We have just returned from a wonderful vacation in Oregon. What a road trip. I'll share a bit of the details here, and for more photos you can visit my Flickr.
One thing that is essential when on the road is choosing your pit stops well. One time when I drove from Santa Cruz, California to Vancouver , Canada I decided to stop mainly in college towns so that I would be assured of finding quality coffee, something that for me is not negotiable. I would pick the highway exit nearest to the campus and without fail discover a good café. On this latest trip we drove up Interstate 5 which presents more of a challenge. It's a trucker's route and as a result you can drive for many a mile without any commerce in sight, as well as having some very seedy towns along the way. We came to discover that it was a safe bet to stop when we saw a Starbucks sign on the roadside. As much as I prefer to go to a locally owned café, we found that Starbucks is a pretty good barometer for "safe" pit stops. If Starbucks won't locate in a given place it raises some red flags; they do have a reputation to protect. Let me make it clear that I am not a snob. When I say "seedy" that can translate as dangerous and creepy (and I'm an urban girl, so you know it's bad, like Texas Chainsaw Massacre bad).
Common Grounds is a sweet café that we stopped at in Willows, California:
Further north we stopped in Dunsmuir, California. It is a train town of 2000 people at the southern foot of Mount Shasta. Their claim to fame is that they have the best, cleanest water in the nation, and in abundance. There are fountains springing up all around town. The water comes from Mount Shasta and doesn't see the light of day until it comes out of the tap, and tastes great.
Another claim to fame for the town is that in 1924 Babe Ruth played at their little stadium. Here are photos of the stands, including Marcel and Richard:
We drove on, to Corvallis, Oregon, where Oregon State University is located; population 52,000. We rented a vacation house, Brooklane Cottage, on a little piece of country property that has fresh eggs from the resident chickens and apple trees surrounding it. There are lovely parks and open spaces nearby, as well as a natural food Co-op that carries all of the essentials plus plenty of prepared foods if you don't feel like cooking. The cottage kitchen is fully functional so you can make your own meals if you like, including home made apple pie!
We went to the northern edge of the city where there were some great hiking trails. I really enjoyed the landscape and the serenity...
There were soooo many berries, I ate my way to the top of the hill and back down again!
One of my most favorite treats of the drive was coming upon this incredible dragon sculpture on the side of the road (heading north on Interstate 5, it is on the east side of the highway just north of Yreka, California). It's by artist Ralph Starritt and is made from scrap metal like mufflers, pipes, and corrugated sheet metal...
Click on the photos for a larger view.
Something that I really appreciated on the vacation was the quality of the air in Oregon. So much cleaner and fresher. Now we're back to the Silicon Valley grime, looking forward to returning north sometime soon.
Next I'll be posting all of my great thrift shop finds from the trip!
