THE OREGON TOWNS BLOG

  TILLAMOOK  Tillamook, Oregon the cheese capital of our state and, well that's almost it. Just kidding. Tillamook is a lot more than just cheese, it's a place too. Listen, if you're from Oregon, you know I'm not going to oversell this place. Tillamook is a little bit complicated, it's the land of cheese and it's main tourist attraction is the cheese factory, and it gets thousands of tourists per year. Honestly this is what the town has always been associated with that and it always will be (probably.) Tillamook county has a rich history, and it is mostly wilderness, which is great, but there are a few small towns huddled near the coast on it.  Tillamook is the place to go in Tillamook county, they have the before mentioned cheese factory, the air, a great history museum and downtown. Downtown Tillamook is a rather complicated story. In the 1960s, it was a neon illuminated center of attention, with Chevys cruising the streets. It was not looking so great fo

BAKER CITY In the rural dessert lands with the Wallowas lying north and the dessert lying south, sits a gleaming city of wonders. The queen city of eastern Oregon, it is filled with great sights to behold. It has tall buildings and old ones and it maintains the European vibe a bit with some buildings but it looks like a small city in eastern Oregon. When you are driving to Baker city, you think it's either going to be crappy or sleepy if you don't know anything about it. But instead you find an amazing wonderful  place with so much star-studded greatness it's not like the environment around it, it's like Oregon's version of Dubai(except without the skyscrapers, futuristic technology, and huge dessert, I mean huge!) Arriving there, I was in awe, I never really thought it would look like what it actually was. Most people(I mean Portlanders) look at pictures of Baker city and say to themselves "hey! I'd like to go there some time maybe in a couple years..

 BURNS Okay, let's talk about Burns. It is situated in pretty much the middle of the dessert, in Harney county. It already doesn't have much going for it in terms of climate  and, y'know where it is. The reason it's on the map is because there are no other real towns for many miles. Now I don't have anything against Burns, it's just not that interesting. There are a few cool shops and it is certainly a good center of activity for the surrounding area. It just doesn't seem to have a lot going on. They call it the "gateway to the Steens mountains" which it is, there is some breathtaking scenery behind it. Nobody seems to really visit a lot because of the rather dark things that have happened in it's recent past.  The dark things have been the occupation of the Malheur national wildlife refuge. This was a truly dark and tragic moment in Oregon's history. Also there was horrible car crash in Burns a couple weeks ago, seven people where kil

  EUGENE Hi guys, I just wanted to make an announcement before this article starts. Over the next five  weeks, I will be writing articles on the five cities in Oregon that exemplify the culture the feel and the natural landscape of the state that I live in. I have kind of already done one of them,(Pendleton) but it is the first in a series. On with the article.   Today I am going to be talking about Eugene. Eugene is an amazing city with so much culture that is a growing major city. It is you in it's major city hood but it has stepped up to the challenge. It's population has been growing in recent years because of how truly beautiful and vibrant it is. I've always loved the  nice neighborhoods and the scenic parks and the river and the great markets. It has been Oregon's second greatest in population, but that is debatable. It has seemed to fluctuate over the years. One year Salem is bigger, the next Eugene is.  There is so much to love about Eugene, from the v

 PENDLETON  Some might argue that Pendleton is a definite city. And for the most part I would agree with them. It is certainly a small city but that does not deter it from it's small town roots. It acts like an Oregon small town and has all the facets that a town like that would have. Some dislike it because of the cowboy lifestyle. But the greatness of Pendleton cannot be overstated. When I first arrived there I had to admire the architecture and the great parks and the Umatilla river. It is truly the wild west, and everything about the downtown says so. Well, you might be thinking that: this is just a stupid town with a ton of stupid cowboys. If you think that, I couldn't  disagree with you more.  The reason I am doing a post on Pendleton is because it really doesn't have a very urban feel.The wild west lifestyle and all of the little shops and the historic buildings just gives and certain greatness and special quality that is unique. When you go to this place it just

  JOSEPH  Joseph is awesome. It is nestled inside the Wallowa mountains. It seems like it is in the  middle of nowhere. But as you go into the town, you discover the beautiful oasis. It is a  cowboy town with so much charm and so much spirit. It might just be the greatest small town in Oregon. It has so many little things that make it great. It's so isolated, and it is adjacent to the great Wallowa  lake. It is old and is a town filled  to the  brim with interesting people and places that just et under you skin. It is the little aspects and little things and the natural beauty that surrounds this marvelous little pocket of greatness. The tiled streets and the signs and the brass sculptures.  When you get there you just want to relax. You can feel the mountains and rivers and trees and forest and wilderness colliding in one spot. It leaves me without words. I can't even describe how beautiful this towns truly is. This town has that sort of alpine charm that other towns are de

  SISTERS In the land of the Ponderosas lies Sisters. Now, everyone may expect me to be full of praise for Sisters, but I don't think so. I think Sisters is really nice and all, there's just something about it that seems artificial. All of the western themed architecture is great and all, but at the end of the day, it's all a little much. Everything in downtown Sisters seems like it's constructed for a specific purpose, and that purpose is for tourists. Sisters is the dream small town in the dream place, but something about it just doesn't  seem natural. It is forced to stick to this gimmick that has taken over every bit of the town. It is a well functioning city, with good people and good homes and good businesses. There is something though that is  driving people to move here and visit here.  When I went to Sisters most recently, I was stuck in a traffic jam, going into Sisters, it's partially because the city won't put up traffic lights and partial

ESTACADA Estacada is a place that is untamed, and it has a rich history. It is not unflawed, but it is great. It's one of those towns in the Willamette valley that is unforgettable. It is surrounded by amazing natural beauty. If you walk the main street, you see the amazingly rich history of the place. It has always had a deep connection with Portland. In the early 1900s, a trolley line ran down to Estacada and attracted a lot of tourists to the area. The town grew and became a great cultural hub. Walking through the main part of the town, it kind of seems formulaic in its presentation. But as you look closer into this town's businesses and restaurants, as well as talk to some of the people, you see that it has a wild spirit, and lives in those times of cruising around and the small towns that used to be.   The reason I say it is untamed is that it hasn't really been discovered by the tourist yet. It has yet to be dumbed down by the casual observer or the overbeari

      MT. ANGEL         In the bleeding heart of the Willamette valley lies Mt. Angel, Oregon. This town is really weird, or at least pretty, it's like a little mini Germany down there. The city is so full of culture and is raging during its Oktoberfest, a great celebration. When I rode down a backroad off of  the highway, I saw the spire of the great and beautiful church that is there and the quaint little houses and mighty german buildings. It feels like you're in another world when you visit this town and it is really special. Crime is not a very large concern here and it always feels peace when the Oktoberfest isn't happening, but if that's your thing, pack your bags. When I arrived in the town me and the people I was traveling with all felt very hungry, so we stopped at the famous Glockenspiel restaurant where we had a delicious meal and walked around. In the months following Oktoberfest, this town is actually quite mellow. It has a lot of things for tourists t

MOSIER          Mosier is the perfect little town if your biking along the gorge and it is conveniently located along the basalt cliffs. With a population  of 437, as the towns says: "small enough to make a difference." As you take the exit from the highway, you see a small road that takes you along the main drag of the town, showing off the town's many businesses. There are plenty of places to stop and get a cool beverage and enjoy the view of the cherry trees greeting  you. You also see the beautiful Mosier community school. If you just take a moment to slow down and examine the historic buildings, like the Mosier valley post office (top right.)  The town is just eight miles down the road from Hood River(a place which I hope to cover in a future post.) This town is one of the places in Oregon that truly make this state special, from it's views to its history to its   great community.          This place has been getting a lot of attention in recent years, mo

MILL CITY         Mill city is a small town that lies in the Willamette foothills and valley along the beautiful   North Santiam river. It is a hidden gem of Oregon that I had never explored until recently. It has beautiful view of the river, with a nice feel to the town. The reason I like it is that it's not perfect. There is some Meth use in this area but this place is relatively safe from it. Still, there is almost no crime here with instances similar to the ones we saw in Yachats, property crime and a very small amount of violent crime. Both of these stats though, are much lower than Yachats surprisingly. This place has a very rich history, with journalism and industry in the towns past. By now you might be thinking, "this town is kinda beat." On the outside, some people might have reason to think it's the case. But if you delve deeper into this town, you'll know it deserves a chance. They are revitalizing them selves to have a great future. This city has

YACHATS                   Yachats is the greatest town on the Oregon coast. It started as a small village on the small bay. All my life it has been my second home. It's called the gem of the Oregon coast for a reason. It is such a center of culture, with so many people coming here and exploring the beautiful place. The Oregon coast highway slices right through the town like a machete. This makes almost all of the businesses centered around it. You are driving to visit your aunt who lives in Brookings and you are starving. You take in the smells of the various restaurants and see people smiling as they pack in at Ona  and lick fresh ice cream from Toppers. And the brief afternoon sun of the summer months glows in the sky. I have spent hours strolling the backroads and looking at the rustic houses as you see the backs of buildings and find your self at the post office and journey into the quaint Yachats Public Library. You wander down the winding roads and stare at the beautiful