Tag Archives: oregon lodging

The videos of Travel Oregon’s Oregon, Only Slightly Exaggerated reveal whimsical scenes of enchanting forests, vineyards, rivers, mountains and more, and share with you that magical feeling of being in Oregon.

The captivating artwork has come to the real world, proudly hand-painted on walls in Oregon where the illustrations represent the destinations.  Let the Oregon Mural Trail inspire you to get outside and experience the wonders of each community.  Take photos of the murals and use the hashtag #OregonIsMagic in social posts to share the love.  And while you’re there, visit the landmarks and businesses that make these towns just so magical.

You’ll be charmed by nature and outdoor adventure in Oakridge, Oregon.  Nestled in a thickly forested Willamette Valley wonderland at the western foot of the Cascades and dubbed the “Mountain Bike Capital of the Northwest,” Oakridge has hundreds of miles of singletrack trails, many of which start and end in the city. There are also trails for hiking and horseback riding, plus excellent trout fishing for anglers. East of town, a short hike leads to Salt Creek Falls, Oregon’s second highest single-drop waterfall.  The bright red Office Covered Bridge is an iconic landmark.

A few weeks back we set out on a road trip, seeking waterfalls, geocaches, covered bridges and this mural, all along Hwy 58 outside of Eugene.  There are 20 covered bridges in Lane County, a county that has the distinction of possessing more covered bridges than any other county west of the Mississippi.  Only got to roadside waterfalls and geocaches but did find the 6 covered bridges on our way to Oakridge, including the Office Covered Bridge mentioned.  You could easily explore this area from C’est La Vie Bed and Breakfast in Eugene as your home base. Take a couple of days to discover all this lush part of Oregon has to offer.

The innkeepers of the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild are ready to share Oregon, its environment, culture, and heritage with you.  Get to know our State like a local. Whether you’re looking for a quiet escape, a world class city experience, or a new spin on business travel,  you can be assured of combining gracious hospitality with ambiance when staying at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn.

National Strawberries and Cream

National Strawberries and Cream Day is May 21

National Strawberries and Cream Day is May 21.  We think you’ll love this tasty French Toast

Strawberry Croissant French Toast

4 large day-old croissants
¾ c. milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons butter
Powdered Sugar
Sweetened Whipped Cream
Fresh Strawberries

Slice croissants in half lengthwise.  Whisk together milk, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour into a shallow dish.  Dip croissant halves into eggs mixture, coating well.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add four croissant halves and cook about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Repeat procedure with remaining butter and croissant halves. Spoon strawberries between the layers and some on top. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, top with sweetened whipped cream if desired. Who wouldn’t want sweetened whipped cream and maybe a splash of maple syrup!

Oregon Berry Season has arrived and you’ll find many sweet berry dishes being served at the Inns of the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild.

Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild is ready to share Oregon with you: it’s environment, culture, and heritage. Combine gracious hospitality with ambiance at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn.

Historic Covered Bridges

Oregon has the largest collection of historic covered bridges in the western part of the United States, with over 50 covered spans. These timber bridges were often covered to protect them from the weather. Now, the remaining examples of this obsolete bridge construction technology, generally located in pastoral rural settings, provide one of the most significant tourist attractions in the state.  Allow the Innkeepers of the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild to share local examples of Oregon History then take the road less traveled along Oregon’s Backroads.

** Can you guess which covered bridge is featured in the photo?  Answer at the end of this post.

Just last week we took a road trip for seek some of the 20 covered bridges in Lane County, a county that has the distinction of possessing more covered bridges than any other county west of the Mississippi.  Seventeen of these bridges are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  We started our journey in Eugene, Oregon and headed east on Hwy 58, finding 6 along this road.  You could easily do them all in one day using C’est La Vie Bed and Breakfast in Eugene as your home base. Take a couple of days to discover all Lane County has to offer.

The Innkeepers of the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild invite you to explore our historic destinations.  The heyday of covered bridge building in Oregon occurred between 1905 and 1925 when there were an  estimated 450 covered bridges in the state.  By 1977, this number had dwindled to 56.  All but one of these historic bridges can be found west of the Cascade Range.  The Swalley Canal, Rock O’ The Range, Covered Bridge is just north of Bend.  The others can be found in the Willamette Valley and west toward the Oregon Coast near many inns of the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild.  Plan our next authentic Geotourism adventure along the backroads of Oregon.

The innkeepers of the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild are ready to share Oregon, its environment, culture, and heritage with you.  Get to know our State like a local. Whether you’re looking for a quiet escape, a world class city experience, or a new spin on business travel,  you can be assured of combining gracious hospitality with ambiance when staying at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn.

** If you guessed Goodpasture Bridge on the McKenzie River you were correct

How do Oregon hops get into your beer?  Once known as the ‘Hops Capital of the World’ from the late 1890’s to the 1940’s, Independence, Oregon is located twelve miles southwest of Salem, on the west bank of the Willamette River.  You’ll still find acres of hops growing in the area.  Just a few miles south of Independence is the 42 acres Hop Farm for Rogue Brewery and the Rogue Farms Chatoe Tasting Room

Located in Monmouth Oregon, just across a city boundary from Independence MaMere’s Guest House is charming, unique and colorful inside and out!  The property is on the National Register of Historic Places and is perfectly placed with a very rich history. Built in 1891 as a boarding house for female students, it has since housed hundreds and continues to do so today in its present form as a B&B/Guest House.

The City of Independence is the third largest urban area in Polk County, Oregon.  The first group of wagon trains to arrive in Independence set out on the Oregon Trail from Missouri in May, 1844, arriving in Independence in June of 1845.

Discovered while researching for the post that Rogue Farms also has a barley and rye growing operations just over the ridge from us here in the Hood River Valley.  We share more on that after we check it out.

While in the area consider the Ale and Cider Trail.  Choose your designated drive.  Pick up your passport ($5) at any of the participating locations.  Collect a stamp from each brewery and cidery and redeem your passport at Travel Salem for a complimentary drinking vessel.

Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild is ready to share Oregon with you: it’s environment, culture, and heritage. Combine gracious hospitality with ambiance at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn.

National Buttermilk Biscuit

National Buttermilk Biscuit Day is May 14

National Buttermilk Biscuit Day is May 14 and the innkeeper at WildSpring Guest Habitat, a small eco-friendly resort with amazing Pacific Ocean views on Oregon’s south coast shares a guest favorite

Big Fluffy Biscuits:  Preheat oven to 475° and prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Mix together:
2 C flour
2 t baking powder
½ t baking soda
1 T (heaping) dark brown sugar
1 t salt
sprinkle cinnamon

Mix 1 cup cold buttermilk with 1 stick melted, unsweetened butter, stirring with a balloon whisk until butter clumps.  Let sit 5 minutes

Mix all ingredients, stirring just to moisten.

Use ¼  cup portion/ice cream scoop to drop biscuits on parchment paper. Sprinkle tops with white sugar.  Bake at 475° for 11 – 13 minutes.  The biscuits will will expand during cooking to be about 2 ½” diameter, and 1 ¼” high.

Peach Biscuit/Scones

Use the recipe above, with the following changes:  Add 1 can sliced peaches, drained well and chopped fine to the buttermilk/butter mixture

Fold into the flour mixture until well blended. (do not overmix)
Bake as directed above.

WildSpring Guest Habitat is a small, eco friendly resort in Port Orford and is the perfect location to use as your home base when visiting Oregon’s South Coast.   A member of the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild, WildSpring Guest Habitat sits on 5 secluded acres and offers luxury accommodations in a naturally beautiful environment. Five elegant cabin suites built like small homes are filled with with art and antiques and sit in a secluded, peaceful forest surrounded by 100-foot trees.

Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild is ready to share Oregon with you: it’s environment, culture, and heritage. Combine gracious hospitality with ambiance at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn.

National Apple Pie Day

National Apple Pie Day is May 13

National Apple Pie Day doesn’t necessarily have to be celebrated with an apple pie, right.  Why not Apple Pie Cookies?  The innkeeper at the Old Parkdale Inn Bed and Breakfast put a little spin on the classic apple pie and the results were amazing.  For quicker, easier assembly she used refrigerated pie crusts

Apple Pie Cookies

  • 6 green apples
  • 1 package refrigerated pie crust (2 crusts)
  • 5 ounces caramel sauce
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • Ground cinnamon

1) Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with parchment and non stick spray;  set aside.

2) Remove pie crusts from refrigerator so they warm up slightly. This will make them easier to work with.

3) Peel the skin off the green apples, compost.  Continue peeling so you have bunch of fleshy, white peels of apple in your bowl.

4) Dust work area with flour and slightly roll out crusts. From one pie crust, cut out circles for the cookies.  Cut the second pie crust into 1/2″ strips.

5) Place round pie crusts on cookie sheet. Spread a thin layer of caramel sauce on each cookie, followed by a pile of white apple peels. Using the 1/2” strips, create a tic-tac-toe lattice pattern over each cookie.

6) Beat egg in bowl and add sugar and nutmeg until well blended. Brush cookies with egg wash.

7) Sprinkle cookies with cinnamon.  Use more or less cinnamon depending on your preference.

8) Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until cookies are a golden brown. Remove from oven, allow to cool for 5 minutes, serve and enjoy!

The Old Parkdale Inn is located in the Upper Hood River Valley, a renowned growing region for pears and apples.   Located in the quaint town of Parkdale, Oregon with Oregon’s tallest peak, Mt. Hood, as a backdrop.  Outdoor adventure, farms, wineries and fine dining are nearby.  The complete privacy of the inn and the serene gardens are perfect for romantic and restful getaways.

Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild is ready to share Oregon with you: it’s environment, culture, and heritage. Combine gracious hospitality with ambiance at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn.

Bella Collina

Situated on a hillside with views of vineyards, farmlands, and the Coast Range, Bella Collina Bed and Breakfast offers an ideal venue for a romantic getaway, friends retreat, and wine tasting adventures.

The seven luxurious guest rooms at Bella Collina have been designed to maximize the pleasure of visiting the beautiful Willamette Valley.  Custom built with complete guests comfort and privacy in mind, as shown by features such as private decks, double-headed, tiled showers, heated tile floors, wet bar with sink and many more amenities.

Bella Collina Bed and Breakfast features a large great room with floor to ceiling glass and a large common deck that opens to the panoramic vistas.

Let Bella Collina be your home base when visiting over 100 wineries and tasting rooms in the Willamette Valley wine country.  Day trips from the inn could include the Oregon coast, beautiful Silver Falls State Park, Portland, Oregon, and the Columbia Gorge River.

The innkeepers of the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild are ready to share Oregon, its environment, culture, and heritage with you.  Get to know our State like a local. Whether you’re looking for a quiet escape, a world class city experience, or a new spin on business travel,  you can be assured of combining gracious hospitality with ambiance when staying at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn.

Lightship Columbia

Lightship Columbia is the last lightship serving the Pacific Coast

Lightship Columbia, a 128-foot welded-steel lightship, was built in 1950 for the U.S. Coast Guard. It was stationed at the mouth of the Columbia River near Cape Disappointment between 1951 and 1979. Retired in 1979, after 28 years of service the Lightship Columbia was sold to the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria in 1980.  Lightship Columbia, is afloat, open to the public as part of museum admission. On December 20, 1989, the Lightship Columbia was added to the National Register of Historic Places as National Historic Landmark #89002463.

The Columbia River Maritime Museum has the largest collection of Pacific Northwest maritime artifacts in the country and works to preserve the rich maritime heritage of the entire Columbia River region.  Exhibits take an exciting look at the legendary Columbia River entrance, where the forces of the mighty Columbia River and Pacific Ocean meet to create one of the most dangerous bar crossings on the planet.  There have been approximately 114 vessels wrecked, stranded, sunk in collisions, or capsized in the Columbia River estuary, on the nearby beaches or at sea within a few miles of the entrance giving it the name “Graveyard of the Pacific.  Here, waves can exceed 40 feet in height during the most severe winter storms.  This museum is one of the country’s finest displays about shipwrecks, lighthouses, fishing, navigation and naval history.

Guests staying at these Oregon Coast bed and breakfasts enjoy hiking, biking, kayaking the rivers trails, paths and surf.  Over 600 Victorian homes are tucked away throughout Astoria along with museums, galleries, antique shops and small intimate gift shops and fine restaurants.

The innkeepers of the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild are ready to share Oregon, its environment, culture, and heritage with you.  Get to know our State like a local. Whether you’re looking for a quiet escape, a world class city experience, or a new spin on business travel,  you can be assured of combining gracious hospitality with ambiance when staying at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn.

 

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While visiting the Oregon Coast, one of the 7 Wonders of Oregon, you won’t want to miss exploring the historic Lighthouses, the beacons of light of bygone days.  Perched on the very edge of land and sea, Oregon Lighthouses were built to warn ships of the dangerous rocky shores.  The treacherous Pacific storms wrecked many a ship but the lighthouses prevented even more from such fate.

Most were built in the late 1880’s and of the Eleven Lighthouses on the Oregon Coast, nine are on the Historic Registry and seven are open to the public.

Cape Blanco, Port Orford ~ This lighthouse is on the westernmost point in the state of Oregon.

Cape Meares, Tillamook ~ The shortest lighthouse on the Oregon Coast

Coquille River, Bandon ~ Not used since 1939, but it has a nice interpretive center

Heceta Head, Florence ~ This one has the strongest light and can be seen 21 miles offshore

Umpqua River, Reedsport ~ When they first built this one, it fell into the river

Yaquina Bay, Newport ~ This lighthouse was only operational for four years back in the 1870s

Yaquina Head, Newport ~ The tallest lighthouse you can find along the Oregon Coast

The innkeepers of the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild are ready to share Oregon, its Culinary Tourism and Geotourism, its environment, culture, and heritage with you.  Get to know our State like a local; stay with one of our nearly 100 hosts in any one of our six regions.  Experience romantic getaways, historic treasures, and tucked away rustic retreats.  Whether your trip is for a quiet escape to a quaint rural or coastal town, taking in Oregon Geotourism, for a World Class City experience, or for a new spin on business travel, you can be assured of combining gracious hospitality with ambiance by staying at an unique inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn.

Geocaching in Oregon

Geocaching in Oregon ~ Where it all Began

Geocaching in Oregon is nothing new as the game started here.  On May 3 this game, once known as the “Great American GPS Stash Hunt’, celebrates it’s 19th birthday with now over 3 million hides world wide.  A little history lesson here, the full version can be read on the Geocaching.com website where I pulled this information.

“Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people …from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.  Geocaching.com is the headquarters for the activity”

On May 3rd a black bucket was placed in the woods near Beavercreek, Oregon, south of Portland.  Along with a logbook and pencil,  various items including videos, books, software, and a slingshot were left to trade. The waypoint of this “stash” were shared online and the “Great America Stash Hunt” was started

That original bucket was severely damaged by an Oregon road crew mower and is no longer around.  Concerned geocachers dedicated the Original Stash Tribute Plaque GCGV0P on behalf of cachers everywhere.

Many innkeepers of the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild are avid cachers and you’re sure to find many caches near their inn when doing a search.

Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild is ready to share Oregon with you: it’s environment, culture, and heritage. Combine gracious hospitality with ambiance at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn.