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!

Amazing Vancouver

We've always had great luck with weather in the Pacific Northwest -- and our lucky streak continued this past July when we visited the Vancouver area.

When the weather is nice, everything is beautiful here.  The city's clean and modern, there are mountains and water everywhere, and the people seem really happy.

We stayed in the city a few days, enjoying the sights and the fantastic restaurants.  Every place we went, we were asked where we were from and what we were doing.  And restaurant staff practically tripped over themselves giving us recommendations for other places to go. 

On the ferry ride to Vancouver Island, we got our first sighting of bald eagles -- more later.  Staying in Victoria (the capital of British Columbia) for Canada Day was a trip.  Everywhere we looked we saw people in red and white -- and I do mean everywhere.  As you can see by the capital building (left), Victoria is particularly pretty at night. 

There are several botanic gardens in the area, but Butchart Gardens on the island is easily the most spectacular.  The moderate climate makes for some pretty ideal growing conditions, not only for flowers and trees but for vineyards too.  Although the main BC wine region is far inland, there are some wineries on the island and of course we made time to stop and sample the goods.

The north and west parts of the island are a bit less  populated, and are really popular with outdoor sports enthusiasts.  While we did some short hikes, our main "adventure" time was spent out on the water, looking for whales and seabirds.  We weren't disappointed -- the bald eagles, gray whales, sea otters, puffins and other sea birds were amazing.  If you look closely at the otter, you'll see she's carrying a pup.

We had such a great time that we went on another boat trip when we returned to the mainland ... and added more bald eagles and orcas to our sightings.

If you're a facebook friend there are a few more pics on my facebook page.  Keep an eye out for more adventures (better yet, subscribe to the feed and you'll be notified when new entries appear).