Western Oregon Road Trip with Mom

The Itinerary

• Day 1: Picked up Mom at PDX Amtrak; drove to Seaside to walk the boardwalk; drove through Newport and Lincoln City; stayed at my Depoe Bay condo.
• Day 2: Drove to North Bend to visit Mom's grandparents' house and childhood home; visited the cemetery in Coos Bay; drove via Highway 42 and Highway 140 to overnight at my Klamath Falls condo.
• Day 3: Entered Crater Lake via the south entrance; had lunch at the Crater Lake Lodge; took a photo reproducing a picture from 40+ years ago; drove clockwise to Bend; visited Smith Rock; overnighted at my Bend condo.
• Day 4: Drove from Bend to Maryhill to visit the replica Stonehenge monument; passed through Shaniko; visited the Bridge of the Gods in Cascade Locks; had lunch at Multnomah Falls; visited the Vista House on the Old Gorge Highway; hung out with Shady Fox in Gladstone to give him the toy fox; returned to PDX Amtrak.

Notes & Synchronicities

• Drove by Darcy's House: On Day 4, while driving from Bend to Maryhill through north central Oregon, I apparently drove right by the house of my daughter, Darcy Carlson. I did not know it at the time, and would not even know of her existence for another few years (discovering our connection via a genetic match in 2024).