Oregon (May, 2017)
- Lyn
- May 15, 2017
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 3, 2018
The city of Bend in Oregon is full of lakes, lengthy highways, and long hikes. When we originally planned to go to Oregon (the birth state of Tony - he never lets anyone forget), our geography was terrible and we looked at heading to Oregon the 'city' instead of the state. It wasn't until we were knee-deep into our research and at maximum confusion as to why nothing really made sense that we realised Oregon was not a city...we ended up in Bend (instead of Portland) because we were enamoured by the beautiful pictures of 'outdoor Oregon' on Instagram and Pinterest.
Bend did not disappoint.
It was one of the most stunning and untouched cities we visited in the U.S. Our accommodation (Sunriver Resort in Sunriver) was an absolute dream. Surrounded by nothing but green grass and blue skies, our expansive wooden lodging offered peace and quiet very unlike the rest of our trip.
The first day we arrived in Oregon, it was mid-afternoon and it actually snowed...it was so beautiful. We were all jet-lagged from our 6am flight so we just went grocery shopping and relaxed at home...the lodge was everything you could have hoped for in a quiet, unassuming place like Sunriver.
Day 1 - We were up at 3am to try and catch a sunrise on top of a mountain, but the route we wanted to take was blocked by snow, so we ended up watching the sunrise on a secluded highway in the middle of nowhere. It literally bled fairy floss colours across the sky the entire sunrise. It felt so surreal being out there, so untouched by light pollution.
We drove up to the top of Crater Lake to catch the view and to hike, but the snowfall was too crazy deep to do much else other than park our car and take photos. The view made up for the missed hike though. Crater Lake is incredible. The thick layer of snow made our surrounding completely noise cancelling, so it felt like we were the only ones in the world at that moment (except for the family who were there before us who had set up a massive tripod to take a wide panoramic shot but we didn't realise until it was too late and we had already walked back and forth across their equipment a few hundred times collectively - so so sorry!).
The sequential visit to Diamond Lake was still awe-inspiring, although it was not at Crater Lake's level of beauty. We had ducks swim around us in the lake and pretty much the entire view to ourselves.
Oregon is beautiful.
We drove a short distance to Toketee Falls (pronounced tokeh-tee - we were asking the gas station attendant where toe-kee-tee falls was, and he had no clue what we were saying), where we were met with a nice but bland waterfall. I probably wouldn't go there again. Most waterfalls leave me feeling a sense of wonder and inspiration, but this one fell way short. The little walk through the greenery there was therapeutic though. Again, this feeling of purity. I kept thinking about leeches (it was damp that day), but that didn't deter me from the beauty of the path.
Day 2 - We set out early to check Umpqua Hot Springs, a natural hot pool area nestled on a mineral deposit above the North Umpqua Lake. It was a bit of a trek and a lot of guesswork, and when we arrived, we saw that it was pretty much a place for nudists . Tony and Lavender braved the waters (in their swimsuits) and agreed that it was a good experience but the algae at their feet were quite distracting.
We then drove a few hours away in an attempt to walk the McKenzie River Trail in hope of reaching the Tamolitch Blue Pool in the end, but somehow, through all the map-reading and online directions and signboards and consultations with each other, we went the wrong way and ended up at Sahalie Falls. I was quite disappointed because I really wanted to see the Blue Pool (Pinterest really got my hopes up)...but Sahalie was actually so beautiful. It was a raging river that continuously produced a rainbow mist due to its sheer force against the rocks. The hike itself was not hard, but it was long, and it took us a while to run into another group who then laughed at our question about where Tamolitch Blue Pool was, and told us that it was, in fact, in the opposite direction. Cue the long hike back to the carpark.
By this time, we were like, let's just go get lunch. Off we went on a 3 hour road trip to Portland to get our hands on some bbq meat and doughnuts.
Podnah's Pit had some serious meat dishes on their menu. We all ordered a meal each, and then realised we should have shared as the portions were huge. I'm personally not a lover of chunky meat dishes either. But the chicken was good.
To finish off our Oregon leg, we ended up at Voodoo Doughnuts in downtown Portland. The shop itself is an extravaganza of pink walls, whacky decorations and a revolving display cabinet with layers of delectable looking doughnuts. We got some jam-filled voodoo doll doughnuts, a fruitloop doughnut, an original, and I can't remember what the last one was.
Oregon is easily my favourite state in the U.S that I've visited, and I've only seen a fraction of what it has to offer. Can't wait to go back!
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