Melissa, you're killing me. Oregon has more designated scenic highways than any other state. If Deanna (dgkritch) is around, she's from Eugene, I think, and should have some really good advice. I'm North Coast/Columbia Gorge, so while I've been in that area, I don't know it as well as others.

I'd recommend you consider going up Hwy 101 as far as Florence. That whole coast drive is incredibly scenic. At Florence there's the Oregon Dunes and Florence itself has a lot of charm. There are many artists and craftpersons who've been drawn to that area.

If you have the time/inclination, I'd recommend a detour up the Rogue River to Agness on one of the mailboats. I've provided a link below. Early reservations are imperative.

Then I'd take Hwy 126 east to Eugene. It's a beautiful drive and Eugene's Fifth Street Market is well worth visiting. I'd never heard of Peoria Road and had to look that one up, but I have driven through that way. It's scenic, with lots of charming little towns and definitely rural, but the agriculture may not be what you're looking for.

You're going to see some rounded rocky buttes and lots of flat, grassy landscape. Timber in some areas. But most of what's grown there is grass seed, mint, some vegetables, sheep grazing. Maybe some new wineries.

I don't know how late you're coming through. It's a little early for most of the fruit except strawberries. July would be "prime time". Then you'd need to get north to the Willamette Valley for lots of produce.

In terms of sheer variety, inscribing a big loop north up 99E to Portland, east though the Columbia Gorge then back down south to Bend would be the ticket. It depends on how much time you have. A bit later in the year you have wonderful berries, flower farms, etc. all through the Valley and then around Hood River incredible orchard fruits - apples, cherries, etc. Going east the country changes abruptly to sagebrush and high desert with pine forest. It's a totally different landscape on the route to Bend.

Let me know what you think and if you have other questions, I'll give it my best shot. You might also want to email Deanna through GW.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Rogue River Mailboats

I'm here!! WHEN are you coming through??????????
I'll cook you dinner!!

Carol should be a tour guide!!
If you stay on Hwy 101 to Florence like she said, then turn East on Hwy 126. Drive about 45-50 miles and you're at my house (within a mile and a half anyway)!

There's wonderful strawberries near by, but I'm not sure they've opened for the season (I can call and find out).
Same little farm still has last year's winter apples available (on the honor system if you get there after hours). We have several of wineries in the area (does that count as "eating raw"?). Oh! And I've got lettuce, radish, chard and spinach ready in my own garden. We can make a salad!!

There's a nice trip north of Eugene on River Rd. that passes several farms, one of which is an organic co-op place with everthing from fresh produce and flowers to jam, jellies, ice cream and eggs. More like a very small market in the middle of farm country. Through Junction City and north on Peoria Rd. (nice nursery out there). Into Corvallis.

Or.......you can head east out of Eugene up the McKenzie River and over the Cascade range. Beautiful drive. IF the scenic route is open, you can get your fill of 10 MPH hairpin curves and switchbacks through old lava flows. Pretty drive if you're NOT in a hurry! Don't put lava in your car.......it's known to come with Black Widow Spiders! Blech!

You'll end up in Sisters just to the northwest of Bend (20 miles). Sisters has been renovated to look like an old western town complete with false store fronts and lots of local western art, etc. You can easily spend a day just wandering around there. Now thereÂs precious little fruit grown on this side of the Cascades. ItÂs High Desert. South of Bend you can find the Lava Caves which are available to tour.
Note!! You DO NOT want to end up in Sisters June 8, 9 10 unless you wanna have a go at a bunch of cowboys! ThatÂs rodeo weekend and ALL it brings with it! If youÂre into street dances, bull ridinÂ, ropin and such, then by all meansÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ.. (grin). ItÂs a pretty wild weekend.

Should you decide to swing through Redmond (approx 20 miles north of Bend), thereÂs a fantastic little smokehouse inside Redmond Locker on Railroad Blvd. They make their own bacon, sausages, jerky, etc. in the smokehouse right there on site! Ever had Beef Bacon??? MmmmmÂ
If you make it there, pop in next door and say "hi" to my brother for me!! He owns Saddle Up saddlery. :+)

And well, just call me if you can make it for dinner, lunch, breakfast, or even a quick coffee!
I live out there near Noti, but work in Eugene Mon-Fri.
My work schedule can be very flexible.
Home: 541-935-9313 eves.
Cell: 541-654-2690
Deanna........really hoping we can meet.
Sorry everyone..............that's really long!

Deanna, so glad you're here! I knew you'd come through.

Noti, I've been through that way often. And my DH and I were thinking of the McKenzie. That is a beautiful drive. He was remembering the Blue River. And there's the hot springs. (Not fruit, LOL, but maybe a nice "detour.")

Melissa, if you and your boyfriend are interested in grapes in the bottled form, remember what Deanna said. 600+ wineries in this state. Incredible Pino Noir.

Carol

Oh, I love the "Fruit Loop" in Hood River ! The view of Mt. Hood is lovely, too. There is also a train trip you can take that is fun. They have a dinner train mystery that is cool.
Here is one link and another below. We had a ball when we went. There is one place that makes fresh homemade milkshakes that are awesome !
http://www.offbeattravel.com/hood.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Hood River Fruit Loop drive.

Melissa -

If you were cruising along California hwy 1 or 101, you passed me - I hope you saw the flower fields in Carlsbad, and if you stopped for strawberries, you were fairly close to my little suburban "ranch" here a few miles south.

We traveled extensively during WWII (military family) and I can appreciate your enthusiasm for all you are seeing. As for me, I am now content to find my newly discovered world in my own backyard. However, I think about those traveling years many times, and have lots of fond memories.

Enjoy!

bejay

Wow, thanks so much everyone! We will take up the suggestion to stay on 101 to Florence and then go to Eugene. Deanna I will call you for sure, I'd love to meet up, and a salad from your garden would be a delicious honor if it's not too much trouble. We're in San Francisco right now, and I think it will be 3 or 4 days till we get to Eugene. From there we'll probably go to Corvallis just to spend some more time in the lush part since we've seen plenty of desert on our trip. Then across to Sisters, maybe Redmond, then Bend.

Sounds like we'll be missing the fruit season, but we've also been keeping a list of all the food we've seen along the way: garlic and onions in trucks on the highway, artichokes growing along the road, lettuce, cauliflower, lots of strawberries, and more. So it will be cool to see the fields and orchards along the way even if the stands aren't open. And of course we love bottled grapes...by raw I just meant that we don't have a stove to cook onions or asparagus! Jeff loves pinot noir so maybe we'll tour a winery.

The lava caves sound cool, and we're hoping to go to hot springs in Oregon too, since we haven't stopped in any along the way. I think lava flows, wineries, and hot springs are a good substitute for raspberries. We'll be getting back to Virginia just in time for berry season anyway.

Thanks for all the tips! Any suggestions for hot springs would be great. Looks like we'll be spending 4 or 5 nights in Oregon! That will be great. I wish we could make the Hood River fruit loop, but I think that's too far out of the way...if we had another week we would have gone all the way to visit friends in Seattle, but I have to start work June 18 and we want to stop off at Mount Rushmore and in Chicago.

Bejay, for some reason I thought you were in Texas! Too bad, we could have met up. We've really enjoyed highway 1.

Thanks again for all the help and I will report back as our trip progresses!

Melissa

Melissa, have some sourdough bread for me while you are in San Francisco....it's the best! And if you want great cheese, visit the Cowgirl Creamery in the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero. Love that place. Oh, oh, oh....the chocolate fresh-made fortune cookies in Ross Alley in Chinatown. And there's a great place off the alley (can't remember the street name) that has the BEST chow fun noodles I've ever had for $1 for a big takeout container. Last time I was there, I tried to write down their name...you guessed it...I couldn't, it was only in Chinese! They have interesting pastries there too...didn't like all of them, but it was so inexpensive, we got one of each to try! We love to eat at the authentic places, and to go into the little markets, specializing in all of the different foods - a vegetable market, a meat market, a dried goods market, etc.

Enjoy your trip!

And thanks to the Oregon posters, that'll make a fun trip for my family this summer!

Are you here yet???? (grin)

Call me from Florence...........otherwise you'll already be past my house when you get to Eugene!!

Secret House Winery is literally just over the hill from me ÂÂÂ..of course, IÂve never been there!
{{gwi:887367}}

and so is Lavelle VineyardsÂÂÂbeen there, but not for wine! I was looking for a source for grape leaves for pickles. Go figure, huh?
{{gwi:887371}}

Anyway, hope to hear from you soon! I am busy Saturday evening just so you know, but not until about 4:30-ish!!

Oh dear, I am very sorry to say that I won't make it to Oregon this trip. My grandfather died and I had to fly home to New York for the funeral. He was 93 and had been sick for 2 months, so it was time, and thankfully a time when I could make it. Jeff & I were just north of San Francisco, so we drove to the end of highway 1 and took 101 back into SF and I flew out of there. I had been planning to skip my sister's HS graduation this coming Saturday but now I'll be able to see it, so I'm flying back to SF on Sunday and we'll have 8 days to finish our drive home to Virginia. That means we had to cut out Oregon, but we'll still be able to see friends in Chicago and maybe still take a side trip to Mount Rushmore.

My boyfriend is waiting for me out west, spending the week in Reno and Lake Tahoe. He got to see Barack Obama speak for free today, I'm jealous! Meanwhile I've been having a really fantastic family reunion here in New York--we haven't had all 11 grandchildren together in at least 5 years, maybe 10. So don't feel bad for me about my grandfather--he had a great life and was getting too weak to enjoy it anymore. You're welcome to feel bad for me about missing out on Oregon though--I was so excited! I think this is a sign that I shouldn't visit until berry season. I won't take any more vacations this year, but maybe next July we'll fly out to Oregon and get our friends from Seattle to meet us for hiking, camping, and picking.

Deanna, I was so looking forward to meeting you! Maybe later this summer we can do a little jam exchange instead...I haven't put up anything yet though. Sorry I didn't write sooner, my boyfriend kept the laptop with him. Enjoy that salad from your garden!

Melissa

Melissa, I'm so sorry to hear your grandfather died. Not for him since it sounds as if he had a good long life, but for you and all the family who will miss him.

Oregon will keep. We look forward to your visit the next time around.

Carol

I'm sorry Melissa. It's hard to let loved ones go.
We will still be here whenever you "get west" next.

Thanks Carol and Deanna. I appreciate your kind words. See you next time around, and of course on here all summer. :-)

Melissa