Travel — Page 9

The Honeymoon is Over . . .

September 11, 2010 by Dave Knows 2 Comments

. . . literally, but not figuratively!

Heather and I returned from the wilds of Eastern Oregon last night. We had an amazing vacation, which my wife [will I ever get used to saying that?] has begun chronicling with an account of the first stop on our trip, in Salem, the Oregon State Fair!

That was just the first half-day of our trip, however, so stay tuned for lots more. We also visited old friends in Bend, had an almost double rainbow experience in the Painted Hills, found Big Lebowski fanatics in Prairie City, froze our tushes off at Wallowa Lake, drank delicious beer in Enterprise and Joseph, and completely unplugged and read books in the Imnaha River Canyon, to name a few memories from our epic honeymoon!

Blogging here shall recommence immediately. Thank you for your patience!

Dave Goes . . . on his Honeymoon!

September 7, 2010 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

Note: The blog won’t be completely idle while I’m gone – I’ve written a few event posts that are scheduled to appear throughout the week.

Heather and I are hitting the road on another of our Oregon adventures. It’s our honeymoon!

We’ll be back next weekend with stories and posts and lots of photos.

During the week we’ll largely be off the grid, but keep an eye out for us on Twitter (@DaveKnowsPDX and @Mile73), which we’ll no doubt update if we find even the weakest signal out in the wilds!

A Visit to the Enchanted Forest

July 8, 2010 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

I was determined, this year, to visit the Enchanted Forest.

My last visit was sometime before 1983, when the Ice Mountain Bobsleds ride was built. But my memories and interest were piqued anew two years ago when Roger Tofte, the creator of the Enchanted Forest, made a special appearance at the Charles Phoenix show in Portland. When the park opened for the 2010 season in March, I began strategizing. Finally, I found my opportunity this week. Heather and I both took a day off work to celebrate her birthday, which fell on Tuesday this year. After a morning trip to another of our favorite places, Bob’s Red Mill, we jumped into the Saabaru and pointed ourselves South. Heather appeared skeptical of the Happiest Place off of I-5 in Oregon, but I believe the trip turned her into a fan.

We couldn’t have asked for better weather. It was warm and sunny, but the Enchanted Forest really is in a forest, so it was easy to stay cool in the shade. Our adventure began, of course, at the Castle, which welcomes visitors to Storybook Lane.

Below, I prepare to enter the Castle. As you can see I’m wearing appropriate Oregon amusement park togs – my Pixieland t-shirt from Vintage Roadside!

Heather began to sense the magic almost immediately upon our arrival.

The Crooked House was one of my favorites when I was a kid. Still is. The first house I owned had similar structural integrity.

The Witch is one of the most iconic, creepiest and wonderful parts of the Enchanted Forest.

We had a great time. I finally experienced the Haunted House, which as a kid I was too terrified to enter. I was a bit disappointed, however, because it was too dark to really see anything – maybe I’m just too old? The Western Town and Old Europe Village are both a hoot. Perhaps on our next visit we’ll get up the gumption to go on some rides!

For more, read Heather’s Mile73.com post: Enchanted Birthday

Thanks to Trashbag for the Enchanted Forest photo at the top. The rest of the photos were taken by Heather or me.

Photographed in Portland: Locals vs Tourists

June 22, 2010 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

Photographer Eric Fischer has assembled maps of over a hundred world cities, including Portland, Oregon, showing locations geotagged by locals and tourists on Flickr and Picasa.

Here’s what Portland looks like, from the set Locals and Tourists:

Blue points on the map are pictures taken by locals (people who have taken pictures in this city dated over a range of a month or more).

Red points are pictures taken by tourists (people who seem to be a local of a different city and who took pictures in this city for less than a month).

Yellow points are pictures where it can’t be determined whether or not the photographer was a tourist (because they haven’t taken pictures anywhere for over a month). They are probably tourists but might just not post many pictures at all.

Check out the Geotaggers’ World Atlas map of Portland too, for undifferentiated geotagged locations.

Via Planetizen, via The Map Room

Dave Goes Camping: Silver Falls State Park

June 7, 2010 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

Our first camping trip of 2010 took us back to a park we visited a few months ago: Silver Falls State Park. On that mid-March reconnaissance mission we noted that though the campground was not particularly inviting, the park is a quick Friday-after-work drive, has beautiful scenery, and sports showers and flush toilets (the desirability of which is never to be underestimated).

Friday we sneaked out of work early and headed south on I-5. The rain had subsided and the forecast promised actual sun and spring-like temperatures Saturday. We were in denial about Sunday’s forecast of heavy rain . . .

For more (including dutch oven highlights!) read Heather’s account of the trip at Mile73.com: “Summer” Road Trip Season Begins

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