When we were in Seattle, living on the boat for a few days, I got this very creative phase. I don’t know if it was because the boat was gently rocking us into sleep or because we had a table to write, paint and draw. But I was suddenly into drawing trees.
PS: the wisdom is not from me, but copied from somebody else in the world wide web!
I found this book about the John Day Monument in a shop in Portland. It’s the work of Matt Sundstrom. I like the simple drawings and everything is explained in a few words. We had the book with us when we visited the Painted Hills. Great guide! Here are some more of his books about Oregon.
We are back home and already working again. I am always surprised how easily it is to get back to the same rhythm again. But things haven’t changed very much here and everything is familiar.
But not everything is the same. I feel a calmness inside me I have not felt for a long time. This has probably something to do with my PhD, where there was always a lot of pressure. And we have taken a lot of good memories back home that keep me happy and optimistic. Here are a few of my best moments of the trip:
Driving up the road to Hurricane Ridge at 7 in the morning. The sun was rising and we drove out of the fog and had this stunning view. In the far distance we could see some mountains from Vancouver Island above the clouds. Magical.
We had been driving along the Oregon Coast for half of the day when we arrived in Florence. After lunch we went further south and came to some sand dunes. We drove along these dunes for a while, but when they were never ending we decided to stop and climb them and have a look at the other side. What we found was a huge remote beach. I felt tiny.
One evening we meet my old Professors from Eugene. A long time I did not now if I should ask them to meet. But then I finally did and we had a very funny evening. We went for dinner and had dessert at home. While eating dessert and talking we were working on a jigsaw puzzle with no edge and 5 additional pieces. I am very glad I went back to meet them.
We are back in Portland and are spending our last days of this trip in the sun. We rented some bikes yesterday to see parts of the city we haven’t before. And we found a great place along Alberta Street. Small shops, art galleries and great food. In the evening we went to a whisky bar (Multnomah Whiskey Library). This was very much fun because the bartender was very patient suggesting us drinks we would like.
Tomorrow we are heading back home. See you all very soon!
When driving from Eastern Oregon back to Portland and passed a diversity of landscapes. First of all the Strawberry mountains, then Canyons with colorful rocks, a huge plateau with grasslands and windmills and in the end we came to the Colombia River Gorge. This is an impressive river by itself but additionally there are some picturesque waterfalls.
We spent one night in a tiny town called John Day. The two museums in town were closed so we had to go out of town to see things. The landscape around the town is amazing and the gorgeous Strawberry Mountains are located close by. Despite the cold (below 0 at night) we went for a hike into these mountains. It was freezing at first but we got warm when walking uphill. And then we came to this lovely lake called Strawberry lake. The water was frozen at the edge but it was warm in the sun.
This post wasn’t supposed to take so long! But I am not going to blame anyone or make bad excuses. Let’s just say life is not always fair… but here it is:
I had been locking forward to this moment for some time. And the sight of the first painted mountains was amazing. They are very unique. Unfortunately, shortly after we arrived, a park ranger came and said that the park is closed and we could not be there. But we realized that he does not really like to tell people to leave. He let us wander around in the park for a while because we had come such a long way. Thank you!
The different color layers are volcanic ash that has oxidated with time.
We have crossed another chain of mountains and are now in a town called Klamath Falls. The changes in vegetations are dramatic. We have come from rain forests to a Mediterranean mountains and are now entering Oregon’s dry side. It is also called Oregon’s Empty Quarter, because there are fewer people and also fewer tourists. But actually one third of Oregon is desert.
We have spent one rainy day in Eugene. It is good to come back to a place you have been before, when you are traveling. I start to feel tired going to a new place every day trying to figure out where to sleep, where to eat, where to go next,… Don’t get me wrong, all is still fine here and were are off to new adventures, but well I guess I look forward to go home, soon.
I met my Professor and a collaborator from my time at the university, and Mosby the cat. It was good to see these people after such a long time. There are so many little things you forget about people you haven’t seen for a long time.
Yesterday I tried to show Mr. K. Eugene. But I think he was a bit disappointed. Well there is not so much to see, I must admit. No offense, there are a few nice places, but not Eugene downtown. Finally, we went for a pice of cake to Sweet Life. I have waited 5 years for this moment. They still make the best cake!
It is autumn here. The leaves turn yellow and red and the temperature has dropped. In hope to get a last bit of summer, we drove all the way to Ashland today. This is in Southern Oregon at the Californian border. The vegetation has changed a lot, it’s drier and sunny. But the air is cold. From here we will cross the Cascade Mountains and go back to Portland through eastern Oregon. A burning desire of mine!
From Portland we have traveled down the Coast to Eugene. I just love this misty coast and we were really lucky with the weather. Two days full of sunshine! I have already been to part of the coast but these lovely endless dunes were new to me. And we had them to our own.
We have arrived in Eugene, where I spent four month working on my master thesis. This was 5 years ago. At lot is still the same. But we discovered some new cool places. Unfortunately the weather was a bit wet today, but it’s supposed to be nice tomorrow.
