Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for oregon
Where the Forest Meets the Sea
By Linda Tancs
Cape Perpetua Scenic Area is where the forest meets the sea. Managed by the United States Forest Service as part of Siuslaw National Forest, it’s a large forested headland on the coast of central Oregon, projecting into the Pacific Ocean. It’s also where a sinkhole of sorts meets the sea. Known as Thor’s Well, a deep chasm fills with salt water and produces a fountainous spectacle before Mother Nature vacuum sucks its bounty back to its rightful owner. The site is particularly spectacular at high tide or during storms—when it’s also most dangerous.
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Like No Place Else on Earth
By Linda Tancs
According to the National Park Service, Crater Lake National Park, Oregon’s only national park, is like no place else on Earth. Maybe it’s the lake at the heart of it all, one of the world’s deepest. Its majestic blue color can be viewed by driving the 33-mile path around the rim or getting up close and personal on a boat tour. Along the way, maybe you’ll see the Old Man, a mountain hemlock log that has been floating upright in the lake for more than 100 years!
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The World’s Largest Shortcake
By Linda Tancs
What does it take to bake a strawberry shortcake for 15,000 of your closest friends? According to the folks in Lebanon, Oregon, you’ll need 514 cups of sugar, 224 cups of shortening, 192 cups of eggs, 992 cups of flour, 576 teaspoons of salt, 2048 teaspoons of baking powder, 448 cups of milk and 18 cups of vanilla. The result is the world’s largest shortcake, unveiled annually at Lebanon’s Strawberry Festival. A cake that immense deserves its own security detail, and it gets it in the form of its official ushers at the Grand Parade, the Strawberrians. The festival is taking place today through 2 June at Cheadle Lake Regional Park.
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A Perfect Storm in Oregon
By Linda Tancs
Beachcombers, take note. Oregon’s Cannon Beach, a popular town about 80 miles from Portland, offers unrivaled dramatic scenery in winter. Thanks to the winds, waves and heavy rains this time of year, tide-pool viewing is just one of many delights offered by what many would probably perceive as an unlikely winter beach destination. Fogless nights offer uncompromised views from iconic Haystack Rock and the Tillamook Lighthouse. But perhaps best of all is the beauty of a frost-tinged beach and the excitement of waiting out a winter storm from the cozy comfort of your oceanfront suite, at a fraction of summer’s rates.
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Underground Cuisine
By Linda Tancs
Now six years on, the folks in Eugene, Oregon are celebrating truffles, that subterranean delight in use since Greek and Roman times. The Oregon Truffle Festival takes place from 28 to 30 January, the first of its kind in North America celebrating one of the world’s most expensive goods. With the finest climate for cultivating truffles outside Europe, the festival’s Grand Truffle Dinner on Saturday night features Oregon’s native winter white and black truffles in a five course meal paired with Oregon wines. The Valley River Inn provides frequent shuttle service to and from Eugene airport.
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Down to Earth in Willamette Valley
By Linda Tancs
Thirty-five miles southwest of Portland, Oregon is the Willamette Valley’s Yamhill-Carlton District AVA (American Viticultural Area), an area rife with dark, plummy, black-fruited Pinot Noirs framed by minerality reminiscent of pipe tobacco, espresso, clove and dark chocolate owing to the marine sedimentary soils of the region. In other words, earthy–or down to earth–a moniker characterizing the inhabitants of the valley as much as the wines themselves. The AVA is bringing the valley to Portland today for a wine tasting at the Gerding Theater, Portland Armory, from 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 in advance or $35 at the door. Why wait in line? Buy your tickets now.
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Arts and Crafts By the River
By Linda Tancs
The 37th season of Oregon’s Portland Saturday Market,the largest outdoor craft market in the U.S., begins on 6 March. The event, located at SW Ankeny St and Naito Parkway in historic Old Town, gives 250 or more artists the opportunity to showcase their handicrafts. While there you’ll enjoy live music and exotic foods. The kickoff includes a children’s parade at 2pm. Are you a master crafter? Maybe you should think about joining.
DISCLOSURE OF NO MATERIAL CONNECTION
The author has not received any compensation for writing this content and has no material connection to the brands, topics, products and/or services that are mentioned herein.
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Biking the Columbia River Gorge
By Linda Tancs
Is there a bad time to bike the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon? It all depends on your seasonal preferences. Weather in summer east of the Cascades can top 100 degrees fahrenheit. And be prepared for spring rains, icy winters or slippery fallen leaves in autumn. So, pick your poison, as they say. Whichever season you choose, be sure to take in the scenic delights offered by the Historic Columbia River Highway (a national scenic byway), the first scenic highway in the nation. Three Highway State Trails are now open, and more are under construction. Beginning at the city of Troutdale and traveling east, you’ll find Oregon’s most visited waterfall, Multnomah Falls. Views of the Gorge include Portland Women’s Forum Scenic Viewpoint, Vista House at Crown Point and Rowena Crest. Enjoy the view; just remember to share the road.
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Desert Dreams in Winter
By Linda Tancs
Ah, winter. In the midst of Arctic 50-mph winds, I’m trying hard to embrace its virtues. Or at least think of warmer, drier climes. How about the Alvord Desert in Oregon? Cracked and dry in summer, like winter hands–or lips. So at least it has something in common with the here and now although you’d freeze your tail off there, too, at the moment–except for the hot springs. Lying in the shadows of Steens Mountain, it only gets six inches of precipitation per year. Reminds me of Dickens’ “Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit”: “Look round and round upon this bare bleak plain, and see even here, upon a winter’s day, how beautiful the shadows are!”
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