Alaska to California Part 5: Oregon (and a bit of Washington again)

One of our travel goals is to visit every State. We decided to check Oregon off our list during this move. It made sense, especially since we were so close. A friend recommended we go to Multanomah Falls, and it turned out to be a fantastic suggestion because the falls are absolutely beautiful.

The desk clerk at our hotel suggested we drive the Fruit Loop, a scenic drive through the Hood River Valley that takes you past orchards, farms, and wineries, and gives you unbelievably gorgeous views of Mount Hood. There are farm stands all along the way, although not many were open yet because it is just the beginning of the growing season. We did stop at one farm stand, where they mostly had jams and syrups made from last year's harvest. I bought a jar of strawberry rhubarb jam (for $7, much to Husband's shock, but then again he has never had strawberry rhubarb jam so he doesn't know that you can't really put a price on good jam). The farm stand had some goats in a pen nearby so of course we had to stop and say "hello" to them. Words and pictures do not come close to describing the beauty of this area. I want to live here. 

Doesn't this look like the most beautiful spot for a farm stand?

Once we finished the Fruit Loop, we drove along the Columbia River Gorge. You have a couple choices when driving along the gorge: you can take the new highway, which runs along the bottom of the gorge near the river, or you can take the old highway, which runs along the top of the gorge. I recommend taking the old highway. The views are better, and you can go at a more leisurely pace since it doesn't have a lot of traffic.

We crossed back into Washington, and on the recommendation of the same friend who suggested we visit the falls, we made a small detour to the Maryhill Stonehenge. This replica of the Stonehenge in England was completed in 1929 and is the first monument in the United States to honour those who were killed in World War I. 

We finished this portion of our travel by spending the night with some dear friends from Virginia who now live in Washington. It was great to be reunited with them for a few hours. They gave us same tips on visiting Yellowstone National Park, which you will read all about in the next post. Stay tuned.