June 22-29, 2018
The sights
TL;DR: Oregon is great. There’s nature, food, and lots and lots of beer. We did our best to try everything, with stops for views of Mount Hood whenever possible. Biking in the city is a definite art form, but when you earn the dessert in your basket, it’s worth it.
Elk Horn Brewery, Eugene
Biking in a city for the first time really tested the marriage.
But we got to Elk Horn, where the beers were good but the food was salty.
Ninkasi Brewery, Eugene
There were about four different buildings for Ninkasi, but we finally found the tasting room.
The tasting was very well done, with cards that indicated how bitter each beer was, when it was created, what you should pair it with, etc. (Shout-out to Rozzi for the rec!)
Mount Hood
Kept our distance from Mt. Hood, but it was gorgeous even from far away.
Trillium Lake, Mount Hood National Forest
Went to Trillium Lake on a Sunday and it was packed. Cars were lined up to the entrance with barely any room for Layla. But we squeezed by and got to the very front by the ramp. Got everything out for paddleboarding and were almost ready when these two older gentlemen in a golf cart told us we couldn’t park there—motorhomists!
We did, however, find a spot right down the drive. (Heh.) Paddleboarded out onto the lake with a beautiful view of Mount Hood. Saw maybe six or seven dead fish and some (live) salamanders. But it was a good spot for a beer and gorgeous view.
Mirror Lake, Mount Hood National Forest
Got up at 3:45 AM one morning and made our way to Mirror Lake to try and catch the sunrise.
Hiked up about 1.7 miles with tons of birds chirping in the pitch black morning.
Finally got up there and the stupid clouds were blocking Mount Hood.
Cool, cool, cool.
Pittock Mansion, Portland
Neat old building from the 1900s that set us up with the history of Portland. Didn’t realize Portland had to deal with so many floods and a wind storm that knocked out 50,000 houses in 1962.
Mount Tabor, Portland
Biked over the water from Washington Park and all the way to Mt. Tabor, which did not have the views we thought it would. But it was a really pretty park in the middle of the city. A highlight was when a lady twice our age (at least) passed us on her bike.
Nike Headquarters, Beavertown (just outside Portland)
Got a pretty sweet Nike World Headquarters tour with the global Footlocker GM, Jim Reynolds.
It was a lot bigger than we thought it would be: 12,000 people. All the buildings are named after athletes or people connected to Nike. Executive building reminded Bri of Star Wars.
Learned about Steve Prefontaine and his short life but lasting legacy.
And, of course, spent some time (and money) at the employee store.
Multnomah Falls, just outside Portland
Very tall. Very pretty. Very crowded.
Details, details, details
After dinner one night in Eugene, we biked back through the park and decided we needed a milkshake. So, because we were staying in the parking lot of a mall, we went to Red Robin and got mini milkshakes. Peak RV life.
Saw this guy on the way from Eugene to Portland, and now have new life goals.
A choice tree nursery sign outside Portland read, “I want to grow my own food, but can’t find the bacon seed.”
At Pip’s Doughnuts in Portland, you can get eight made-to-order mini donuts for $7, and all types of chai. We got cinnamon sugar, raw honey with sea salt, maple bacon (winner!), fresh raspberry, and one Nutella one for Jess (no tree nuts for Bri). Highly recommend.
In Portland on Division, we went to a solid vintage store called ReBelles and Bri got the first of likely many button-ups. Also scooped up some of these:
Also went to an incredible paper store called Little Otsu. You must go and buy all the notebooks.
Kaschka was an amazing Russian restaurant (thanks, Maya!) that we went to Friday night, and we happened to sit next to a rowdy Russian double date. They were loud, drunk, and very entertaining.
Also, eating cake in bed is underrated.
And then this happened…
The first night we went to find our spot outside Portland, we drove down the craziest, windiest road with confusing signs (“SLIDES”) and crazy turns. Got about an hour in to discover a closed gate. Had to turn around and backtrack.
Now we know
We called a Winnebago dealer about the drawer slide (yes, it’s still broken), and they sent us to a place called Maverick’s, who sold special RV drawer slides. In hindsight, we should have also gotten locks for the drawer.
Parking in Portland is not pleasant. Apparently they had a problem a few years ago with people abandoning their motorhomes all across the city—something like 4,000 in total. So you can’t park an RV anywhere. We did find out that you could park in Washington Park, which was on the top of a big hill on the west side of the city. So we biked in and out of there every day …and almost died every day (it was very steep).
Car washes are not allowed in most RV parks: At the one we stayed at in Portland (see below), you’d have to pay someone to come there to clean your RV for you, then pay the park $50 for the water.
The check engine light went off for the first time. Bri called three places about it and there were long waits everywhere. We got a diagnostic tool to figure it out ourselves and then it ended up going off the next day. Problem solved?
Apparently four-way intersections with no stop signs are a thing in Oregon.
Road food
Where we stayed
Nights one and two: Eugene
The two nights we were in Eugene, we stayed at the Valley River Center, a “super regional class mall.” They let you stay two nights for free and it was honestly wonderful.
It’s right next to the Willamette River, which has a bike/walking path that leads to a gorgeous rose garden on the way into town. There’s also 24/7 security, which is helpful when the local kids start doing wheelies in the parking lot.
GPS coordinates: 44.069619, -123.111645
Night three: Timberline Parkway, north of Government Camp in Mount Hood National Forest
Our original spot for this night didn’t pan out, but we did find one that had a great view of Mount Hood.
GPS coordinates: Unfortunately, we don’t have the exact coordinates for this spot, but we believe it was somewhere on West Leg Rd. Mayyyybe right here: 45.310240, -121.735945
It was also close to this sign:
Nights four-six: Muddy Fork, just outside Portland
In Portland, you have to get permission to park in any parking lot. And almost all of the park-and-rides are single spots (not pull-throughs). We thought we could maybe do an RV park for the week but they all had bad reviews (read: bikes being stolen). We considered staying at a state park but they were all too far away.
So we decided to go just inside Mount Hood National Forest, which was about an hour from Portland.
The first night, we got there around midnight and woke up to the beautiful river next to us.
The second night, we couldn’t find our spot from the night before and almost killed each other trying to find it (we both thought it was on opposite sides of the road). We did eventually make it.
The third night we stayed in the same spot as the second night, but this time we got out of the city before it got dark. Not only did we get a glimpse of Mt. Hood on the way out, but we saw a rainbow. And then another. Double. Rainbow.
GPS Coordinates: 45.382693, -121.874726
Night seven: Columbia River RV park
Our first RV park was along the Columbia River and had about 150 spots (which were all full), bathrooms, showers, and laundry. Was nice to hook up and not worry about water, or hear the pump when we used the water.
GPS coordinates: 45.599734, -122.652339
Night eight: Washington Park/Portland Zoo
When we explored/biked through Portland during the day, we parked along Kingston Drive in Washington Park. They allow you to stay for free one night (but apparently lock Kingston Drive after hours), so we parked at Parking Lot A in the Portland Zoo, which is also in Washington Park.
GPS coordinates: 45.509067, -122.718865
Just show me the pictures already
