Wilderness, Wine & Waterfalls: Oregon Part II

Like finishing a jigsaw puzzle, the 2nd half of our Oregon trip was very satisfying.  The Southern Oregon coast was the only stretch of the U.S. western shore that we hadn't yet visited.  We kicked this leg of our tour off with a bang -- a jet boat trip up the Rogue River.  The Rogue is a designated "Wild & Scenic River" and it sure lived up to its promise.  We took a Jet Boat tour of the lower Rogue and were amazed at how the scenery changed as the river became more and more wild.   Not to mention that the ride itself is pretty cool -- our driver had fun spinning the boat in order to make sure the entire group got wet.

A sampling of the wildlife we saw: mink (can you spot him in the picture?), turtle, deer, bald eagle & more osprey than we could count. Incredibly, we saw no less than 3 bears -- very exciting as this was the first time we ever have seen bears in the wild. These black bears were drawn to the cliffs by the abundant blackberries. 

Dunes, beaches, and plenty of cliffs and rock formations dominate the coast.  We spent some time at the Cape Blanco lighthouse, which is perched on the westernmost point in Oregon.  It reminded us a lot of the Scotland coast - remote and windy but scenic.

We spent a night in Depoe Bay so that we could stay in a favorite spot, the Channel House Inn.  Perched above the shore of the "world's smallest harbor," the inn features jacuzzi tubs on the balcony, so you can relax and whale-watch at the same time.  In fact, we did see a whale barely 50 ft. from the shore right in front of the inn. 

The next morning we took a ride out on a Zodiac boat to look for whales, but the sea was not on our side.  As you can see by the shot of this buoy, it was quite foggy and the seas were really choppy.  We did actually spot a whale (there are grey whales that stay in this area over the summer), but it never gave us a good "tail" shot and with the choppy waters this is the best shot I could get (honestly, it's a whale, not a rock).

Next on the agenda was a turn inland to the Willamette Valley, home of some of the best wine in the country.  It might surprise you (not!) to learn that we spent two days visiting wineries throughout the valley.  Here's a shot looking out from the Van Duzen winery, and another shot of one of the many clover fields we came across during our sampling tour.

 

We stayed in a nice restored Craftsman Bungalow (the "Lions Gate Inn") in the town of Newberg.  It was very relaxing and we had a great dinner that night in a restored Victorian house -- it's nice to see some of the architecture being preserved.

Having had our fill of wineries (can you believe it?) we decided to take a detour around Mount Hood on our way back up to Portland.  Mt. Hood dominates the skyline in this area (here are views looking east then looking west).  Even in summer there's enough glacial snow for people to ski on the east side of the mountain.  We went as high as the Timberline Lodge, which was used as the setting for the movie version of "The Shining," but unfortunately the lodge was covered in construction scaffolding.

The trip from Mt. Hood to Portland took us through the Columbia Gorge, home to some beautiful waterfalls. 

We only stayed in Portland for one night; our main activity (other than great food) was visiting the Saturday market.  The Skidmore Fountain greets visitors in Old Town -- it's hard to believe that famous Portland beer pioneer Henry Weinhard once offered to have beer pumped through it!

 Finally, here are two pics that capture the essence of historic Oregon.  The Grave Creek bridge was completed in 1920, and the "White Stag" sign dating from 1940.

Thanks for sharing in our Oregon Adventure!

Oregon Adventure

Our third time in the 33rd state was filled with the things that make travel great -- spectacular scenery, wonderful wine, and fine friends.  We were grateful for the hospitality of our friend Joe and his friend Nancy.  They live in Medford & Ashland - a wonderful area in the Rogue River valley full of art & agriculture.  Joe greeted us and showed us his workplace (we got to see peaches being processed), and Nancy joined us for an afternoon at a local winery.

The next day we took a short drive to take in the scenery at the local mountain lakes.  Clearly a popular area for boating and fishing, or just hanging around enjoying the view like these ladies.  Returning to Ashland, we checked out the town and took a short nap before dinner and a show.  The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is an amazing experience; the main stage is an outdoor theatre (ala The Globe).  We saw "Twelfth Night" under the stars -- no pictures allowed but you can get a feel for it here.

We really enjoyed the wildlife we saw on the trip.  In Medford & Ashland, deer are as common as squirrels here in Chicago.  Speaking of squirrels, the golden mantled ground squirrels were fun to watch as they scurried around the lakeshore.  In Ashland, Joe & I got very close to this deer, which obviously is pretty used to being around humans.  There'll be lots more wildlife in the next post. 

On Sunday, Joe drove us up to Crater Lake -- the drive up & back is really scenic.  There are lots of places to stop along the Rogue River where you can get close to the rapids and formations like lava tubes where the river travels underground.  This is the spot where one of our cameras drowned while Rochelle was trying to dip her arm deep into the water to get a feel for how cold it was.

 

When you think of volcanoes, chances are you think of rocks & lava, not beautiful blue water -- but that's what you get at Crater Lake.  The deepest lake in the U.S., it was created long ago when the mountain blew its top and collapsed in on itself.  The 33-mile drive around the crater has so many vistas that you can spend an entire day like we did, stopping to marvel at the view (which changes at every stop).  This is easily one of the most spectacular and unique sights in the country -- I'll let a few photos tell the rest of the story.  Come back in a couple of days to read about the rest of our trip.