Inspiring travel stories, tips, and guides from a couple exploring the world one destination at a time.
Last Updated: June 20, 2026
From Bend, Oregon, we headed northwest toward Mount Hood and then on to Troutdale along the Columbia River Gorge — one of the most dramatic stretches of scenery in the entire Pacific Northwest. The gorge cuts through the Cascade Range for over 80 miles, its walls rising up to 4,000 feet, and the Oregon side alone is home to more than 70 named waterfalls. We only had time for a handful, but they were unforgettable.
Last Updated: June 20, 2026
Crater Lake National Park is simply breathtaking. The north entrance and most of the hiking trails were still closed under snow, but we came anyway. We left the wineries of the Willamette Valley and headed for the mountains — and Oregon’s volcanic heart.
Last Updated: June 20, 2026
Willamette Valley wine country was a couple of hours’ drive southeast of Astoria — and after a month of cold, wet Oregon coast weather, it was glorious to see acres of grapevines and sunshine again. The valley is home to some of the finest Pinot Noir wineries in the United States, with over 700 wineries concentrated in and around Dundee, Newberg, and McMinnville.
Last Updated: June 20, 2026
Astoria is in the northwestern corner of Oregon, where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. It’s also where the Lewis and Clark expedition spent a long and cold winter in 1805–1806 before returning east. After a month of cold, wet spring weather on the Oregon Coast, we had a pretty good sense of what they endured.
Last Updated: June 20, 2026
Gold Beach was our first stop in Oregon after leaving the Redwoods in northern California. We were looking forward to a rugged coastline with sea stacks — those dramatic pillars and arches of rock that rise from the surf — and the Oregon coast delivered beyond our expectations.
