Northern Oregon Coast

The coast of Oregon captivated me.  I've always been partial to the ocean, and adding a forested mountain backdrop just made the view even more splendid.

Bandon, Oregon

My succulent lunch of local crab and shrimp

Mt. Hood

Enjoyed the Mt. Hood Scenic Loop, which follows the Columbia River to Hood River, then south and west again around Mt. Hood.  Along the way is the County Fruit Loop, which routes you past wineries, orchards and farms with delicious local produce.  Stopped and picked up some berries, peaches, jam, wine and chocolate at various points along the way.

Parked overnight at Montavon's Berries, part of the Fruit Loop and also a member of Harvest Hosts.  Harvest Hosts is a community of farmers, winemakers and RVers who have joined together to create a new alternative to campgrounds. As a subscriber, I can park my self-contained RV at a participating farm, orchard or vineyard overnight at no charge.  Of course, a look around and a purchase of the farm's wares (or even helping in the fields) is encouraged and welcomed.  Montavon's has a lovely view of Mt. Hood as a backdrop.  I stayed the night, bought some blueberries, and went on my way.

View from Montavon's Berry Farm

Got out and hiked along the way in one of the many snow parks in the area, which in August are vast fields of summer mountain flowers, as if planted there by a master gardener.

I drove up to the Timberline Lodge, built as a WPA project during the Great Depression, and oft recognized as the exterior of the Overlook Hotel in the movie The Shining and ate breakfast in the Lodge before taking a hike within view of Mt. Hood.

Approaching Timberline Lodge

Anyone want to hike to Mexico?

It's hard to get my head around 80 degrees air temperature and a snowfield under my feet!

It's also hard to get my head around skiing in August, but there were both skiers and snowboarders enjoying the slopes (if you zoom in you'll see little skier bodies to the right of the ski lift).

The Columbia River Gorge

Wow! What a lovely drive along historic Route 30, along the Columbia River, which separates Washington and Oregon.  Along this road are "gorge-ous" vistas of the gorge, a plethora of dramatic waterfalls, with hikes (uphill, with lots of switchbacks!) leading to the top and spectacular views. I spent several days at Ainsworth State Park, and then biked and hiked my way to the falls and just explored the woods.

The Gorge-ous Columbia River

Latourell Falls

Horsetail Falls

For those of us with OCD tendencies who may be prone to counting such things, they made it easy to keep track as I trekked upward:

Switchbacks for walking

Switchbacks for driving

Multnomah Falls, note the bridge from below

From above Multnomah Falls, note the bridge!

My campsite at Ainsworth State Park, Corbett, Oregon

Trying to figure out what this is?
It's a delicious, foil-wrapped dessert of a banana, sliced in half in the peel
and stuffed with chocolate pieces, then tossed into the hot coals of the campfire
to become a gooey melty delicious mess!

Hood River, Oregon

Yes, I'm a little late getting started with this travel blog, connectivity (and inclination) has been intermittent at best, so this won't be a chronological documentary. Instead I'm just gonna start with where I am and then will back-post as I have the time and connectivity (and inclination), interspersed with more current destinations.

Oregon has been completely amazing and wonderful. So much awe-inspiring scenery! I spent quite a bit of time on the coast (more about that to come), from Brookings north to Astoria, and then traveled inland along the Columbia River to Hood River. Hood River is a very active kite-boarding and wind-surfing community, and with a beautiful sunny and warm day there were many people out on the water.

My Vision Quest

My Vision Quest Begins

It was my son Joey who got me thinking of this trip as a Vision Quest. He was out in the RV, trying to acclimate Xena, his very skittish and travel-wary cat, to the environment in which she would be traveling through four states over two days (from the northwest suburbs of Chicago to Denver).  He hadn’t opened up any of the windows and it was a sweltering summer day, and he remarked that it had become very hot in there, like a sweat lodge.  Hmmmm, I thought, My Vision Quest was about to begin.

I’m on a 7-week mission of self-discovery.  I’m trying to get to know myself a little bit better, spend some time contemplating what I want to do now that my boys are grown up and (more-or-less) self-sufficient. The rest of my life is before me, and I need to think about what direction I want it to take.

This blog will document at least parts of my trip.  While I won’t be sharing my journal of self-examination and deep, dark secrets ;-) I will use this as a sort of travelogue of my trip, for those who might be interested in coming along.

Call this my midlife crisis if you want.  I’ll still call it My Vision Quest.

Xena, the travelling cat, sitting on the dashboard
(although her preferred riding spot was on my lap!)