We visited Hat Rock State Park, which is named for the distinctive landmark passed by the Lewis and Clark Expedition on their journey down the Columbia River. We hiked to the base of Hat Rock and around the pond, where Elizabeth enjoyed seeing a pelican. Heading east, we stopped for some ice cream in Pendleton (home of the Pendleton Roundup), drove up Deadman Pass, then stopped to see the historic Upper Perry Arch Bridge (which was built in 1924) before spending a night in La Grande.

We flew to Portland where Tiffany attended a conference at the Oregon Convention Center. While in Portland, Benjamin visited Washington Park and toured both the International Rose Test Garden and the Hoyt Arboretum. He also rode the Portland Aerial Tram and walked the Waterfront Park Trail. Before leaving Portland, we enjoyed a nice meal at Deschutes Brewery and Public House.

During the long Labor Day weekend, we took a road trip through Oregon. Starting in the east, we drove through parts of Wallowa-Whitman National Forest and Malheur National Forest to the Sheep Rock Unit of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument where we toured the Paleontology Center and hiked a short trail to an overlook at Cant Ranch. We then drove to the scenic Painted Hills Unit of the park and hiked to a few more overlooks before continuing west through part of Ochoco National Forest towards Redmond.

After a quick stop at the Ochoco State Park Wayside in Prineville, we drove to Newberry National Volcanic Monument south of Bend. At the monument we were fortunate to arrive just in time to catch the final shuttle to the top of the Lava Butte Cinder Cone to see the views across Deschutes National Forest before returning down to the base to do some hiking through the lava fields.

We started the next day with some hiking at Smith Rock State Park, then watched bungee jumpers dive off a bridge over the Crooked River at Peter Skene Ogden State Park. After a steep hike to view the falls at White River Falls State Park, we drove to the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. In the gorge, we stopped at several scenic overlooks and viewed impressive waterfalls, including Multnomah Falls, Latourell Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls. To finish the day, we had a great meal at the Bargarten Bavarian Social Haus in Salem.

The final day of our trip we made a quick stop at the Oregon State Capitol before driving to the coast to visit Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. After a nice drive north on US-101 along the coast (including a seafood lunch stop at Mo's Seafood) we toured the Tillamook Creamery, then drove to Portland to catch our flight home.

We drove to Crater Lake National Park, where even though this weekend had a total solar eclipse that was passing just north of the park, the crowds were manageable. There were also several wildfires burning around the park, but the air was still clear at the lake. We drove the loop around the lake, stopping at several overlooks, and enjoyed lunch at Crater Lake Lodge. We also stopped at Valley of the Rogue State Park.

We flew to Oregon for a weekend and drove through downtown Portland, enjoyed a seafood dinner along the Willamette River at McCormick & Schmicks, and had some wonderful fritters at Heavenly Donuts.

After driving west to Astoria, we toured Fort Clatsop at Lewis & Clark National Historical Park. The fort is also a site on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. We then crossed the Astoria-Megler Bridge over the Columbia River. Like New Jersey, we learned that Oregon does not allow you to pump your own gas.