Portland and Baker City, OR

Since we were back in the Portland area, I got to explore another area on the Columbia River that I just didn’t get to last time.  I got to visit the Columbia River Gorge Museum, which was very informative on how the gorge came to be through thousands of years and the various stages of settlement in the area.  I then went to Hood River, which is famous for the constant winds providing the perfect conditions for wind surfers and kite surfers.  I had lunch in the city on an outside terrace overlooking the surfers, which was very entertaining.

 

I took a scenic route from Hood River towards Mt. Hood and stopped at a perfect lookout point for the mountain.  The views were simply spectacular, showcasing the snow-capped mountain in the distance with the rolling farmlands and wild pine trees all around.  

 

 On the way back down the scenic road, I couldn’t help stopping to snap a few pictures of pear orchards with the Del Monte crates just waiting to be filled.  Now you know where some of the Del Monte pears come from.  I’m sure this is not the only area that they get the pears from, but there were huge orchards running for miles in Oregon, which I found surprising. 

 

I spent a few hours also exploring the End of the Oregon Trail museum in Oregon City, about 20 minutes away from Portland. It was a great way to spend a couple of hours and reminded me of how this great country was populated. 

 

At the RV park in Fairview, Newman had a wonderful puppy to play with just two sites over from ours.  Dolly was a one-year old Yorkiepoo who could run circles around Newman with her boundless energy.  Newman and Dolly spent several hours each day playing around.  Dolly left the day before we did and ever since I think Newman finds us quite lame as playmates.  Hopefully, we'll find another puppy in another park soon.

 

On Friday we started the first leg of our homeward journey, which we will be doing gradually with 3 or 4-day stops along the way.  Our first stop was Baker City, Oregon, a very quaint town with a thriving historic downtown area.  We had dinner in town on Friday evening at Barley Brown’s Brew Pub and sat at an outdoor table on the sidewalk watching the locals come and go. 

We spent Saturday morning playing a round of golf at Quail Ridge surrounded by mountain ranges that looked like the perfect setting for any Western movie.  The course was in great condition and just challenging enough for Gerry to enjoy it.  I’m still learning to play, so I find all courses challenging.

 

We ended our day in Baker City by visiting the Antique Car Show, which just happened to be in town and was something different for us to do and turned out to be fun.

As I write this, we are in route to Boise, Idaho, which is our next stop on our journey.  Gerry assures me I will like Boise, so I am anxious to see if he is correct.

Oregon Coast

We spent a week in Lincoln City which is labeled the heart of the Oregon coast and really enjoyed where we were.  Our daughter, Stephanie decided to fly out and join us for a few days before she goes back to work teaching.  It was a joy to have her with us exploring the coastline.

We picked her up at the Portland airport and decided to have dinner in the Pearl District of the city which has a nice blend of housing, restaurants and boutique shops.  We enjoyed dinner at Metrovino which featured foods and preparations of the northwest.

We spent a day exploring the area to the north of Lincoln City which Gerry and I had briefly toured earlier.  Stephanie and I covered it in much more detail.

We drove on highway 101 and then did a 40 mile drive called the 3 Capes Scenic Drive.  The views were especially spectacular since it was a beautiful, clear, sunny day.  Here are some of the views of Cape Kiwanda.

 

 We enjoyed the stark beauty of Haystack Rock!

We continued our drive to the town of Tillamook which is home to the Tillamook Cheese Factory where we got to view the facilities where they make the cheese and got to taste several different kinds of cheese.  We left with three different cheeses:  a 100 day aged white Cheddar, a medium Cheddar and a Habanero Jack cheese.  We also bought a nice piece of smoked salmon.

Just up the road was the Blue Heron Cheese Factory, featuring French cheeses.  We got to taste 4 different Brie cheeses: a traditional, a garlic and herb, a black pepper and a mildly smoked.  Since Brie is my favorite, we had to get one of the 8 ounce wheels.  We had picked up some, marinated olives, a half baguette, some pita chips, an heirloom tomato, a red pear and some red grapes and with the cheeses and salmon had the makings for a wonderful picnic lunch.

We stopped and explored the Dunes a little after lunch.  For some reason with all the rocks around, I found it amazing that there are several areas of dunes.

 

We took a tour of the Cape Meares Lighthouse which was really interesting and finished our tour with a short hike to the Octopus Tree (a Sitka Spruce with a very unusual shape).

We spent the next day, exploring the area south of Lincoln City.  We stopped in the Siletz Bay area simply by chance and happened to be there while a gray whale was exploring and apparently feeding in the area.  We stayed and watched it spouting and following its movement until its tail disappeared in the water for about 15 minutes until the chilly wind got the better of us.  I snapped several shots of it, but it was really hard to capture its movement on film.  However in the picture below we all thought "they're gonna need a bigger boat".

We stopped at Cape Foulweather Scenic Overlook for a faraway glimpse of Devil's Punchbowl.

 

We then drove closer for a different perspective and truly discovered why it was so named.

 

Next on the agenda was the Yaquina Head Lighthouse.  We visited on Wednesday which is the only day they do not give tours of the inside of the lighthouse.  We stilled enjoyed the lovely views of both the lighthouse and the vistas all around it, including the seals just chilling out.

 

We ended our day of exploring by taking Newman for a walk on the beach which was just across the street from the RV Park we stayed in.  It was fabulous to be within walking distance to the beach and Newman loved it.  He especially loved running ahead to the end of his leash and then laying flat on his belly waiting for us to catch up.  He thought this was a fun game. 

 

Our week on the Oregon coast ended on Friday when we drove back to the Portland area to be near the airport since Gerry had a business trip.  We are in a very nice RV park in Fairview, Oregon which is right on the Columbia River Valley and the best feature is the 20 minute drive to the airport.  After our travel and RV set up on the new site, we decided to go back to the Pearl District in the city for dinner.  We dined at Jamisons and had a wonderful meal sitting on their outdoor patio overlooking the park with the fountains where families and children enjoyed splashing about.  It was a fabulous dinner and a perfect way to end the week.

Willamette Vineyards and Oregon Coast

During our stay at the Willamette Wine County RV Park, we visited three different vineyards which was a lot of fun.  We had tried a couple of wine flights the week before, so we decided to pick out a bottle at each winery and enjoy sipping our wine overlooking the stunning grounds.  We really enjoyed wrapping up our day at the wineries.

We enjoyed a lovely Chardonnay at Stoller Vineyards overlooking their beautiful grounds.  We could even see Mt. Hood in the distance.

 

We also visited Lange Vineyards and sipped an elegant Pinot Noir again with wonderful scenery and a glimpse of Mt. Hood in the background.  I also snapped a picture of a vine full of unripened grapes.  I can only imagine how beautiful it will be when they ripen.

We wrapped up wine week at Eyrie Winery which was the first winery to open in the Willamette Valley.  They are still doing tastings in the original tasting room which is where we enjoyed a delightful Pinot Gris which is one of the wines that is a specialty of the area.

On Friday we packed up and drove 1 1/2 hours to get to the Oregon coast line where the weather if considerably cooler.  The highs for the first two days here, hit the high 60's in the late afternoons and the mornings have started cool and foggy covered in ocean mists.  We are enjoying the fact that we don't need the air conditioner.  We explored the area briefly Friday afternoon and took a walk on this beach.

On Saturday, we explored the Oregon Coast Aquarium which was a great way to spend an hour or so.

After the majority of the morning mist burned off, we explored a bit of Route 101 which is the Scenic Byway along the coast line.  The drive was beautiful with lots of photo spots along the way.

We are looking forward to exploring this area more this week and enjoying the cooler temps.  I just wish the days would start a little warmer than 55 degrees or so and the sun would burn through the fog and mist more quickly.

Willamette Valley

After spending a couple of weeks in the Portland area, we decided to explore the Willamette valley for a bit.  We have tried several Willamette Valley wines over the years and since we are now in the area we knew we had to explore the area.  Willamette valley is known for its Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris wines and make a variety of other really good wines.  We found a RV park that is located in the heart of the Willamette valley and appropriately named Willamette Wine Country RV Park since there are almost 200 wineries in this particular valley. 

 We visited the Willamette Valley Vineyards tasting room and had a tasting flight which was a fun way to spend an hour or so.  The wines were wonderful and we walked away with 4 bottles of wine.  

We drove through the countryside on Saturday on our way to Salem to explore the city a little and just stumbled across the Willamette Valley Cheese Company.  This cheese company was in the middle of the countryside with the cows close enough to see and touch.  We did a tasting of several cheeses and they were all fabulous.  We ended up leaving with three different cheeses, a creamy Havarti, a toasted cumin Gouda, and a raw milk Cheddar.  We are looking forward to a cheese and wine tasting evening. 

We also explored an actual vineyard and tasting room and from the numerous ones available, we chose to visit Anne Amie Vineyards and Tasting room in Carlton which is just around the corner from our RV park.  There is something very satisfying about seeing the vineyards from where the wine is coming from.  We did a tasting flight at this vineyard as well and walked away with another bottle of Pinot Noir.  The vineyards and tasting room were lovely with a view of the Cascade Mountains in the background from the vineyards.

For dinner on Saturday night we decided to try a local restaurant called Red Hills Provincial Dining which was just around the corner from our RV park.  Their philosophy is to use locally grown produce and meats and highlight the meal with locally produced wines.  It turned out to be a wonderful evening of food and wine in a very comfortable restaurant with an attentive wait staff.

We started our meal with Shrimp Cakes for Gerry and Crab Cakes for Me.  I snapped a picture of the Crab Cakes.  We each had a glass of white wine with our appetizers, a local Chardonnay for Gerry and a Pinot Gris for me which complemented our food beautifully.

 For our entrees Gerry chose the pan seared Salmon with a Dill and Thyme Cream Sauce over Rice with a saute of fresh vegetables and he though everything was superb.  The salmon was cooked perfectly, just done so it was still moist.

 I had the Braised Short Ribs served over Polenta with the same side of sauteed vegetables which was fabulous.  The meat was fork tender and full of flavor and everything else on the plate was done to perfection.  A glass of Pinot Noir for both of us worked well with our entrees.

We actually decided to order desserts which is pretty rare for us.  Gerry opted for the local fresh Berry Cobbler topped with a homemade ice cream.

I opted for the Creme Brulee since it is one of my favorites and a test for me to see how a restaurant measures up to my standards.  This one did not disappoint.  It was a classic creme brulee, done well with a simple garnish of fresh berries.  I feel if this dessert is done well, it doesn't need to be messed with too much.  This one was done perfectly; a nice crunchy, sugary crust that needed to be broken through to get to the creamy, eggy custard underneath.  A nice fresh cup of coffee with dessert rounded out our evening.

This restaurant was in an old craftsman style house, with the original wide plank floors and the decor was done perfectly creating a delightful ambiance.  I highly recommend this restaurant!

We are looking forward to exploring this area a little more this week.

Portland, OR

We have been in the Portland area for a week now and still no sign of rain or showers at all.  We have not seen rain since June 27th.  I don't understand all the complaints about the rainy northwest (ha, ha).  We have really continued to luck out with the weather.  After my whirlwind week on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, I took it kind of slow my first few days in Oregon.  Amazingly enough, things like laundry, vacuuming, dusting, meal planning, grocery shopping, etc. continue to be necessary.  I did venture into the city of Portland to get to a Whole Foods market. 

After a few days of resting and getting caught up, I ventured into the city to visit the International Rose Test Garden which is a beautiful garden with thousands of roses on beautifully kept grounds.  It was amazing to find this in the city and free of charge.  The roses in this garden certainly rivaled those found in the famous Butchart Gardens in Victoria, BC.  I found that the rose scent was much more pronounced here that in Butchart and it further enhanced the experience.  There was also a nice view of Mt. Hood in the background but it was just hazy enough in the morning to make it difficult to capture on film.  It was a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours .

 

From the Rose Garden, I was able to walk across the street to the Japanese Garden which is a tranquil and serene space set on 5 1/2 acres in the city.  It was truly amazing the feel the peace and quiet surround me.  I spent a lovely 1 1/2 hour exploring this beautiful haven.  

 

 This Poetry Stone in the Garden has a haiku carved in it which says "Here, miles from Japan, I stand as if warmed by the spring sunshine of home."

A beautiful view of Mt. Hood from the Japanese Gardens!

I rounded out my garden day by having a late lunch in the heart of the city from one of the many food carts in the city.  I decided on Indian food and sat in a nice shady spot in a park just across the street from the carts.  It was a perfect day!

On another note, we played a 9-hole round of golf on a beautiful, sunny 80 degree day and thoroughly enjoyed the lush golf course.  We used pull carts instead of riding in a cart and so enjoyed a little exercise as well.

We spent the day on Saturday exploring the Columbia River Gorge area.  We drove on Route 30 which is the Historic Columbia River Highway (a winding two lane road so I wouldn't call it a highway).  The Historic Highway follows the river and is surrounded by trees creating a canopy over the road which made for a beautiful drive.  Along this 30 mile or so drive are lovely scenic overlooks and 7 different waterfalls.  Each waterfall was a little different, both in flow and height.  

The first waterfall we came to was Latourell Falls which we thought was fabulous.

Next on the tour was Shepperds Dell which was a little shorter but more powerful.

 

I thought Bridal Veil Falls was appropriately named because of the white splash caused by the strong flow of these falls.  These falls were simply beautiful!

Wahkeena Falls came next and were quite smaller and set back quite a bit.

 

The most spectacular of all, were the Multnomah Falls which actually had a bridge about halfway up, across the front of the falls.  These were absolutely the most crowded of all the falls and so it was impossible to snap a picture without lots of people being included.  These falls are 620 feet tall and the tallest waterfall in the state of Oregon.  These falls were truly stunning!

We stopped at Oneonta Gorge which required a hike to view the falls and we decided to skip the hike on this one.  We had already done short hikes to a few others and Newman was ready for a break.

 

The last of the falls was Horsetail Falls.  (I'd love to know how they came up with these names since I found them quite amusing).

 

We rounded out our day with a stop at the Bonneville Dam and the Bonneville Fish Hatchery.

 

It was another fabulous day of exploring the area and immersing ourselves in nature even with the crowds of people.