Oregon - The Good Part

From Colorado, Theresa and I headed to Oregon for a little sight seeing and catching up with friends before Cycle Oregon started. We had 5 days to see as much of Oregon as we could, and did we ever! I don't particularly like whirlwind sightseeing, but there was so much we wanted to do and 5 days was all we had before the riding started.

We actually started off in Washington. Family friends Dave and Liz Lincoln recently moved from VA to White Salmon, WA (or at least took up a secondary residence you might say). White Salmon is just across the Columbia River from Hood River, OR and is located in "The Gorge." It is an outdoor person's playground. Tired from a plane ride, time change, and a flat tire incident with the rental car in Portland, we arrived at the Lincoln's around 9:15pm on a Tuesday night. Liz started pouring the wine and she and Dave got out the maps of the area and brochures on every fun thing you could possibly want to do. Liz asked if we had any reservations or plans for the the next day, to which we said "No." Before we knew it, she was on the phone to the white water rafting outfitter, Zollers, and we were booked on a 9am rafting trip down the White Salmon river - class 3 and 4 rapids.

What a trip! It was awesome! Excellent guides, a couple of raft-mates who were vacationing from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa and live right next to my old high school, and a just an all around fun time rafting down the river that included a 14 ft. drop over a waterfall. I wish I'd been able to take my camera a long, but it's safe to say it would not have survived the deluge of water in the raft.

After refueling, Theresa and I drove out to Mt. Hood for some up close pictures and hit a few wineries. Then Dave took us for a sail out on the Columbia River that evening as the sun was setting. It was fantastic! It was great to get a view of the area from the water and it was so relaxing to just sit on the boat and sail.

The next day we did a brief hike up Dog Mountain - a straight up climb - and then started the drive toward the coast, stopping briefly at the Bonneville Dam along the way to see the fish ladder.

Next up was Lincoln City, OR - the home of Theresa's friend Sandy. She too was an awesome hostess, taking us out to watch the sunset over the Pacific Ocean, setting us up in her sister's incredible beach house for the night, and then navigating us down the central coast of Oregon to catch some spectacular scenery as we made our way south toward Medford for Cycle Oregon.

Along our drive, we stopped at the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area for a dune buggy ride. It was so much fun! The dunes stretch 62 miles along the coast and are 7 miles wide. It is an immense area of sand, like nothing I'd ever seen before. Theresa, the adrenaline junkie, informed our driver that she wanted him to drive it like a roller coaster and that he did. Top speeds, on the side of dunes, quick turns, I was sure we were going to flip over, but thankfully we remained upright. I am still trying to rid myself of all the sand though!

Before the riding began, Theresa and I made a quick trip out to Crater Lake, determined not to miss it when we were so close! I wish I could have spent an entire day there, hiking and swimming but we just didn't have the time, so we settled for a couple hours driving the rim. It was indeed spectacular.