In mid-June 2018, we took a two-week vacation trip to the Northern and Western edges of Oregon.  On the way home from our 2017 trip to Redwoods and Crater Lake, we compiled a list of places and attractions in Oregon that merited a return visit, and on this trip we were able to complete some of those visits.

To see more photos from this trip, please visit the Oregon 2018-06 location gallery here.  Click on any image below to see a larger version.

First on our “bucket list” was the Columbia River Gorge. 

The “Mighty Columbia” has carved a ninety mile long steep-sided gorge that separates the states of Oregon and Washington.  On the Oregon side, the basalt rock walls are quite vertical with impressively tall waterfalls.  We were able to visit several of them, but there were several others that were not yet accessible due to the continuing clean-up efforts following the Eagle Creek fire in September-November 2017.

During our travels along the river, we stopped to watch the kiteboarders and wind surfers taking advantage of the strong winds through the Gorge.  These athletes were doing amazing feats and making it look easy.

We also spent some time in the City of Portland.  One of the sights there was the huge craft fair known as Saturday Market (which actually is held on both Saturday and Sunday).   This fair attracts hundreds of vendors and thousands of customers every weekend.   The original architecture along the Willamette River was constructed of cast iron to withstand river flooding.

We also visited the Lan Su Chinese Garden, which is a Zen-like island of tranquility in the heart of the city.

Our final destination in Portland was the International Test Rose Garden.   Although there are literally thousands of bushes and millions of blossoms, the Father’s Day crowds did not lend themselves to wide-angle scenics.  Instead, I focused on close-up photos of individual blooms.  Many of the flowers are almost structural when viewed from a few inches away.

Our final destination on this trip was the Oregon Coast.  The coastal sea stacks are quite different from the bluffs and buttes of Utah, although the same types of erosional forces are responsible for both.

We were able to cross several items off of our Oregon bucket list, but there are still more places to see.  We’ll be back. 

To see more photos from this trip, please visit the Oregon 2018-06 gallery here.   As always, I would appreciate your adding a comment in the section below.