Road Trip (Day 4 of 4): Nevada and Oregon and the weekend after

Our last day of travel dawned (thankfully) clear and sunny. There wasn't much to see town-wise as we coasted through Nevada heading north, even the rest stops were just outhouses instead of real buildings, but the sunrise and light on the valleys and hills was breathtaking.

Entering southern Oregon we encountered vast stretches of open range where cattle were allowed to freely roam and graze. These stretches, which were labelled with signs that said "Open Range next 102 miles" definitely were devoid of human habitation and we often didn't see another car for 45 minutes at a time.

As we continued onto Route 78 we entered the most beautiful mountain pass I have ever seen. For several hours we traveled up and down these mountains, completely alone and without seeing anyone else beyond the random truck. We even got to see some herds of antelope just chilling on the side of the road (see video). It was breathtaking (and the pictures don't do it justice).

Finally we reached the mountain town of Bend, Oregon where we stopped in at Deschutes Brewery for a quick tour and tasting (one of the best brewery tours I've ever had, actually) before continuing on to our final destination: Eugene. There, after 3100 miles, we were finally able to deliver the little car to Dan's cousin and enjoy some time relaxing.

Final odometer reading for the trip: 3146 miles!

For the next several days we hung out with them, visiting the local microbreweries this region is famous for, eating great food and exploring a bit. On Friday we traveled to Newport, OR for their annual Wine and Seafood festival, after which we spent the night in a yurt: Oregon's permanent version of a camping tent (no running water but it was heated and had electricity). Although it poured that day and night, the next day we actually got a few hours of sunshine so we took advantage of it by taking the coastal route up to Portland to check out the beautifully rugged coastline that Oregon is famous for. We also stopped in at the Tillamook Cheese Factory where we got some delicious cheese samples and ice cream.

Our yurt

Yummy samples at the Tillamook Cheese Factory

The sun came out!

Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach

Sea anemones (Haystack Rock)

Huge mussels!

Can you believe these starfish?!

Panorama of Haystack Rock

So beautiful

 A short video of Haystack Rock:

On the way to Portland we had picked up some fresh Dungeness crab from a roadside vendor (Dungeness crabs had just come in to season) so that night we had a delicious seafood dinner. At this point in our trip we met up with my good friend who is attending med school in Portland. On Monday the weather was once again unseasonably nice so we went on a hike to Multnomah Falls before meeting up with Dan's cousin again at McMenamin's, a local country-club-type establishment, for some good food, locally brewed drinks and to watch the Oscars.

Dan and me at Multnomah Falls

Me and my friend, E

 

Over the next two days we also got a chance to check out some of Oregon's famous food trucks and local sights, including the tram (like a big gondola) which connects the med school on the top of the hill to the downtown area and several shopping areas. Neither of us could believe that it was our last day and we definitely were not looking forward to heading home....