Pacific Northwest Road Trip

Sorry for the radio silence here on the blog, I've been on the west coast for 11 days! As I mentioned in my 30th birthday post, my mom and I planned a last minute road trip through Oregon and Washington. I had a USDA conference in Portland, Oregon last week so we went out a week early, rented a car and hit the open road. We were very lucky to have great weather the entire week. In total, we drove over 1600 miles on mostly scenic one lane roads. Highlights included: Portland, OR; the Columbia River Gorge; Mount Hood; Bend, OR; Crater Lake National Park, the Oregon Coast, Lake Quinault, WA, coastal WA, Olympic National Park and Mount Olympia; and Mount Saint Helen's. Check out the interactive map (I couldn't help myself) outlining our six day adventure. 

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Ready for pictures? I though so! There was no shortage of photo-ops. I'm so thankful we had clear, sunny days. I'm also thankful for all the rain this region gets because everything was so lush and GREEN!

Multnomah Falls, Columbia River Gorge, OR

Mount Hood, OR

Sunset over wildlife preserve, central OR

Sunset, central OR

Water and wood, central OR

Looming giants, central OR

Grazing elk, central OR

Crater Lake National Park, central OR

Three trees, Crater Lake National Park, Central OR

Going coastal, Coastal OR

Setting sun, coastal OR

Bluffs, coastal OR

North to Washington, Astoria, OR

Water and moss, Olympic Peninsula, WA

Lake Quinault, WA

Rainforest, Olympic National Park, WA

Baby ferns, Olympic National Park, WA

Olympic National Park, WA

Olympic sized valley, WA

The trip was all fun with just a little work on the side. I conducted a GIS training at the USDA National Water Conference in Portland, OR. Here's the proof.