After Portland we took the drive north and checked out Mount St. Helens, then headed back over to the coast for more ocean time. We took the long drive up the coast and into Olympic National Park, checked out some pretty impressive moss-covered trees, and checked out the unique driftwood covered beaches. Definitely a beautiful part of the world!
Our end of summer trip this year was a journey along the Oregon Trail (sort of). We took the drive through Spokane to the Columbia River gorge and all the way to Portland. We stopped at one of the massive dams along the river and checked out a fish hatchery with some massive sturgeon. After a night in Portland, we hit the ocean, checked out Tillamook where they make some fantastic cheese, ate at the stand where they invented the corndog, and saw some pretty impressive rock features in the Pacific Ocean. Oregon is definitely a beautiful place!
Finished off Portland with The Killers concert!
I'd been wanting to try out the Route of the Hiawatha bike trail for a while, so when the Millers opted in, we headed up to Lookout Pass and checked it out. The trail follows an old railway line through the mountains, literally. The first tunnel was around 1.6 miles long, so it was definitely an experience in the cold, wet dark. Otherwise, the trail was pretty smooth and easy going.
