Featured posts
If you’ve ever stood at the base of Mt. Hood and thought, there has to be an easier way to get up there, you’re not alone. In fact, back in the early 1950s, a group of Oregonians looked at that same mountain and came up with a solution so bold, so strange, and so...
Portland has never been a city that settles for ordinary. It’s a place where creativity spills into the streets, where old buildings are given new life, and where some of the most memorable spots are the ones you stumble into by accident. That spirit is alive and well...
We're going a bit out on a limb here at That Oregon Life. This story began as a sort of "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" compilation, but after a giant list of my own and a slew of recommendations from friends all over the state, we realized that wasn't going to work....
There are places you book for a night… and then there are places that feel like you’ve stepped straight into another world. Tucked quietly into the rolling hills above the Columbia River Gorge near Mosier, there’s a one-of-a-kind stay that looks less like an Airbnb...
There are restaurants you try once… and then there are the ones you grow up with. The ones where the coffee is always hot, the booths feel like they’ve heard a thousand stories, and the pie case quietly calls your name before you even sit down. In Tigard, Oregon, that...
There are places in Oregon where history whispers instead of shouts. No crowds. No big signs demanding your attention. Just a narrow trail winding through towering trees, the soft hush of wind through redwoods, and the quiet understanding that something extraordinary...
There’s something almost surreal about standing beneath a redwood tree. The scale doesn’t quite make sense at first. You look up, and up, and somehow still can’t find the top. The air feels cooler. The light turns soft and green. And for a moment, everything else...
There’s something about a drive-in movie theater that feels like stepping into a different era. The glow of a giant outdoor screen. The hum of car radios. The smell of popcorn drifting through warm evening air. It’s the kind of experience that instantly slows you down...
Fair warning… this is not the kind of place you go when you’re trying to “be good.” Fogo de Chão has officially opened at Bridgeport Village in the old McCormick & Schmicks building (RIP), marking its second location in Oregon (the first being in Portland). And...
There’s something about nostalgia that hits a little deeper in the summertime. Maybe it’s the longer evenings, the golden light stretching just a bit farther, or the way simple moments seem to carry more meaning. Nostalgia isn’t just about looking back. It’s about...
If you’ve ever wished you could press pause on the noise of everyday life without actually leaving Portland, there’s a place that quietly delivers exactly that. Tucked into a basalt cliff in northeast Portland, The Grotto feels less like a city attraction and more...
There’s a stretch of Highway 101 on the southern Oregon coast where time does something a little strange. You’re cruising along, ocean on one side, thick forest on the other, maybe a little road-weary, maybe thinking about your next coffee stop… and then suddenly —...