Oregon Posts

The first time we visited Bend, in Summer, 2018, smoke from nearby wildfires blanketed the region through most of our visit. This time, wildfire smoke drove us to Bend when we canceled our Fall travel plans and found ourselves with nowhere to go.

7,700 years ago, Mount Mazama, one of several volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest, erupted violently and with enough destructive force that the 12,000 foot tall mountain collapsed in on itself.

Soon after we crossed the border from Washington into Oregon, we watched as our plans, as well as our sense of security, went up in smoke.

Upon escaping the Portland traffic vortex, we headed first for a quick two night stop in a tiny town that does Oktoberfest right, before heading for the coast, where we combined some sightseeing, hiking, and the devouring of cheese.

I want to thank everyone who reached out to me after my last post, both directly and by leaving comments on this blog.

We thought we were going to love Portland. And we did. But we also didn't. There were days we were enamored with our surroundings and others, well, we just weren't feeling it.

There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who appreciate the magic that is ketchup, and those who are wrong.