Wildlife in Oregon?

Our National Parks trips are typically filled with spectacular views and a plethora of wildlife.  We drove almost 1500 miles in Oregon and had few animal sightings.  I thought I would give an account of the animals and weather we encountered during this adventure.

We had rain, hail, clouds, sun, wind, blowing sand, desert climate and snow patches to play in.  Portland and Bend were having a slight heat wave while we were there.  Most homes do not have air conditioning, so temperatures continually in the 90's encourage folks to sit on the porch, the roof or go to the local park.  

Snow in July...shorts and sandals!

One thing we saw in abundance were cyclist.  Not just a day trip, but folks making long distance journeys loaded with gear. We even saw a couple cycling with their small dog! Oregon is not flat, but it is bicycle friendly. It is also especially accommodating for the pedestrian.  It wasn't unusual for cars to stop even if you weren't in a crosswalk.

Our house in Bend had bikes we could ride around town!

Finding wildlife was challenging.  We saw Clark's Nutcracker which is a very noisy bird. We saw a lot of chipmunks and ground squirrels.  Since Berry has a plethora of deer, we don't find that noteworthy - but we did see a few. We went in two caves, and never spied a bat! At the end of the trip we passed a field with elk.

The people of Oregon love big dogs! Huskies are a popular breed.  We found huge mosquitoes, mayflies and fish at Crater Lake.  Arriving on the coast we explored the beaches and enjoyed the tide pools.  Dogs were prevalent on the beach, and we encountered two women riding horses near the Pacific shore.

The water at Crater Lake was so blue and clear!
We saw fish, but none in this picture

Beauty on the beach

I guess no beach is complete without a seagull.

Tide pools are my favorite

Oregon Adventure

2014 marks the 7th National Parks trip we have made with our neighbors.  This trip was #nobleswilliamstrip and was tweeted and instagrammed as we traveled.  The history goes like this:
2002 - Grand Canyon, Zion & Bryce
2004 - Pacific Northwest: Olympic National Park, Mt. Rainier & Seattle
2006 - Glacier, Yellowstone & Grand Tetons.  This was Aaron's "senior trip".  This became the new norm.  The graduating senior chooses the location and we plan accordingly.
2008 - New England:  Acadia, Vermont, New Hampshire & Boston.  Alyssa
2010 - California: Redwoods, Lassen, Yosemite & San Francisco. Emily
2012 - Colorado: Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado Springs, Boulder & Denver. Carrie
2014 - Oregon: Newberry Volcanic National Monument, John Day Fossil Beds, Crater Lake, Oregon Caves, Oregon Dunes on the coast, Bend & Portland. Brandon

Oregon has only one National Park - Crater Lake. It has a short season, thus our trip started on July 7.  Our goals on these trips is to enjoy Creation, learn about our beautiful country and see new places. Since 2008 there have only been 9 in our traveling party.  Aaron didn't go in 08 and 10, Emily didn't go in 12 and 14. It can be challenging to journey with nine or ten people, but we manage to have fun and not kill anyone.  Galatians 5:22-23 was presented to the Nobles clan before the trip began, but we still struggled in our demonstration of the fruit of the spirit.

Landed in Portland

Evening swim

12 passenger van is our magic school bus

 The Williams pastor at Westminster Presbyterian moved to Rome last year from Portland.  The Lund's were visiting their new granddaughter and we visited them before we set off on the Oregon trail!

Getting directions and trip tips from the Lund's.

Lunch at Cobra Dogs in Government Camp near Mt. Hood

Side trip to the base of Mount Hood and Timberline Lodge

Snow in July - Mt. Hood

Sandal of choice is Chaco, even in the snow!

Cooking dinner in Bend Oregon, VRBO Milky Way

Stephen and Beth

Lava Butte south of Bend.

Lava fields

Picnic lunch at Newberry Volcanic National Monument

Upper Falls at Newberry

Paulina Lake was cool and clear

Stay and Eat - Oregon

Sunset over the Deschutes River in Bend

Our 12 days in the state or Oregon started and ended at PDX.  We flew non stop from ATL on Alaska Air, and though airfare was high, we were impressed with the airline.  Once on the ground in Portland we took a shuttle to Fairfield Inn near the airport.  The room was small, but they did allow a roll away bed to make Alyssa's first night more comfy than sleeping on the floor. Michael Smith, a Berry grad who lives in Portland came to the hotel the next morning to take Randy and Stephen to get our rental van.  More on Michael later!

We don't camp, so traveling with 9 people is expensive.  Whenever possible we rent through VRBO and enjoy the spaciousness of a house.  On this trip we had two houses, one in Bend and the other in Bandon on the coast. Homes give us space, the opportunity to cook and do laundry.  That may not seem like fun on a vacation, but we enjoy the experience of a vacation rental.

House in Bend

TV and WiFi is always a plus!

Aaron and Brandon enjoy the hot tub

The house in Bend was new and furnished by IKEA!  There were 4 bikes that we could ride around town, plus our house was not far from downtown.

The sunsets in Drake Park were the best.

Always great to enjoy a local coffee shop!

We love to stay in the National Park Lodges but it isn't always feasible.  This trip we spent three nights in lodges.  Crater Lake is in a remote area of southern Oregon and beautiful.  The lodge has lovely views of the Lake, superb food and lots of history.  Warning - staying and eating in a National Park is NOT cheap!  I save, save, save to enjoy a few meals in a NP lodge.

Crater Lake Lodge was built in 1915

Our group of nine enjoyed a variety of foods at Crater Lake Lodge: lamb chops, bison, steak, chicken, clam chowder, duck and some tasty desserts! We also ate breakfast at the lodge and loved the Marionberry syrup and jam.

Bison Meatloaf - yummy

The lobby provides a place for Skip Bo and chatting with other travelers.

Dinner at the lodge!

Crater Lake is all about the view and I have plenty of pictures that I will post later, but here is one to give you a glimpse.

A volcano from 7700 years ago created this beautiful scene.

Our next stop was Oregon Caves, which is a National Monument that was established in 1909.  The lodge was built in 1934.  This was such a pleasant surprise as we didn't know what to expect. There was no TV, no WiFi, no cell service and we loved it!  It was a the end of a 20 mile road and we arrived during the final game of the World Cup when they were in penalty kicks.  If you know our family, soccer is a big deal!  We still loved this location and lodge.  We took the 90 minute cave tour which was awesome and I would highly recommend it.

The Chateau at Oregon Caves

Brandon and Beth at the main entrance of the lodge

Carrie at the piano

Our comfortable bed

Time for games in the girls room.
We had a family suite, which was two rooms sharing a bath.

Fancy salad that was delicious

Old phone between our rooms

Old fashioned diner. The kids all had thick milkshakes with their breakfast!

Relaxing in the lobby

House in Bandon, Oregon. 

Binoculars and a telescope gave us a super close view of the beach.

Kitchen was adequate for all our needs.
We grilled out twice at this house.

Our house was across the street from the beach!
We explored tidal pools, caves and sea stacks.

We love ice cream!
 Face Rock Creamery provided huge portions for an amazing price.

No trip to Portland is complete without experiencing doughnuts, food trucks and Powell's bookstore. 

Open 24/7 and there was a line to get in. 

Many options at 50th and Division Food Trucks.
I had Mexican, Alyssa had Vietnamese, others had Fish and Chips.

Our last night was at the Staybridge Suites near the airport.  The accommodations were nice, the continental breakfast was satisfactory.  We flew home with no glitches while the Williams waited to take Amtrak and will arrive home 5 days later!