Adventures in Oregon

Family reunion. Enough said, right?

My sister, mom, and I left for Oregon on July 31st. We met up with my grandma and uncle (mom's mom and brother) at the terminal. True to form, my grandmother and uncle were worrying about what they'd do if we missed our flight.
Needless fear as it turned out; we made it with time to spare. We landed at Portland Airport exactly five hours and one minute after we took off from Oahu according to repeated observations from our pilot. We finally stumbled in to our hotel at around 12:30 at night, hungry and exhausted. My sister and I immediately searched for a pool, apparently feeling uncomfortable with five hours and one minute without putting our feet in the water.

Portland, OR

More of Portland

Those first few days in Portland were a blur. We spent two nights in the city. My sister and I explored the town one day, shopping (thank you tax free states!) and walking along the waterfront. There were some interesting characters and some really cool bands just along the river. For dinner we met up with another portion of my mom's side of the family: an aunt, two of my cousins, and their kids.

Then was the drive. Portland was really just a pit stop. Ahead of us was around 250 miles of driving: south to the Box R Ranch in Greensprings, OR.

Driving down to the Box R Ranch

It's crazy how much space there is in Oregon. When you're used to steep cliffs abruptly ending in a vast expanse of blue, you become accustomed to boundaries. At home, I always know where I am. Water on one side, mountains on the other. It's hard to get lost. But Oregon felt limitless. And driving for five and a half hours without encountering any obstacles just solidified that feeling. And the mountains seemed soft. I finally understand the term "rolling hills." On Kauai, mountains are steep and immediate. These mountains provided a serious contrast to what I was used to. As we travelled further south I expected it to become greener. But the arid landscape held. Only in patches was it wet enough for a deep green to dominate.

Finally, after a day full of driving, we reached Ashland. Ashland marked the last town before we began our way up the mountain to Greensprings, an elevation of almost 4,000 feet. After stocking up on a ridiculous amount of food, we began the ascent.

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To be continued...