That Oregon Life · Stories & discoveries
Earlier stories from the Weird Oregon archive. Return to the latest stories →
"What is this? A center for Ants?" Twenty years ago, a certain fictional male model had a vision, and the iconic “center for ants” was born. Now, Eugene Oregon's own Hop Valley is reimagining what a…
"Hey Napoleon, gimme some of your tots!" Did you know that the crispy, golden tater tot found its humble beginnings right here in Oregon? More on that in a moment, but first, The Tater Tot Festival!…
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…
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,…
If you've ever been to the Oregon Dunes near Florence Oregon you may have been one of the lucky few who experienced a strange phenomenon known as singing sands. What causes the sands to sing their…
Yesterday a three foot long baby Salmon shark washed on shore near Tillicum Oregon. The shark was dead and not a threat to the public. The Hatfield Marine Center sent a professor from OSU to pick…
Rockaway Beach has a secret. Every once in a while the shifting sands wash away just enough to reveal something elusive: the 100-year-old shipwreck of the Emily G. Reed. This ghostly wreck usually hides under the…
A few thousand years ago a volcanic fissure opened up in Oregon's high desert near Christmas Valley. These fissures in the earth's surface are usually filled with rock and soil after they're formed, but because the…
A hotel, a bathhouse, a sanitorium, a WWII nurse training center, and a bed and breakfast are just a few of the evolutions the Hot Lake Hotel has gone through since the first structure was built…
You Can Still Stay Here, If You Dare At the Dawson House Lodge in Chemult, a real 1929 Oregon roadside lodge, guests have shared strange stories for decades. Some describe footsteps when no one else is…
Oregon is chock-full of weird, wacky, and wonderful history, reflected in the naming of towns and locales around the state. Here are just a few funny town names in the state of Oregon: 1. Timbuktu County:…
In 1990, a massive religious etching mysteriously appeared in the Mickey Basin of Oregon's Alvord Desert. Officials suspected it took thousands of dollars and a lot of man power to complete along with high tech equipment…
