Oregon & Washington State

Dear NEXT TRAVELER to Portland, Oregon & Washington!
Highlights/Recommendations:
Oregon:
1. Downtown Portland:
Powell City of Books
Voodoo Donuts
2. Portland Oregon LDS Temple
3. The Grotto
4. Twilight Fans – Bella Swan House

Washington:
1. Mt. St. Helen’s
2. Seattle Washington LDS Temple
3. Pike Place Market
4. Starbucks (original location)
5. Washington State Ferry
6. Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park
7. Ruby Beach
8. Twilight Fans – Forks, La Push Beach

One of my best friends of over 30 years is a flight attendant and had a few days off and asked me if I wanted to go on an adventure with her. Neither of us had been to the state of Oregon and we spent 36 hours flying from Memphis, Tennessee to Porland, Oregon and exploring the northwest side of Oregon and road tripping to the northwest side of Washington. It was a whirlwind 3 days but we saw some amazingly beautiful places and had some crazy adventures and tender mercies along the way.

We left Memphis, Tennessee airport and flew a red-eye flight into Portland, Oregon. It was after midnight when we landed and even though we were tired, we immediately fell in love with the Portland Oregon airport. The interior ceiling was covered in beautiful wooden beams. Gorgeous! We are both tree lovers and if they aren’t still growing in nature, we love to see them used in beautiful applications. This was! We picked up our rental car and headed straight to the hotel – Holiday Inn Express & Suites Portland – Jantzen Beach. The beds were super comfy, but might have been softer than normal because we were so tired and ready to crash! Either way, it was a good night’s sleep.

We were out the door pretty early the next morning after a filling breakfast at the hotel. Our travel itinerary was full and we were hoping to check off a lot of places. Our first stop was the Portland Oregon LDS Temple in Lake Oswego. It was tucked away in a business area and behind towering Douglas fir trees and we didn’t even see the Temple at first. Once we pulled into the parking lot we could see the beauty of the white Vermont marble. It was exquisite! The temple is 181 feet tall with 6 stunning spires. The beautiful tulips of all varieties were planted along the temple grounds. Such a special place! The temple was dedicated in 1989 by Gordon B. Hinckley.

We picked up some snacks, lots of Diet Dr. Pepper and Diet Coke and some ice in an insulated wet/dry bag (this detail matters later) from Fred Meyer and headed to The Grotto. The Grotto is a Catholic outdoor shrine. We were actually traveling during Easter week and thought it would be an added bonus to visit a place dedicated to Christ. The parking lot at the Grotto is full of more enormous Douglas fir trees and as soon as you leave your car, you notice a cooler outdoor temperature. You could feel the tranquility and peace of the area. We walked the Stations of the Cross and loved feeling closer to our Savior during our visit. We were there 45 minutes and only visited the Lower Gardens and the gift store but highly recommend taking the time and paying the cost to see and experience the Upper Gardens!

Our next stop was in downtown Portland at Powell City of Books. We had read that Powell Books is the largest bookstore in the world. It is 4 stories in an entire city block in downtown Portland. It was incredible! Not only did it have every book you could ever want but it was so well organized by genre in categorized rooms. They also had a wonderful selection of postcards, travel stickers and other souvenirs. We stayed about 45 minutes but could see how an entire day could be spent there. We street parked and paid the meter and had no problems walking a block or so to our car.

We were getting hungry and headed to Voodoo Donuts at their original location – Old Town – 22 SW 3rd Avenue. We had heard they had quite an extensive variety of doughnuts. We were not disappointed. We parked in the alley next to the store. There was a security guard at the front door and he was only letting in one group at a time. We wondered why a security guard and limited entrance to the store was necessary. We didn’t feel unsafe and after just a short wait, we loaded up on several varieties of donuts. The maple bacon donut was my favorite and Karen loved the snickers one.

Since we were going to be in the area of several locations related to the Twilight book & movie series, we felt we should stop at a few of the locations as we were going by them. The actual house that was used for Bella Swan and her dad is located in St. Helens, OR. There were signs asking for twilight fans to park at the bottom of the drive and walk up to the house. It wasn’t a far walk but was uphill. It was interesting to see the difference of how the house is portrayed in the movies and the actual reality. In the movie, it seems like the house is off of a long road and slightly remote, but the house is actually located in a neighborhood. We noticed the house is available for rent. We snapped a couple pictures and checked it off our list.

We crossed into the state of Washington.

Our next stop was Castle Rock. We were looking for a large boulder. We arrived at the address and the only thing we saw was a beautiful river. We were a little disappointed but decided we must have misunderstood something and took a picture of the beautiful river and wished we had kayaks to paddle and enjoy it. We were getting hungry and decided to stop at a Subway and grab a sandwich before our next big adventure – Mt. St. Helens! When we got back in the car the warning light was on indicating low tire pressure. I didn’t think it was too big of a deal and was happy we were in a small town and it didn’t take very long to find a gas station with air to inflate the tire. We started the drive up to Mt. St. Helens and I saw a souvenir shop, Mt. St. Helens Gifts as one of the last places before the long drive. I quickly asked Karen if she wanted to stop and buy some souvenirs and before she could fully respond, I whipped into the parking lot, surprising both of us. As soon as I opened the car door, I heard a hissing noise coming from the tire that I had just aired up. I knew that was not good. Karen went inside to look around and I got on the phone with the rental car agency. They kindly suggested we could exchange the car at another location, but I looked and it was over an hour away. I knew the tire would never make it. The next option was to have Roadside Assistance come and repair the tire. I knew both of those options were going to involve several hours and more time than we could spare. I asked if it was an option to repair the tire at a local auto stop. They indicated I could do that and I could be reimbursed for the expense. The super kind owner at Mt. St. Helens Gifts suggested an auto repair place that was conveniently less than a mile away. We bought our souvenirs and made our way to Castle Rock Auto Care. The kindest lady at the front desk said they would be able to help us and within 30 minutes – Miguel had the tire repaired and we were back on our way to Mt. St. Helens. If you are EVER in need in Castle Rock, Oregon, you couldn’t find a friendlier town to help you on your way. We were so grateful.

The drive up to Mt. St. Helens is long and we were very often the only ones on the road. We also lost phone service for most of the drive. We couldn’t help but think the castle rock landmark we missed helped detour us, so we found the tire leak and had it repaired before we were isolated and not able to receive the auto services we would need. We felt VERY blessed! We knew it was a tender mercy. Although the drive is long, it is beautiful. Absolutely beautiful! During the drive up, we passed by an area with the most amazing trees. I ended up calling them the “Bob Ross trees.” The trunks and bark were perfectly straight and such a bright white color and were contrasted by elongated, elegant branches with the most perfect shades of green. It looked like they were just painted to be there. It was breath-taking.
When we visited, the Visitors Center was closed. We stopped anyway and took a couple of pictures at the lookout. They were pretty and it was amazing to see a volcano mountain that was active almost 45 years before. But, we knew we wanted to get closer. The lady at the souvenir shop suggested the Coldwater Lake lookout and that was our target. She wasn’t wrong. The view was beautiful. My favorite lookout was Elk Lake Viewpoint. I loved seeing the volcano mountain framed with the green trees and the crystal blue lake just in front of it. It was a beautiful place! We also stopped at a bridge overlook and heard some elk grunting and breaking trees in the woods. We didn’t know the sounds were coming from elk at the time and thought it might be the Sasquatch. The sasquatch stories are very prevalent in the area. It was exciting as we ran back to the car before Bigfoot could grab us. Lots of bigfoot souvenirs where we stopped.

Mt. St. Helens. Such beauty even knowing how deadly and destructive it can be. The day it last erupted was Karens 5th birthday. She has always been fascinated with the volcano mountain and it was her top place to visit during this trip. It did not disappoint. Because Mt. St. Helens in a glacier, it is always covered in snow. The contrast of the snow-covered mountain surrounded by all of the green trees made for exceptional scenery. We read about the last eruption and the damage with it and the lives that were lost. We were so sad for the area and were amazed at the tenacity and survival of the local people, animals and how nature had rebuilt. Amazing stop! We left the mountain and headed north to Seattle, Washington.

On our drive to the hotel we stopped at the Seattle Washington LDS temple in Bellevue, Washington. I had been wanting to get a good picture of the pink cherry blossom trees but hadn’t been able to make it happen. When we pulled into the drive of the temple we saw that it was lined with gorgeous cherry blossom trees that were in full bloom. We arrived at dusk and the pink blossoms against the darkening sky made for such a beautiful picture. I felt blessed again. We couldn’t believe the height and overall size of the temple, it was huge. It’s 179 feet high. The back of the temple had a curved wall that I’m sure has been used for many youth group pictures. The temple was dedicated in 1980 by Spencer W. Kimball.

We pulled into the Kimpton Hotel in the heart of downtown Seattle and started getting our things out. I noticed behind the driver’s seat, the passenger floorboard was wet. I moved some things around and realized the ice bag with our drinks had melted and leaked. There was a huge puddle. The valet immediately realized there was a problem. Tender mercy – we chose to stay at a nicer hotel that had services available and they quickly got us a steamer machine that also removed water and in less than 20 minutes the puddle of water was gone. The amazing valet also agreed to park the car in a place where the back window could be left slightly open and the floorboard would continue to dry. It had been a wonderful but long day and we were more than happy to crash into our beds at the Kimpton. The beds were comfy, the rooms spacious with heavily-lined black out curtains and we had a great view of the downtown streets of Seattle.

The next morning we checked out of the hotel and headed to Starbucks and Pike Place Market. We saw several available street parking places and decided to use that option since we were only planning to be at the market a couple of hours. Pike Place Market parking typically costs $15 for 3 hours but if you arrive by 9 am you can park all day for $15.

My daughter is a huge Starbucks fan and loves their mixed lemonades. I was excited to make it to the original location so I could get her some unique souvenirs. There is often a line outside to get into the shop and we were fortunate enough to get there early so we didn’t have to wait. Inside you can either get in the line to order food and drinks or the line to buy souvenirs. It’s a well-oiled machine where the lines move fast with a really quaint atmosphere.

Pike Place Market did not disappoint. It is located on the waterfront of the Puget Sound. Make sure to go to the back of the market and take pictures of the harbor, the Cascade and Olympic Mountain Ranges, the Seattle Great Wheel (ferris wheel), and the Space Needle. The view of Mount Rainier is stunning. You can also watch the different ferry services from Seattle to Bainbridge Island, Bremerton and even Victoria, British Columbia. There is so much to see at Pike Place Market. There are food vendors, flower stands, artwork, jewelry & clothing dealers, and probably any other item you could think to purchase.

A great place to visit was Pike Place Fish Market. This is the world famous seafood market where they throw fish. The practice of throwing fish was started in the 1980s when the former owner wanted to quickly get the purchased fish from the display area to the employee behind the counter who would be wrapping it. All of the employees chant and shout as the fish is being purchased and thrown. It’s fun to watch and worth sticking around the front of the store to see it. You can buy wild salmon, halibut, king crab and even caviar. They offer overnight shipping to anywhere in the United States. We didn’t buy any fish but we did buy some seasoning. It was a great atmosphere and certainly a highlight of the Market area.

We left the market and took the Washington State Ferry to Bainbridge Island. The ferry lines operate continuously throughout the day and the process of driving your car onto and off the ferry is well supervised and a smooth process. We entered the Seattle Ferry Terminal line up area and waited about 30 minutes to drive onto the Kaleetan Ferry. Within 15 minutes we were pulling away from the dock and had beautiful views of Seattle from the water. There’s a large indoor area on the ferry where people were looking at the water and scenery and several families were putting puzzles together. It was a 30-minute ferry ride. We pulled into the harbor and drove off onto Bainbridge Island.

As we were making our way from Bainbridge Island to Forks, Washington we drove on the Hood Canal Floating Bridge. This bridge has a drawbridge section and as we were pulling onto the bridge, traffic stopped and we saw a large fishing vessel in the water. We watched it pass through the drawbridge and also noticed what looked like a navy boat with large guns on each side of the boat. The drawbridge didn’t lower and we continued to wait. In just a few minutes we saw a submarine coming toward the bridge and noticed another navy boat with large guns on the other side. We found out later that the navy submarine we saw was the USS Jimmy Carter, only one of three Sea Wolf class submarines. It was returning to port at Bangor Base. We felt fortunate to get to see the submarine.

The drive from Port Angeles toward Forks, WA is absolutely breathtaking as you make your way through Olympic National Park. The drive along Lake Crescent in the National Park is stunning. The lake waters have the deepest blue colors. The exceptional clarity of the water is caused by low levels of nitrogen which prevent algae growth. The crystal clear, blue waters combined with the souring mountain ranges was so beautiful. The trees were so tall and so plentiful that we would often be driving through tree canopies.

We made it to Forks, Washington. The Twilight book series and movies were set in this small town. The town only has a population of 3,000. There is a Forks welcome sign as you enter the town. We drove to Forks High School and took a couple pictures. The high school is located right off the main road of the town.

About 20 minutes from Forks on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean is La Push Beach. La Push Beach is actually made up of 3 different beaches: First, Second, and Third. The entire area is located in the Quileute Indian Reservation. We went to First Beach because you can drive right to it at the very end of the road. Second and Third Beaches have to be hiked to. You will pass the entrance to these beaches as you drive to First Beach.
We parked at the shore edge of First Beach – 320 Ocean Front Drive. The beach was full of driftwood. We had to carefully climb over the large logs to walk to the water. There is a large driftwood wall from the beach and into the water that separates the water into two sections. It’s a beautiful combination of water, sand, driftwood and rock. The surf was really strong. We didn’t notice anyone in the water on that day. There are multiple, large sea stacks in the water. It made for such a beautiful coastline. There are a couple port-a-potties available in the parking lot just before the beach.

On our drive back to Forks, we passed the Quileute Tribal School which had a large sign in front of the school by the road. There is also a Welcome Twilight Fans Treaty Line sign on the way back to Forks. We stopped at a couple souvenir places and everyone was so friendly. We found the best selection of Forks & Pacific Northwest souvenirs at Forks Outfitters. They had a fantastic variety of shirts, sweatshirts, cups, magnets and stickers.

From Forks we made our way to Ruby Beach. We had heard Ruby Beach was a magical place and had planned to stop, if we had time. We were so glad we decided to include it in our stops. It was my favorite beach! It was truly magical. After you park in the parking lot, you walk down the gravel pathway to the beach. It is a bit of a steep walk but manageable. You can see the beach from the top of the walk but once you are level with the beach you really appreciate all the features of the beach. There is driftwood everywhere – large trees and logs that you have to climb over to get to the water. There are beautiful tidepools with abundant sea life and full of surf washing in and out from the ocean. There are so many different sizes of rock formations or sea stacks, you can even climb on them. There are rocks and pebbles all along the shore. The beach gets its name from the reddish color sand that resembles rubies. It is a gorgeous beach and full of so many things to explore.

From Ruby Beach we drove to Portland. The drive along the coast was not nearly as picturesque, mostly because the forest was so dense. We did see some beach access areas but the hike down to the beach from the road seemed very high and almost inaccessible. We felt like we had seen such beautiful beaches during our trip and were happy with where we had been.

We had high expectations for our visit to the Oregon and Washington states. We knew we had limited time and we packed in as many things as we could. The Pacific Northwest was incredible and full of so many spectacular things to see and do. A very special place.