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Saturday, July 29, 2017

Oregon - a blissful state!


July seems to be the best month for me. I say this because, I had so many memories of all the travels I made in the past, brought up to my face - Thanks to Facebook and Google memories!
And this July was no different, with our plan to visit  friends in Seattle and then a road trip to Oregon. I and my friend made all the arrangements and planning, giving a break to our spouses, who were happy to be relieved of those responsibilities.

So, here are some of the details I would like to share with you all, in case you are searching all possible websites to know the details of different places you can cover.

Disclaimer: While we enjoyed all these places in 4 days(Oregon), this is not all to it! Oregon is blessed with natural resources and has many many beautiful places for you to visit and calm your busy selves. If you have enough time, try to see many other places :)

Day1: Seattle to New Port
Seattle to Florence has scenic views all along the way. The highlight for me was the bridge, which officially marked the entry into Oregon and that small cute town(yes, small towns are kind of cute for me!;)) which faces you, as you enter Oregon. 
Bridge connecting two states

We planned to visit Cannon beach but on noting that there was a beach nearby called " Seaside beach", we just decided take a small break and finish our packed lunch there. What was supposed to be quick visit ended up to be an affair for couple of hours. This beach had very few visitors making me wonder why and at the same time thankful for that! Park the car and enter a certain patch of long, half dried grass, with dandelions in between reaching to the end, only to find a paradise - a paradise with a mountain foreseeing the sea on one side and never ending row of clouds and waves! One of the clean beaches and ample space for you to stroll, play or simply spread out a mat and relax. Sea usually calms you down and if you are someone who likes meditating, you should plan on this one!

A window opened there!
 
Seaside beach, where it is a conversation between water, cool breeze and your soul!

We then drove down to Indian beach, which offers you breath taking view from the view point and a stretch to hike and explore. After soaking enough in thoughts, water and happiness, we drove down to New Port, where we had our booking done right next to a beach.

Indian Beach view point

Natural Arch @ Indian Beach
Day 2: New Port to Florence
The drive from New Port to Florence was all scenic with ocean on one side and mountains on the other. We could not get enough of the view and kept stopping at most of the viewpoints taking pictures and reached Florence. If you are one like me, you surely do not want to miss the Sand land adventures. ATVs/ quads are available for you to go on ride individually or as a couple. If you do not want to bother about it but still would like to experience the sand dunes, you can take the buggy rides. We made our bookings after reaching there, but would recommend you do it in advance, if possible.
Some scenic spot closer to New Port

Stage was set! So were light, camera and action!

Stop on the way to check this cool light house in the picturesque backdrop!

Check out the river on the left, somewhere there is a meeting point!
Since we had time to kill in between our morning ATV ride and the last batch Buggy ride, we drove down to nearby Silver falls, which gives you an amazing view of the water fall. Did I forget to mention that you get to walk behind the waterfalls? Again, there are different tracks based on your hiking interest and you can choose to see all the falls there taking a longer hike or just go to the first stop and return. The park has picnic place if you are someone who would like to barbeque :)

Not at all shy with all the attention around - Silver falls!(You might find better pics when you search ;))

There are different views of the same falls available due to the way it  is situated

After an amazing Quad and buggy ride, it was time for us to head to the vacation rental, we had booked in Eugene and we needed to fuel ourselves up.

We stopped mid-way to finish our dinner. Do visit this Chinese restaurant for its authentic taste and the humble service(I thought I remembered the place, but I will try to find it out and add the info soon;) )
Our Buggy ride. No pic of ATV as all of us took  the ride ;)

Day3: Eugene to Crater Lake

Our vacation rental place itself was so beautiful that, we did not want to go out to see anything. The hosts were warm and friendly and provided with all handy information and were patient with our queries. My friends spotted deer around and we did hear some happy peacock! They have a trail, which opens you to a beautiful open space filled with wild flowers and if you go further has "crooked tree" and spot for you to just enjoy your time (Meditate!)
I have no words enough to describe the beauty of Crater Lake, so I will  let the photos speak for itself. Since it was early July, snow on the top had not yet melted and we had an opportunity to play in snow, build snow man and then reach the view point. Because it was a holiday, we heard Rim Village was overcrowded and had slow moving traffic, so we just stopped at the view point and enjoyed the breathtaking beauty of this magnificent lake! Though I had seen the pics of this place before our travel, there is no substitute to what you see through your eyes and what a bliss it brings!
There are boat rides available from one of the villages, but since there still was enough snow, we could not take ride. Also, one can book the rides online, if it is open to booking (there is seasonal limit)



On our way to Crater Lake, spotted beautiful Diamond peak capped with snow

 Day4:
As we packed up from Eugene, after one last hiking on the trail to see the crooked tree, we had only one place on mind - Oneonta gorge. So, let me tell you that we did not pass/ walk through the gorge as we intended to. The reason is that the GPS did not actually provide the info initially and also, we were too excited at the spotting of horse tail falls. We parked our car and tried to track the Oneonta gorge with failed attempt. We finally took a small trail, all the time ignoring something which was written underneath in relation to Oneonta gorge. So eventually we saw pony tail falls and while we were crossing that, we heard happy cries of people who were walking near the gorge. It was a different track which we had neglected and night was dawning, not giving us enough room to take that path. So, we then we drove further to stop for a view of Multnomah falls, that falls which probably is inspiration to many paintings, many wall papers and one, that I always imagined. Like I mentioned earlier, there is no feeling as good as being there than seeing in pictures.
Waterfalls are as usual beautiful, but this one with a small bridge in front of it, makes it very special - at least to me :)
  




My recommendation is that, if you are coming to this Colombian gorge with all these many places, plan to arrive early in the morning and spend the entire day hiking, playing and enjoying in the water, responsibly :)

We bid good bye to Oregon with a sumptuous Indian food in Portland and headed back to Seattle, whose stories, I shall write in a separate post !


Duration: 4 days
Stayed at:

  • New Port:  Best Western Agate Beach Inn 
  • Eugene: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/16218652 
Best time to visit: End of June - Sep, sometimes October too, depending on which part of Oregon (Check weather before your plans)
Route: I5, US 101 and Oregon Coast Highway


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