Recall when the kids visited Oregon with Jenn on their big, 2018 extravaganza from San Francisco to Olympic National Park. I was covering the clinic back at home in an effort to not leave work unaddressed for too long. While the rest of the family drove north from Redwood National Park, through Bend, Crater Lake National Park, etc., Aunt Haley and I flew west and met up with them on Ruby Beach.
Unfortunately, that left a gap in my portion of the #gates50states project, and I really felt drawn to fill that before we reached the end for the rest of them. It would be pretty lousy for Jenn, Lincoln, Lydia, & Henry to celebrate the big 5 – 0 somewhere like Massachusetts or Maine and have me sitting off to the side at 49.
To avoid this bummer, Jenn and I took a few days to head out so I could experience Oregon. We had a number of work meetings we needed to cover via Teams, and we could fit those around hikes and explorations.
Moving three time zones away for a short time given the meeting schedule we had to keep probably wasn’t the best idea, but I got to see big chunks of the Columbia River Gorge, take in the Pacific Coast from a different vantage point, visit a very beautiful and successful vineyard, and sample a number of the Pacific Northwest’s breweries. While I’d love to return to visit some of Oregon’s beautiful state parks (have you seen them on Instagram?!), this little jaunt absolutely met the #gates50states project criteria.
If you’ve shopped for wine or perused a wine list at any good restaurant, you’ve no doubt seen wines from Oregon, specifically the Willamette Valley. If you have a picture in your mind of huge vineyards encompassing scores of acres… that’s not exactly what you’ll find in this area. Our drive to Bergström in Dundee took us through a neighborhood where we turned into the driveway of one of the nicer homes in the area. In the front yard sat many vines (above), and in the back yard were about 3 acres of vines. As this is simply not a big operation, neither is the tour. It was very personal, and very informative, not just of the work done on sight, but also of the family’s history and of wine-making in the region. Good tours and tastings in this area are much more costly than in, say, the Finger Lakes area of New York… but they’re also much more involved and time-consuming.
Apparently waterfalls are a big deal for Oregon, and they do them well. They’ve developed the hiking trails very well along the Historic Columbia River Highway. As always, arrive at the trailheads early for reliable parking.
There are a couple of places in Troutdale you ought to know about because we thought they were pretty cool. First is Troutdale Station, a large pavilion style building filled with picnic tables and some beer/drink vendors on the inside. It’s surrounded by food trucks on the outside, and is a great place to go for a quick meal. The second is Good Coffee Roasters. While it’s somewhat of a chain in the Portland area, the Troutdale location, about a half mile from our VRBO, is very nice, clean, and clearly new(er) (as of this writing).
The most pleasant surprise of this trip, our “Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum experience” of this venture out to Oregon this September of 2025 (our longtime readers will know what we mean by this), was our visit to Bird Creek Whiskey. The story goes like this:
Because of the nature of the phone calls and meetings Jenn and I had scheduled during our stay, we were not able to keep our usual travel schedule. We tend to rise very early, hike a bunch of miles in the morning hours, eat a big and early dinner, then get some sleep for the next day of a similar pattern. Not this time. We found ourselves sitting around on Thursday afternoon, catching up on some rest, when we felt like we just needed to get out. After considering some options, we concluded if we really rushed, we might make it to Bird Creek Whiskey in time for their 4:00 tasting. As we started driving, the ETA on Apple Maps kept getting longer (Portland traffic really stinks) pushing our arrival beyond 4:00. Jenn called them, told them we were out-of-towners very interested in sampling distilleries, and asked if they’d still take us if we arrived a bit late. The owner, in fact, had picked up the phone and proceeded to suggest we take our time and arrive at 4:30 for their release party... they had just finished a new variety and were releasing it for their club members that very afternoon! They treated us like VIPs, allowing us to sample all of their varieties as well as take part in their spread of food and tour the facility. So cool!
Jenn and I have become decently knowledgeable of the American Single Malt space over the past couple of years, both in terms of tastes and recent market data. We had a bunch of fun talking with the owner and the blender of this relatively new, very decorated distillery, and their product is on par with Whiskey Del Bac, in our estimation… a very high compliment.
In tangential news, Portland… is a dump. Having criss-crossed the city multiple times to go here and there, we can say with full confidence and objective observation… it has all of the appearance of a city with very little meaningful authority, and one full of citizens who take no pride in their space. Harsh? Maybe, but the evidence is on full display for anyone with eyes to see. There is graffiti literally (not figuratively) everywhere, litter lines the streets, encampments of the mentally ill/drug addicted are prevalent on public property and even private property in many locations, HOV lane restrictions are not followed/enforced, political demonstrators take no risk and show no courage in making their Left-leaning views known from overpasses in a most Left-leaning state. If Portland is going for a garbage impression, they’ve succeeded wonderfully.
So when traveling to Oregon, we suggest flying into Portland, renting a car, stopping at Bird Creek Whiskey, then heading for the coast. Or Bend. Or Eugene. Or anywhere else. Now back to our good experiences…
I wanted to have a couple of shared experiences with the kids, so Jenn and I chose Haystack Rock and Blue Heron French Cheese Company, both places she and the kids visited in 2018…
The rock looked the same in 2025!
We set out west to Canon Beach, arriving at Haystack Rock two hours after leaving our front door. The fog in the mountains, the golden hour sunlight, and then the complete absence of wind on the beach made for a neat and different experience.
We didn’t get to experience tide pooling like when Jenn and the kids visited because the low tide didn’t really get that low for us, but that was okay. If you’re traveling with your family, take a peek at a tide chart for wherever you’re going to help you plan and set expectations.
After Canon Beach, we drove south not quite nine miles to Oswald West State Park.
Recall from above my interest in Oregon’s State Parks, and OWSP didn’t disappoint. Cape Falcon trail starts from a small parking lot on the west side of the 101. There’s nothing particularly strenuous about this trail. It was a little slippery in some parts during this dry season, though certainly the trail experiences wet seasons to be cautious about. The elevation gain is not difficult, and the payoff of sweeping views of the coast make the effort worthwhile.
Following an afternoon of hiking, we stopped at Blue Heron French Cheese Company for some Tillamook ice cream.
We’d grown tired of Portland as our time neared an end, so we drove across the Columbia River to Vancouver, WA, first to The Sedgwick for dinner in the evening, and then to Victoria’s Cafe for breakfast on our final morning in the PNW. No regrets. Both had good character, good menus, friendly service, and clean environments. Both are worth the drive. And Vancouver is part of the greater Portland market, so we felt like it was Oregon enough for our experience. 🙂
I heard it was a Three Napkin burger, and the man was correct.
Mission accomplished for this trip. I’m back on schedule with the rest of the family, and we’re on schedule to complete #gates50states in about three years.
#Gates50States 
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