A Whirlwind Weekend Around Oregon!

[Streakerfreak]

This week, an old friend from college...Kenny, flew out from NY to visit us. We thought this would be the perfect time to revisit some places we love in OR and visit some new ones.

We took a bunch of fun snapshots on my digital and also my 35mm. Here are a few quick digital shots

Friday May 30th
The trip started when we drove up to Portland to pick him up from PDX. From there we headed west through the Columbia River Gorge on the Historic Columbia River Highway. Our first stop was one we have been to before... Multnomah Falls.

We then headed south down Mt. Hood Highway with a quick stop at Timberline Lodge.

Saturday May 31st

We decided to head to the coast on Saturday. I figured since it was the weekend after Memorial day and it was very overcast, that there would be few people. Man was I wrong:smilies27

Anyways, we decided to take a different route to the coast. We picked up the Oregon Byways Book.

Its a good book, with some great trips in it, but do not go without a road map and a topo. Even with that we got lost a few times.

We headed south on I-5 to just south of Roseburg. We headed west until we reached the Coos Bay Wagon Rd which is an easy dirt road. The road is very beautiful and quiet.

Once we got to Coos Bay we headed to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. We were hoping to take the truck on the dunes, but there were hundreds of ATVs and it was just not fun at all. So we nixed that idea (some other time this summer), so instead we headed a few miles north to John Dellenback Dunes and hiked to our favorite spot on the dunes.

In these images you can see our old college friend playing in the dunes with Jenn.

And then here is one of the few of myself.

The next stop was to the south at Cape Arago so my Marine Science geek that I love so much could have some fun.

 

[Streakerfreak]

Here she is with a Gumboot Chiton.

 

[Ursidae69]

Cool stuff!!!!! :coffeedrink:

 

[Streakerfreak]

Sunday June 1st

Today we headed east to Bend and points south.

Our first stop was at Newberry National Volcanic Monument. For those who have never been I highly suggest it. It was not crowed and was very beautiful. Almost rivals what you find at Crater Lake.

It was a mix of dirt roads, paved and with the help of the byways book we found some really nice 4wd trails. There was even snow

Heading up to the Big Obsidian Flow

We covered a lot of ground and got very little sleep the past two and a half days, but it was a lot of fun.

 

[Oceangirl]

Holy Moly I'm such a dork!! :wavey:

Kenny and I sitting here looking at these and couldn't help but laugh. We had so much fun and it's great to have him here to see some of the awesome sites Oregon has to offer.

I have to add that the one of me and the gumboot chiton...yeah, that's me in a nutshell....

 

[bmh]

dang, that looks like a fun trip. I wish I could take a trip like that...looks like a blast.

 

[Ursidae69]

I have to add that the one of me and the gumboot chiton...yeah, that's me in a nutshell....

I can relate. I have a lot of pics of me with critters too. You two take some cool trips. :sombrero:

 

[Streakerfreak]

You two take some cool trips. :sombrero:

We try to. There is too much to see in the world to just sit around.

 

[kcowyo]

Oregon has so much to offer...

Hopefully sometime down the road, you two will look back on your time in the PNW and remember it more for the good stuff, than some of the unfortunate incidents that have happened while you've been there.

You two always look like you're having fun. Great job capturing the human element of your trip.

:campfire:

 

[cpg]

Great photos

 

[Streakerfreak]

Oregon has so much to offer...

Hopefully sometime down the road, you two will look back on your time in the PNW and remember it more for the good stuff, than some of the unfortunate incidents that have happened while you've been there.

You two always look like you're having fun. Great job capturing the human element of your trip.

:campfire:

We are already remembering what is great about Oregon. We love the Coast, Central Oregon, Astoria, and The Gorge. I think we would have loved to have moved to the Hood River area or Astoria when we first came out here.

We will be posting a lot of trip threads the next two months. We plan on heading out to a new place somewhere in Oregon every weekend for either a day trip or a weekend trip.

 

[p1michaud]

You guys just look like you are having a blast.
Well done on enjoying the little moments in life and taking the time to show off some great areas to a friend.

I'm looking forward to a trip with both of you when you return on the East coast.

Cheers,
P