mendoza’s wine country, I can say that my favorite season for wine tasting is the autumn.  By then the scorching hot summer sun has settled to a comfortable blanket of warmth, and the endless rows of foliage shine a brilliant crimson against the clear skies.  In Willamette Valley the rolling hills of vineyards extend far into the blue horizon of mountains, and choosing which…

  • Oregon

    Waterfalls and the Columbia River Gorge

    October 6, 2015 - By 

    Images of drizzly, gray skies come to mind when I think of the Portland area.  Although wet weather was a known, I failed to connect water and mountain and was surprised to find out that Oregon is not just full of volcanoes and mountains but also plenty of gorgeous waterfalls.  The autumn season combined with consecutive years of drought meant a lighter water flow, but every waterfall we saw was nonetheless a site to gawk at.  We also were fortunate to have weather in our favor; western Oregon does occasionally see sunny skies and brighter days and we happened to be lucky enough…

  • Oregon

    Bend

    October 5, 2015 - By 

    I had only heard of the small city of Bend, Oregon one year ago. During our 3.5-month road trip last year around the U.S., we randomly started chatting with an enthusiastic, talkative man at the top of Angel’s Landing at Zion National Park. Due to our shared interests in life adventures and endurance sports, we ended up swapping cards and keeping in touch. Fast forward to now—I reached out to him and he told us we could stay at his house in Bend! In fact, he wasn’t even home when we arrived but he had left us a key and told…

  • Oregon

    Crater Lake

    September 29, 2015 - By 

    Unlike South America there doesn’t seem to be too many lake-filled calderas in the United States.  Although we hiked along Ecuador’s Quilotoa and Laguna Cuicocha in Otavalo not too long ago, our breaths were still taken away by the majestic beauty of Oregon’s only national park, Crater Lake National Park.  Another plus was its vicinity to the California state line, so the drive didn’t take long at all coming from Mount Shasta. Most people will only need 1 full day to explore what the park has to offer, but I easily filled two days by spending the first day hiking and the…