Travel: Oregon

While I was out visiting my brother, some friends from Richmond decided to head to Oregon to see some family. I asked if I could park my van there for a week and, nearly a month later, I headed back south! While it wasn’t my first time to many of these places it was certainly my most in depth.

I crossed into Oregon and stayed the night at a tiny snow park just outside of Crater Lake National Park. I got to the park so early that nothing was actually open. It was amazing to still see piles and piles of snow on the ground in JULY!

I had read about the blue color but never thought it was truly this saturated. I really was in awe gazing at it. A girl traveling from Brazil took this picture of me and I was thankful to have someone to talk with about the beauty we were both seeing.

There is one hike around the lake where you can get in the bottom and go swimming. You better believe I did it. I hiked down and after I worked up the courage to get in, I took the plunge. A nearby family took this for me for the brief time I was in the chilly water. After soaking, I ate my lunch in the sun to warm up.

After hiking and rounding the lake, I drove north to Bend. I had heard amazing things and just stayed the night in town. I got some recommendations on food and did some walking and exploring of down town.

I asked my server at a restaurant where she’d be on such a beautiful day if she wasn’t working and she sent me to a perfectly empty park. I read a book and napped on a bench after my long hike in the morning.

I finished the day at a brewery and slept in a WalMart Parking lot. The next morning, I grabbed a big brunch sandwich to fill up. Then, on a friend of a friends recommendation, I did a hike to Tumalo Falls.

This was a beautiful place. I mean truly magical. Just when you thought you saw the last waterfall, another one appeared around the bend.

After the hike I went back into town and called a friend back east while having some coffee and watching paddle borders go by. After a frickin faco (fish taco) dinner, I headed up towards the Portland suburbs to hang out with my friends.

I parked my van right beside their house and used their wifi while I worked. It ended up getting much colder every night than I expected. Just like in California, I took ending my work day on east coast hours and used it to my advantage. One day I watched them go fishing in the Molalla river and swam in the sun. Another day, I went to The Oregon Garden to see the flowers blooming.

I convinced my friends to go with me to Timberline Lodge one evening. It worked perfectly because it was the day after their wedding anniversary and they had their honeymoon there!

I liked exploring it in the Summer and seeing how different everything looked when it wasn’t fully snow covered. We had cocktails and snacks in the bar and fought with a giant chipmunk outside.

Another night, my friends wife and I went to Portland Cider Company while he went fishing with his brothers. You can check out my awesome friends in the snap I took while exploring one day.

Those same brothers invited us to go to Detroit Lake and jet ski one afternoon. We had perfect weather for it and finished with a BBQ after. This was the most normal things had felt the whole pandemic.

Family time ended up being extended when my van broke down as I was trying to drive back to see my brother. We did a movie night and watched “Onward” inspired by my little van.

Since I was dead in the water, I was incredibly grateful for the generosity that not only my friends, but their entire family extended to me. I couldn’t have picked a better place for the van to run into trouble.

One day we went out to see Haystack Rock. I hand’t visited this part of the Oregon coast since I was 16. It was fun looking around and seeing what I could remember from that trip in high school.

I ended up making it out to Hood River with my Aunt for an afternoon too while the van was in the shop. I absolutely could have stayed there longer.

While waiting on the van through the weekend we saw some little towns and continued the “Ice Cream Sunday” tradition from California.

While I was stuck, a friend living in Redmond messaged me and offered for me to come back out East to explore more. As soon as the van was fixed, I did just that.

I started by doing some hikes in Smith Rock State Park and parked near her house for what was going to be a weekend trip.

She and I hadn’t caught up in years but she was incredibly gracious and took me around to a few spots in town.

I woke up early on a Saturday and did some wandering myself into the Willamette National Forest. I stopped first at Koosah & Sahalie Falls.

This waterfall area along McKenzie Highway was beautiful. I should have planned sleeping here for the night.

I ended up doing a hike at Tamolitch Falls and the Blue Pool. This place was killer beautiful. The water is so cold that nothing grows in it, which means it’s crystal clear.

I absolutely stuck my feet in but went no further because it was freezing. My legs came out bright red from 30 seconds in the water for a picture or two. My plan on swimming there was totally foiled.

So instead I ended the evening at Terwilliger Hot Springs. I got there in the last batch of people for the evening so I stayed until it got dark. This whole area was once shaded by trees, but after recent fires, the foliage overhead of the hot springs burned down. It worked out well for me that I did come at night or it’d have been to hot to stay in the water.

The next day, my friend and her partner offered to show me around Redmond and Bend. This translated to a bunch of breweries which I did not mind at all.

We walked from one outdoor spot to another and ended the evening at an outdoor drive in theater watching a movie called “The Last Blockbuster,” which was premiering that night. My friend’s partner actually worked in the Blockbuster featured while he was in high school

The day after the movie, I borrowed an inflate-able tube and went down the Deschutes river. Tubing here was amazing because in a 10 minute walk, you can loop around and tube for another hour in the water. Seriously was the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

I took off on Monday to hike Tumalo Mountain and head back into the forest. The hike was in and out and I had PB&J at the top to a stunning view.

After the hike, I grabbed my book & a cookie from a local bakery and went reading at Devil’s Lake. It was a little crowded so I didn’t stay long and headed back to Sisters instead.

In Sisters, I found myself an antique pill box and a donut I saved for work the next day.

My friend works at a remote coworking space a few days a week so I followed her in one day before we got dinner afterwards. I really have to look up more of these spots around the US. While I was waiting for her to get dinner, I actually did make a trip to “The Last Blockbuster.” I so wish we still had one back in Virginia.

Saying goodbye after a week in Redmond and Bend was hard. I left after work on a Thursday and headed across the forest towards the coast. Seeing damage from fires first hand was gnarly.

I stayed the night at Summerfield Vinyards parked behind a barn and a field of grapes. The weather towards the coast was much cooler than the night before across the state.

In the morning, I headed straight to 101 to drive down the coast. I got breakfast in Newport and then drove through to Yachats.

I started with a little walk around Cape Perpetua.

I had heard amazing things about this view but I hit it on an overcast day. Still the colors were so rich and jeweled from all the moisture.

Then I headed down to Devil’s Churn and Thor’s Well. The colors here were equally stunning. Thor’s Well just kept filling and spilling over in a gorgeous cascade.

Parking was a bit of a struggle with the van along the narrow highway but I am so grateful for getting out of the car and seeing the views.

As I drove down the coast, the sky started clearing and the temperature warming. I climbed some sand dunes that were the tallest I’ve ever seen.

I grabbed a delicious fish & chip dinner at “The Crazy Norweigan’s” and ate it overlooking the ocean.

After dinner I passed by dozens os sculptural arches and rocks extending from the ocean.

And I finished the evening in Brookings, the most southern city on the coast. I had planned to sleep there, but had to adjust plans when the camp ground was closed.

I am so grateful that what was supposed to be a week trip melted into nearly a month in Oregon. So many moments forced me to pause and thank God for the people along my path, the glory of nature & leaning into unpredictability. Couldn’t have asked for more.