Article updated on 06.20.22
Discovering Oregon
After getting our house back on wheels, it was time for us to discover America. Thirsting for sun and warmth, we made the decision to go straight south through Oregon. Spoil alert, the landscapes are very diversified and just beautiful… see below 😉
Map of places visited in Oregon
Multnomah Waterfalls
Our first beautiful discovery is the Multnomah waterfall, 30 minutes drive from Portland. As soon as we arrived there, we saw that the place is very touristy. The parking lot is full, the bottom of the waterfall is crowded with people and the path in the forest is paved. We go on the path and decide to go up to the top of the waterfall. The more we climb, the less people there are. After an hour of walking, we arrive at the top of the waterfall. We decide to continue to walk higher despite the bad weather. This allows us to get away from the crowd and to see other waterfalls. In the end, we discover a green nature and we are happy of our first walk.
Multnomah Waterfalls
On the walking path at the top of Multnomah Waterfalls
Wiesendanger falls
Mont Hood
After these magnificent landscapes, we decide to take the road towards the land. To get there, we pass by the Mount Hood, a mountainous region where we still find snow in the middle of May… Unfortunately, we don’t enjoy the area too much because it’s just raining and Benji gets sick. He has stomach aches which do not allow him to eat anymore. Fortunately more fear than harm. He quickly gets back on his feet thanks to some medicine prescribed by a doctor.
The view from Mount Hood and our Camper
Painted Hills
After the snow, we leave for the Painted Hills. They are multicolored hills in the middle of a desert nature. Just wow! Breathtaking landscapes. We are really not disappointed to have made this detour to admire this region.
The beginning of the Painted Hills with our Camper
The Painted Hills
The Painted Hills and its little yellow flowers
Leaf Hill Trail
Leaf Hill Trail
For the evening, we found, thanks to an application, a free campground at 40 minutes of roads from where we are. We take the “road” and arrive in this small paradise on the edge of a river. We are happy to have a 4×4 vehicle because otherwise we would never have been able to discover this place. We spend the weekend by the river and take advantage of the opportunity to rest and do “nothing”. After a week of moving every day, it’s good to be quiet. Without any network, we took the time to read, to play cards, to cook small dishes, to walk in the area. It’s a great way to recharge your batteries!
Our beautiful spot for the weekend
Our small neighbor
Tamolitch Blue Pool
A few days later, we go back to the coast taking our time. We stop at several places that we have spotted via blog articles.
First stop is Clear Lake, a small lake surrounded by forest where you can rent boats and kayaks to navigate.
Boats on Clear Lake
A small house - Clear Lake
Sahalie Falls
And to finish our day, a 1h walk in the forest along a river to arrive at Tamolitch Blue Pool. It is a blue lake with translucent water. Just wow! We hesitated for a long time to make a splash, but the water is less than 10 degrees and as it is still quite cool outside we chicken up 😉
Small bridge on the way to Tamolitch Blue Pool
The beautiful river
Benji chilling by Tamolitch Blue Pool
The transparent water of Tamolitch Blue Pool
Sisters
After almost two weeks of living in our camper full time, we realize that the layout needs to be optimized. One of the things we lack is electricity. As we don’t have solar panels yet, we have to either stop in cafes or spend the night in campsites to be able to charge our electronic devices. Driving towards the Pacific coast, we stop in the town of Sisters. We find a beautiful café and spend the afternoon there.
The alleys of Sisters
Heceta Head Lighthouse
For Benji’s 28th birthday, we arrive at the Pacific Coast and head out to explore the Heceta Head Lighthouse. Since we love lighthouses, this is just perfect for his birthday 😃
Heceta Head Lighthouse
A bed & breakfast next to the lighthouse
View on the beach
Cape Creek Bridge
The port of Florence
Siuslaw River Bridge
Setting up the Camper in Oregon
After several days of discovering, we decide to land in a campsite for the weekend. We want to start the renovation of our Camper, and for that we need to stay somewhere for a few days. So we find a campsite by a lake, located right next to the ocean. The weather was bad the whole weekend, so we were able to focus our energy on the renovations.
Audrey took care of painting the Camper while Benji researched the electrical system and the installation of solar panels (and there were some things to research when you don’t know anything about them).
The painting of the Camper
Creation of the future floor instead of the carpet
On our last day at the campground, we got up at 6:30 am to visit the surrounding area. We had a nice long walk on the beach to a waterfall and took the opportunity to collect driftwood to create our future curtain rods and cabinet handles.
The beach just for us
Blacklock Cliffs
We stay well dressed because it is rather chilly
The beautiful arch
Wood for our future curtain rods
A friend
Battle Rock Historic
After 4 days at the campsite, it is time to take the road again. A few miles further (yes we don’t speak anymore in kilometers 😉 ), we stop for the lunch break at the Battle Rock beach. For the moment, we are too disappointed not to have a surfboard yet. The waves are beautiful and there is nobody in the water. But anyway, we take advantage of these beautiful waves from the beach while having a picnic before taking the road again to find a spot for the night.
The beach of Battle Rock
The famous waves
The famous waves
Meyers Creek Beach
At the end of the day, we arrive at one of our favorite places to sleep. Of course we are next to the main road, but the traffic decreases at night and the view makes us quickly forget those cars. We cook ourselves a nice little dish and eat it while watching the sunset. A beautiful moment that will remain in our memories.
As a bonus, we meet a very nice Canadian couple. Having had a similar camper in the past, they helped us to understand how to turn on our water heater. We can now have hot water !
No worse as a place to sleep
The beautiful lights of the sunset
Samuel H. Boardman
This place is the place that Benji really wanted to visit. We got up happily and went to look for this famous bridge in the rock.
Unfortunately, the weather was not good, but that did not prevent us from admiring the place.
Arch Rock
Natural Bridges
To finish, after several miles in Oregon, we are charmed by this region. We already have very nice memories, we can’t wait for the next part of this trip! Now, it’s time to discover California.
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xoxo