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| Conveniently located directly above the center of the Earth  |
I've lived/camped extensively in Oregon for nearly 50 years. There's still ample to explore regardless of the scheme of discovery. re: "Was thinking: Portland --> Astoria --> Lincoln City --> Salem --> Bend --> Back to Portland...this may be too optimistic." I'd suggest Astoria -->Newport --> Bend-->PDX with suitable points along the way. that is about 3 good days mostly driving, plus whatever stops you make. Definite decent taste of what the State has to offer. Another option, but we'll miss the coast: DO NOT mist the coast. Portland --> Salem --> Eugene --> Bend --> back to Portland." Salem would be low on the list IMO. Did I mention DO NOT miss the Coast!!!! Later trips could include other prime sights for enjoyment. Crater Lake is a biggie once the snow season allows full drive around the rim. Central Oregon high desert has considerable unique features to offer, but it's hard to pick favorites for people. If you make the 'east of the Cascades' and catch the 3 Sisters/Mt Jefferson on a sunny day everything else is sheer gravy. There's good heritage Indian museums in several areas you mention. **************~~~~~~~~~~ "I've been on this rock too long to bother with these liars any more." ~SIGforum advisor~ "When the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change, then change will come."~~sigmonkey | |||
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| half-genius, half-wit |
Just a gentle reminder that the road up to the crater can have ten feet of snow closing it in early June. However, the Oregon Caves are nearby. tac | |||
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| Ignored facts still exist |
This is a long shot, but anyone interested in a small Oregon Face-to-face while Dave is in the area? Dave, if nothing else, I've got kids your age, so if you want to meet at a some kids type of place for an afternoon, e-mail me. . | |||
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| Member |
Living in the area my entire life my first advise is to skip Salem, if you ask me it’s a dump. I would try to stop by crater lake, it’s beautiful. The Oregon coast is also really nice, I’m heading there today myself. Mt St. Helens is really cool and not too far from the Portland area and also in my neck of the woods. Tons to do in the PNW if you like the outdoors. | |||
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| Member |
You should set up an itinerary that goes from the Coast into the interior valleys, the Cascades and then the High Desert. You cannot believe the changes from essentially a rain forest to a desert climate all in the same state. Crater Lake is a wonder but the Lodge is usually booked a year in advance, and one of the private Bed and Breakfasts just burned up. Finding a place to stay may be difficult until your 50 or so miles from the park. There are wineries from Salem down to Medford, along the I-5 corridor and there are tours to see them. Check the Chamber of Commerce in the areas you go to. Pick a designated driver. Just about anything I could recommend has already be mentioned except (pardon me if I missed seeing this in the posts) schedule a rafting trip on one of the rivers. Some places do half day trips. | |||
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Quit staring at my wife's Butt |
Nothing in Eugene nothing in Salem , Astoria is ok Tillamook A for the cheese factory is good Lincoln city blah (gambling town) depoe bay is better, Newport Bayfront is fun lots to see there for the kids, since your in Portland go see the falls up the gorge bend is fun, sisters is fun make sure you stop for ice cream at sisters called sno cap if you go the McKenzie highway route. Sunriver great place to stay lots for kids to do hiking, biking, swimming pools, golf. | |||
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Recondite Raider |
Newport see the Oregon State University "Marine Science Center" (admission free), and then the commercial Oregon coast aquarium as both are worth seeing. Depot bay eat at the Sea Hag, stop at the rest building to watch whales, get some Oregon Maritime history. Astoria the Maritime museum Cannon Beach the tide pools by Haystack Rock Seaside has a carousel. Monmouth: the air and space museum Portland has OMSI and the Zoo Bend has the High Desert Museum Maryhill museum (on Washington side of the Columbia Gorge) build by Sam Hill who was instrumental in the original Gorge highway in the 1920s. Hood River has great apple, cherry, pear, and peach orchards It also has an aircraft and automobile museum. Plenty to do in Oregon. __________________________ More blessed than I deserve. http://davesphotography7055.zenfolio.com/f238091154 | |||
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| Save an Elephant Kill a Poacher  |
Dave, There have been a lot of eating joints showcased on Diners Drive-in's and Dives in the Portland area. If interested, pull up their website, 'Flavor Town' I think it is and Bon Appetit. 'I am the danger'...Hiesenberg NRA Certified Pistol Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Life Member | |||
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Member |
Nothing really to see in Salem. In fact the whole drive between Portland and Eugene is pretty boring. South of Eugene you start to get into the mountains and it gets a lot more interesting, drive-wise. Others have pointed out a bunch of things to do in Portland. I'd recommend a circle out to the coast, either straight west from Portland to Seaside or around the northern highway to Astoria. If you go through Astoria there's the Maritime Museum, Fort Clatsop (re-creation of the place Lewis & Clark spent their winter in 1805), and Ft. Stevens where there's still the remnants of a coastal defense artillery battery from WWII. Then south through Tillamook / Pacific City / Lincoln City / Depoe Bay / Newport as far as either Florence or Reedsport, the drive back east from either of them is gorgeous. Either way you come out at Eugene or just south of it. From there you can go on either east over the Cascade mountains to the Bend area or southeast over the mountains past Diamond Peak to Crater Lake and then north again to Bend. From Bend go either north to the Columbia Gorge and then west back to Portland, or northwest from over Mt Hood. All easily done in 9 days. Lincoln City is pretty touristy (most of the towns along the coast are) and they've been having some problems with burglary at rental houses / condos lately. Multnomah Falls was closed for a while after last summer's fires but I think it's open again now. A lot of the hiking trails in the Gorge are still closed, for the same reason. | |||
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| Cold Ass Honkey |
Fixed it. The only museum that we had in Monmouth was a Barbie museum (no, not Klaus Barbie) but I think it's closed now. The Evergreen museum in McMinnville is home to the famous 'Spruce Goose' and a reasonable collection of other aircraft. http://www.evergreenmuseum.org/ ------------------------------ Never fully gruntled. | |||
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My Time is Yours |
Wow...thank you everyone! Keep it coming. - Skip Salem - Skip Eugene That's pretty much the consensus God, Family, Country. | |||
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Axe Grinder |
A good Oregon trip would be to hit Portland, Newport and Bend. You get to see some of the best the state has to offer and minimize drive time. Portland has OMSI and the zoo plus smaller attraction like Powwel's Books. Newport is a great Beach town with good beaches, an aquarium, light houses, and a fun Bay front. It is also a short drive to Depot Bay which has whales. Bend has the high desert museum, Smith rocks, hiking, biking and rafting. | |||
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Member |
Not sure exactly what your options are. If you're just landing in PDX but not necessarily needing / wanting to stay in the Portland area, I generally enjoy the Sun River area (near Bend). Not so many hotels but plenty of vacation rentals. Hiking / walking. Kayaking. Biking. Lakes. Obsidian. Casual outdoor stuff with some volcano related spots. I think 3-4 days is plenty. 5 days if you just want to really relax. "Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." L.Tolstoy "A government is just a body of people, usually, notably, ungoverned." Shepherd Book | |||
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Member |
Skip Eugene? Now Salem I can understand, but hey to each their own. From Portland I'd either head up the Gorge then down 97 to Bend for a couple of days. Sunriver is nice, but it's not Bend. It's a south of town resort type scene. Not bad and kid friendly. You could get a similar thing at Black Butte, Pronghorn, etc.. From Bend down HWY 126 along the beautiful McKenzie. Stop and raft if you have time. Heading West to the ocean. A couple of routes here depending on time & activities. Follow the Mckenzie to Eugene and west you'll end up in Florence. You can jog north to Corvallis west and you will be in Newport. From 126 you can also go come out in Salem to head west to the ocean. This route can be done either way, but a couple days in central Oregon, a couple days on the coast, and you've burned a day driving which is your allotted 5 day adventure. There are plenty of water falls, hikes, lakes, and wonders to explore. Ask questions - and PS Bend has more microbrews per capita than most any city you will ever visit. Cheers~ | |||
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| Member |
East of PDX, Multnomah Falls (if open) and then up hwy 30 to Vista House - beautiful view of the Columbia River Gorge. You can also make it up to Larch Mountain - fantastic views on a clear day (4500 Ft elevation). I think you can make a loop of the this part of the trip. Mt. St Helens in Washington is close and worthwhile. Some cool Volcano exhibits. NW of Astoria in Washington, Cape Disappointment has a fabulous Lewis & Clark Expedition Museum - I really found it fabulous. The Lewis & Clark museum near Astoria is neat too, but the one at Cape Disappointment is par excellance. Astoria is neat - Maritime Museum is good as well as the Astoria Column (great views on a clear day). Plus is where they made Goonies! Down the coast to Newport via Tillamook (As Tac indicates, the Tillamook Factory is a must stop) to Newport via Lincoln City with a must stop at the Newport Aquarium. McMinville Air Museum is good, plus the have a waterpark there and a iMax theater. Wine tasting along the way back to PDX Metro too. Crater Lake is a great spot to look at, as is the Bend area. Mt Bachelor and Sunriver (lots of Tourists in season there). You can spend a week in this region easily - lots to do with a family. I vacationed in Oregon with the now ex up twice and then moved here 22 or so years ago from SF Bay Area. The PNWC is god's country, being screwed up by the commies and excessive capitalism. -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- It only stands to reason that where there's sacrifice, there's someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there's service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master. Ayn Rand "He gains votes ever and anew by taking money from everybody and giving it to a few, while explaining that every penny was extracted from the few to be giving to the many." Ogden Nash from his poem - The Politician | |||
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| My Time is Yours |
Would anyone recommend the drive to Olympia? God, Family, Country. | |||
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His Royal Hiney |
When I go to a new place to vacation, we always like taking a tourist bus tour. 1) It's something to do and you get some info. 2) More important, it lets you figure out where you want to go the next day to spend more time. You also need to hit a Harry and David store for the fruits. I like their quality. "It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946. | |||
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Member |
Not a lot to see in Olympia. Probably not worth the trip. If you go North, do it to see Mt. St.Helens. Great hikes out there just bring sunscreen. No shade at all around Johnson Observatory. I would say besides sights around Portland, I agree with Newport or Cannon Beach on the coast, Bend for a day or two, definitely visit Astoria and Fort Stevens. Also go to the gorge for too many hikes to list and visit Hood River too. I'll email you my cell # so you have it when you're here. | |||
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| Member |
Agreed, nothing in Olympia. If you're going that far north either go all the way to Seattle or rainier NP. St Helens is far closer and a great little trip. | |||
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Member |
If you're going through Salem, don't drink the water!! 
https://www.cityofsalem.net/Pa...-water-advisory.aspx ...let him who has no sword sell his robe and buy one. Luke 22:35-36 NAV "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16 NASV | |||
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