Oregon's weirdest roadside sights take many forms. In the area where I grew up in Washington County, Oregon there were three of those kitschy monuments everyone had to point out as we drove by (read on to see the ones I'm talking about). For instance, if you didn't...
The event Tuesday with the Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde was a groundbreaking of sorts that represents one of the clearest steps forward at Willamette Falls after nearly a decade of planning. A blessing prayer was said, and then an excavator finally tore into...
The disturbing history of Salem, Oregon's now-demolished Fairview Training Center has been hotly debated by those who lived and worked there. To a few, it was a place to learn and grow. To the majority, it carries the horrific legacy of how past generations tortured,...
When people think of Oregon they often think of lush green forests, but many don't know that almost two thirds of Oregon is actually high desert. One of my favorite places to learn about Oregon's high desert and the animals that live there is the High Desert Museum...
1. The Corn Dog (Rockaway Beach, 1930s) George and Versa Boyington ran a small hot dog stand on the beach, selling the dogs to tourists and locals alike. When coastal rains inevitably came and ruined the buns, George came up with the idea of cooking a "bun" as needed....
Modern schoolkids can probably name two famous Native American women: Sacajawea and Pocahontas. With good reason. Both were amazing females who more than deserve their place in American History. So why have so few heard of Marie Dorion and her epic journey to Oregon?...
Do you ever find yourself thinking, "I wish this mundane, run-of-the-mill hotel was more awesome"? Maybe you're wishing for someplace more retro, more treehouse, more Airstream, more historical. More SOMETHING. Look no further. We've got your checklist of some of the...
Since the advent of creating images with a camera and light-sensitive film, humans have had the predilection to document the beauty around them. At the turn of the 20th Century, photographers like Edward S. Curtis, Peter Britt, and Benjamin Gifford were turning their...
A cold case is defined as a homicide or murder that has been thoroughly investigated, with all leads exhausted, yet remains unsolved. Something about these scenarios is oddly captivating to the human psyche. I grew up watching Unsolved Mysteries as a kid (can y'all...
Just two miles south of Depoe Bay along the old Highway 101 sits the historic Ben Jones Bridge (known as the Rocky Creek Bridge to some). The Ben Jones Bridge viewpoint is the perfect spot to watch waves crash and dance over the rocks, and is one of our favorite spots...
The only real backstory you need is this: From 1964-1966, NASA trained Apollo astronauts on the rocky surfaces of lava-flow abundant near Bend, Oregon. Through his training there, astronaut Jim Irwin became well-acquainted with Floyd Watson, Bend's building inspector....
Largest, and according to many sources, MOST AWESOME. It was part carnival, part water park, and existed on 128 acres of Hayden Island land between Portland and Vancouver on the Columbia River. “Portland’s Million Dollar Playground”, Jantzen Beach Amusement Park...