USA Travel Ideas

The area around Prospect, Oregon is beautiful–it's on the Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway, which is often called the "Highway of Waterfalls." When my wife and I camped at Prospect RV Park, we found pretty Pearsony Falls–plus two taller falls, within about a mile of our campground, and more nearby. Read the rest of this entry »

Many waterfalls grace the spectacular Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area in northern Oregon, but few rival little-known Latourell Falls in Guy W. Talbot State Park. Read the rest of this entry »

If you want to experience the Oregon coast but are pressed for time, head for the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. Read the rest of this entry »

As a military family, my husband, John, and I have lived and traveled all over. But we've never eaten anywhere like Gunderson's Cannery Cafe on the waterfront in Astoria, Oregon. Read the rest of this entry »

Forget the Indy 500. The wildest auto race on the planet takes place every summer in Tillamook, Oregon, where daring drivers race "stripped" Model T's while hugging live pigs!

Pig-N-Ford races have been held for over 40 years and often attract standing-room-only crowds to the Tillamook County Fair grandstand. Read the rest of this entry »

Wallowa Lake is known as the crown jewel of northeastern Oregon, so naturally, camping at Wallowa Lake State Park is a royal treat.

This park is nestled on the southern shore of Wallowa Lake, among the Wallowa Mountains. The area is often called the "Switzerland of Oregon" because it looks a lot like the Swiss Alps. Read the rest of this entry »

The dredges that once mined gold out West typically aren't open to the public. So my husband, Larry, and I jumped at a chance to board one of the biggest ever made–the venerable 1,240-ton Sumpter Valley Dredge (above) outside scenic Sumpter, Oregon. Read the rest of this entry »

Nestled in an old-growth forest in the far northwestern corner of Oregon stands the world's tallest Sitka spruce tree–a 216-foot-tall specimen.

The giant's trunk is 56 feet in circumference, and its crown spreads 93 feet. Believed to be about 750 years old, the tree is located in 10-acre Klootchy Creek County Park. Read the rest of this entry »

To mark the bicentennial of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's famed journey west, my husband, Larry, and I visited Fort Clatsop outside Astoria, Oregon to see where the Corps of Discovery spent the winter of 1805-'06. Read the rest of this entry »

My husband, Bill, is a former military pilot, so we always stop at airplane museums when we travel. On a recent trip to Oregon, we discovered the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville.

One of its star attractions is the legendary Spruce Goose, the huge wooden military cargo plane designed and built in 1947 by the Hughes Aircraft Company, owned by the late reclusive millionaire Howard Hughes. Read the rest of this entry »

Toketee Falls in southwestern Oregon ranks among the state's most gorgeous waterfalls. Given the sheer number of falls here, that's high praise, indeed! Read the rest of this entry »