Attractions

The Grave Creek covered span at Sunny Valley, about 15 miles north of Grants Pass, can be seen by motorists traveling Interstate 5.

So who should I run into in downtown Eugene but Ken Kesey, the great Oregon novelist who wrote “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest?”  Kesey passed away in 2001 and no, the late author’s presence wasn’t the ultimate prank from the Merry Prankster himself. But a bronze statue of Kesey, in the pose of a storyteller with his own grandchildren, was one of the many pleasant surprises I encountered on the streets of Oregon’s second largest city. 

This pear tree is one of the oldest and largest in Oregon. It is the lone survivor of an orchard planted by the Munkre family, later known as Hager's Grove. Benjamin Franklin Munkre brought his family to Oregon from Missouri in the middle 1800's.

The orchard bordered a once popular creekside camping and playground area. It now stands at the crossroads of Interstate 5 and Highway 22 in Salem.

It’s easy, driving along in your car, to completely miss the Western experience that is Pendleton.

If you don’t visit during the Pendleton Round-Up, it’s easy to visit the museums, visitor centers and businesses and totally miss the old western vibe the community offers.

That is, if you don’t visit Hamley’s.

Many times when I visit a historic site, I go into it with an attitude that is almost like an academic. I have an interest in learning what happened at the place I am visiting, but rarely do I get an emotional reaction.

As I wandered around the dark Bumble Bee canning facility, I notice they had hats and other personal items from the people who used to work there, but don’t any longer. If you stand next to some of the old equipment, you can almost hear what it sounded like back in the 1970s when the plant was operating and it was Astoria’s largest employers.

A long-time Medford and Rogue River Valley business that not only grows pears and peaches, but is one of the largest United States mail order companies. Started in 1934 as a catalogue company, Harry & David now has stores around the U.S. and offers a tour of their facilities.

Experimentation: if there was one word that would describe the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport that would be it.

From trying to figure out how plate tectonics work, to seeing how you compare to the wingspan of an albatross, expect to learn volumes while you walk through the many exhibits – several of which change regularly.

But Bill Hanshumaker, who is responsible for many of the exhibits in the Visitor Center, says it is more than just a place to see an octopus and touch things in simulated tide pools.

A few headlands over from the Sea Lion Caves lies one of Oregon’s most photographed lighthouses, the Heceta Head Lighthouse.

Surrounded by a state campground to the north, and a state park to the south, the lighthouse can be seen from Highway 101, or up close and personal if you are willing to take a bit of a hike.

Length: 218.43 miles / 349.5 km
Time to Allow: Allow about 8 hours to tour this Byway.

Driving Directions
There are five ports of entry into the Byway:

La Grande from I-84, Elgin via OR Hwy. 204, Enterprise via OR Hwy. 3, Oxbow via Idaho Hwy.71, and Baker City from I-84. To encompass the entire route, this itinerary follows the Byway traveling from La Grande to Baker City, but driving the route from any starting point and in either direction is just as appealing.

Length: 218.43 miles / 349.5 km
Time to Allow: Allow about 8 hours to tour this Byway.

Driving Directions
There are five ports of entry into the Byway:

La Grande from I-84, Elgin via OR Hwy. 204, Enterprise via OR Hwy. 3, Oxbow via Idaho Hwy.71, and Baker City from I-84. To encompass the entire route, this itinerary follows the Byway traveling from La Grande to Baker City, but driving the route from any starting point and in either direction is just as appealing.

Herbert Hoover, 31st president of the United States, once said, "In no other land could a boy from a country village, without inheritance or influential friends look forward with unbounded hope." The country village he had in mind was probably West Branch, Iowa, where he was born in 1874 and lived until the age of 11. Or, it might have been Newberg, Oregon, where he lived from 1885 to 1889.

This tree is notable for its size, age and that it is not native to Oregon. Its location was a probable Indian camping and fishing ground where migrating salmon were abundant and accessible. It predates the arrival of settlers and may have sprouted from a cast-off nut.

It is located 12 miles northwest of present day Sutherlin, OR on State Highway 138 (milepost 12.36) adjacent to the southwest corner of Yellow Creek bridge.

Their menu varies monthly to provide farm fresh produce from the French Prairie. But, one thing you can always count on is our delicious homemade soups, sandwiches, salads, and desserts. Stop in for a slice a pie made with fresh local fruit, a Tillamook ice cream cone or a fresh fruit milkshake. Their friendly staff always does their best to make you feel right at home.

Length: 70 miles / 112.0 km
Time to Allow: Allow 3 to 5 hours minimum. However, many travelers take a few days to experience all the sights.

Driving Directions
In order to travel the Byway itself, follow the keystone signs from Troutdale east to Dodson and from Mosier east to The Dalles.

In the days of strip malls and big box stores, there is a place within the heart of Oregon wine country where the 1800s meets the 21st Century.

While in communities around Oregon historic downtowns are struggling, along East 3rd Street in McMinnville, the downtown isn’t just surviving, but flourishing.

I will admit it, I am addicted to technology.

If I’m not nose down in my smart phone, I am staring at a computer screen reading the latest news, blogs or Facebook status update. Don’t even get me started about my addition to football on TV.

So as you might imagine, I went into my stay at the Historic Union Hotel with some trepidation.

This division was organized for World War I in 1917 at Camp Greene, North Carolina and was demobilized at Camp Die, New Jersey in 1919. It was reorganized and Federally recognized at Portland, Oregon in 1930.

America's First Transcontinental Automobile Race

On June 23, 1909, a Ford automobile arrives in Seattle from New York City in 23 days flat, completing the first transcontinental automobile race across North America. This Model T Ford arrives first but is disqualified because the drivers changed the engine during the race. The winner (the second to arrive) is a Shawmut. The race is part of Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (A-Y-P).

Dr. Wilhelm Keil founded here a Christian co-operative colony patterned after his colony at Bethel, Missouri. Musicians of the settlement made it widely famous. After Dr. Keil's death in 1877 the communal enterprise was dissolved.

The prominent monolith across the river was named Beacon Rock by Lewis and Clark, November 2, 1805. It marked the beginning of tidewater for early river explorers who used it for a landmark in their journeys. The Indians say that when the Chinook Winds blow softly up the river one can hear the wailings of unhappy, beautiful Wahatpolitan, the Indian maid who climbed the rock and perished with her child, when given to a chief other than the one she loved.