SALEM, OR — For most drivers, the two-hour stretch of perfectly straight I-5 between Eugene and Portland is a test of mental endurance. But for 34-year-old Springfield resident Laura Jenkins, it’s the highlight of her week.
“This is my me time,” Jenkins said, leaning against her Subaru Outback at a Salem rest stop. “Just me, the road, and endless fields of grass that could be the same field over and over for all I know. It’s pure bliss.”
Friends describe Jenkins as a “thrill seeker” who finds joy in the subtle nuances of Oregon roadside vegetation. “Last trip she called me screaming because she saw a slightly taller patch of grass near Albany,” said co-worker Denise Morgan. “I thought she’d won the lottery. Nope — just ryegrass.”
Jenkins insists the drive offers more variety than people think. “Sometimes you get green grass, sometimes brown grass, and every once in a while, a patch that makes you wonder, ‘Is that alfalfa?’” she said, eyes widening as if recalling a treasured memory.
Her route is methodically planned: Starbucks in Eugene, podcast in Salem, mental breakdown somewhere between Woodburn and Wilsonville, and finally, a triumphant arrival in Portland where the grass is replaced with traffic and existential regret.
Do you love Oregon?
Sign up for monthly emails full of local travel inspiration and fun trip ideas. In each newsletter we'll share upcoming events, new things to do, hot dining spots and great travel ideas.
“I know some people find it boring,” Jenkins said, “but I find a kind of meditative rhythm in it. The rumble of the tires, the hum of the engine, the gentle realization that I’m paying $4.89 a gallon to stare at plants I could see for free at the park.”
ODOT reports that grass-viewing tourism on I-5 is an untapped market. A spokesperson suggested installing scenic turnout signs that simply say, “Look, More Grass.”
When asked if she ever gets tired of the view, Jenkins shook her head. “Absolutely not. It’s Oregon. We grow grass better than anyone else.”
