Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

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snoopy64
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p.1 #1 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

Hi,
my husband and I are going to visit Or and Wa at the end of september.
I already bought some guides to photography in Oregon and around Puget Sound, bur what I am really looking for are insider tipps ... as probably everybody else

We love to do some hiking and photography is of course my passion (my husband carries my gear ... no kidding

).
We are going to be travelling in a 23ft RV. What are good places to stay? Any State Parks that you highly recommend? Any (free) campgrounds that no tourist knows of?
Any special place where to take the best pictures?
Thanks for all your support
snoopy64

Aug 03, 2008 at 08:12 PM

Ken Hernandez
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p.1 #2 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

I live near Seattle and used to work out on the Olympic Peninsula. If you take Highway 101 and make the loop around the peninsula (just look at a map and you'll understand what I mean) you will find some beautiful areas. I used to work in a very small town called Forks, and there are some really nice coastal areas just 10 miles to the west. That town is called LaPush. You will also be near the Hoh Rain forrest and a ton of other rivers and trails. Just 20-25 miles east of Forks is Lake Crescent which again has great scenic areas.

As you go more East to the town of Port Angeles, you will find Hurricane Ridge which also has some great views. Even more East on "the loop" and you will run into a couple ports from the old days (Port Townsend and Port Gamble.) If you have the time take a look at driving it...you won't be sorry.

As far as the Seattle area, you have to check out Pikes Place, Queen Anne hill, UW campus, Alki Beach, and anywhere downtown. If you like city shots, then you will be in luck.

Ken

Edited by Ken Hernandez on Aug 04, 2008 at 02:40 PM GMT

Edited on Aug 04, 2008 at 10:40 PM

Aug 03, 2008 at 10:21 PM

mdbassman
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p.1 #3 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

I recommend you see Crater Lake NP, Mt Shasta, CA and the coastal areas near Gold Beach and to the North. There are a few wonderful redwood parks on the Calif/Oreg border also.
Plenty to see and do. Have fun!
Dan

Aug 04, 2008 at 09:34 AM

crteach
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p.1 #4 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

Mt. St. Helens is an eye-opener just to realize the enormity of what happened there. We visited that area in the mid '90's, so I'm sure the area around the mountain has recovered even more. But, I agree with Ken about the Olympic Peninsula - beautiful around that area! mdbassman is right on about the redwood forests - we just finished a trip there a few weeks ago and it was gorgeous. The only thing about the redwoods is that you almost need something in the picture to give you the perspective of how big they really are!!

Aug 04, 2008 at 01:06 PM

Ernie Aubert
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p.1 #5 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

If you like trout streams, you'd love the Metolius River in central Oregon. I've told people that if a trout angler was blindfolded and taken there (in the Camp Sherman area) and the blindfold removed, he'd think he'd died and gone to Heaven.

Aug 05, 2008 at 12:56 AM

snoopy64
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p.1 #6 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

Thanks a lot for all your replies! Unfortunately my husband broke both his arms yesterday, so please keep your fingers crossed, that we'll be able to see all the beautiful places that you recommend. I hope to have some time available tomorrow and I will then answer a bit more personal, as I (we're optimistic ;-)) took out the Oregon and Washington Maps today and circled all the places worth seeing ...
snoopy

Aug 05, 2008 at 10:02 PM

snoopy64
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p.1 #7 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

@Ken
Thanks a lot for your great tipps for the Olympic Peninsula and Seattle. My map already had the Peninsula circled, but your tipps are very welcomed. I do have some further questions for you:

snoopy

Edited on Aug 06, 2008 at 05:59 PM

Aug 06, 2008 at 05:58 PM

snoopy64
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p.1 #8 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

@Dan
Crater Lake wasn't part of our very first plan, but it has been since "plan 2.5" ;-). Mt. Shasta is a bit to far to the south as we get our RV in Vancouver and we have to return it there as well. And we only have 19 days ...
Is the stretch between Bandon and Gold Beach worth the extra milage? We are (so far) planning to leave the coastal area in Bandon to then go to Crater Lake. What would you recommend?
snoopy

Aug 06, 2008 at 06:05 PM

snoopy64
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p.1 #9 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

@crteach:
Mt. St. Helens is a bit of a problem as it isn't quite along our (so far) planned route. We could make it, but only to the east (a bit along road 25) and to the south (north of Swift Reservoir). Is it still worth it even if one can't approach the mountain via 504 to the visitor center?

@Kerry:
Very nice pictures ... I can't wait to catch some of such moments myself. The only problem is that we are not as flexibel with an RV than we would be with a car and a hotel room. Or are there enough places ( .. I don't think of private campgrounds) where one can park overnight?

@Ernie:
Yes, the Metolius River Area is very vividly described in one of our guide books and it's already marked on our map. Any super-special tipps for this area?

Thanks everybody for your help ... it's extremely appreciated (I hope I'm not making a fool of myself as English is not my native tongue :cool

snoopy

Aug 06, 2008 at 06:17 PM

Ken Hernandez
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p.1 #10 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

snoopy64 wrote:
@Ken
Thanks a lot for your great tipps for the Olympic Peninsula and Seattle. My map already had the Peninsula circled, but your tipps are very welcomed. I do have some further questions for you:

snoopy

Neah Bay is about 40miles North of Hwy101 at at the very northwest of the state. I've been there a couple of times and don't think it's worth it to go that far out of your way. If you take "the loop" you will see plenty of scenic views and don't need to veer off that much. The best one to go to is La Push. It's about 10-12 miles to the west of Forks and has some awesome coastal shots. I wasn't into photography at the time I lived out there, or I would show you what I mean. And you'll have no problem with the RV.

I drove around Lake Crescent (on Hwy 101) hundreds of times and every time I did I was amazed how beautiful it was. I never took 112, but did hear that it's a little curvy with some steep cliffs and great views. If you want water shots then I would take 112. If you want nature shots (trees, birds, rivers, etc...) then 101 is the way to go.

If you google "Washington State Ferries" you will a full list of schedules, prices and routes. I always took the Kingston-Edmonds Ferry, which is a great ride. That will allow you to go through Port Gamble, which is a cool little town from the old days. It sounds kind odd, but there really isn't a place without a view or something to look at when you get in this part of the state. Water and Mountains everywhere!

Driving the RV into downtown is something I would not do. There are a lot of very steep hills and one way streets and no where to park. I think on the south end of the city (by Safeco Field) there are big parking lots to park the RV and then you could take a quick cab ride or walk the couple of miles to downtown. It's right next to all the shipping ports, so the cab might be the best bet. I haven't been to the zoo yet, but heard it's pretty cool. I actually might be going next week, so I let you know how it is.

You will enjoy everything you're gonna see out here, and make sure you have plenty of space for picture storage!
Ken

Aug 06, 2008 at 10:49 PM

wtlloyd
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p.1 #11 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

Highly recommend:

http://www.photographamerica.com/

Aug 07, 2008 at 02:17 PM

Ernie Aubert
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p.1 #12 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

Snoopy, I'd never have guessed that English isn't your native language; you write it well.

I don't have any super special tips; when I was last at the Metolius, I wasn't as into photography (I don't think digital cameras even existed at the time). I was there as an angler. But what a beautiful river! I'd like to go back there with my camera, but who can afford the gas?

That sounded like a good idea about avoiding downtown (in any city) in an RV... and I'd a darn site rather travel by RV than car and motel in any case! The beauty of an RV is that you can sleep near where you want to do whatever you do (the ugly is that they drink so much gas!)

I hope you have a great time.

Aug 08, 2008 at 01:39 AM

snoopy64
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p.1 #13 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

@Ken
Thanks again for your tipps for the Olympic Peninsula. I actually can't wait to get there. We are totally into rivers, lakes and mountains ;-).
I already checked out the Washington State Ferries and we'll probably spend our last day in the vicinity of Port Gamble. Sounds interesting.
As time is rather precious I don't think (anymore ...) that we'll visit the zoo .. unless you tell me that it is the greatest zoo on earth ;-)
@Kerry
Good to hear, that the campgrounds won't be very crowded. Actually last year we had some campgrounds all to ourselves in Canada ... but that was a bit spouky .... I marked Ho CG on my map ;-)
@wtlloyd
I came across this page a few weeks ago, but unfortunately you can't the mgazines in Europe. I posted a "search post" in some German photography forums, but I got no reply.
@Ernie
Yes, gas is very expensive ... but coming from Europe ... it's fairly cheap over there ;-). No, not really and I'm not quite sure whether we'd have booked the trip now ... we booked it one year in advance and last year the prices were "okay". Fortunately we rent a 23ft RV that needs only 13l per 100km ... we tested it last year and booked the trip under the condition that this model is available. The bad part is, that is it a diesel and diesel is more expensinve than regular .... in Germany it is the other way round.

Additional tipps always welcome ... about 6 weeks of planning left ;-)

Aug 08, 2008 at 07:05 PM

wtlloyd
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p.1 #14 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

snoopy64 wrote:

@wtlloyd
I came across this page a few weeks ago, but unfortunately you can't the mgazines in Europe. I posted a "search post" in some German photography forums, but I got no reply.

It's available as a PDF download....easy to carry on a laptop, which I do....

Aug 09, 2008 at 05:13 AM

EltonTeng
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p.1 #15 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

Oak Harbor is quite scenic and is between Seattle and Vancouver.

Don't forget the Seattle City Library. It was designed by a Dutch architect and is super cool. Bring your fastest wide lenses to this location.

Aug 09, 2008 at 05:35 AM

snoopy64
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p.1 #16 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

Thanks for all your tipps - meanwhile we have a pretty good idea about what we would like to see. As we will be travelling with a RV we won't probably stop in any bigger city ... although I know (or I think I know) that Seattle is a very "photogenic" city. BTW we will stay in Vancouver for two days ...
Here is our route - maybe you like to make suggestions as to what we should alter ...

snoopy64

Aug 13, 2008 at 07:05 PM

Ken Hernandez
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p.1 #17 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

Bring plenty of memory cards! You're gonna need it.
Have a safe trip,
Ken

Aug 14, 2008 at 06:10 PM

Jimbobp
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p.1 #18 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

I didn't see Silver Falls state Park mentioned. In my book, that's a must see spot.

Aug 15, 2008 at 02:07 AM

GCasey
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p.1 #19 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

Depending on your route, consider the Columbia River Gorge, up the Columbia from Portland. It's a beautiful area for photography. The drive from Portland to Astoria, and then down 101 is also beautiful.

Aug 15, 2008 at 02:22 AM

snoopy64
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p.1 #20 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

@Ken
Hopefully 28Gb will do ...

@Jimbobp
Silver Falls SP is a bit out of our way but as we never know exactly where we'll finally end up, I put a circle around it on our map

@GCasey
We will be at the Columbia River for some while (... 2days ...). Biggs to Heppner Junction; The Dallas to Astoria ... probably

What are your favorite places in this area?
snoopy

Aug 15, 2008 at 05:04 PM

Jimbobp
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p.1 #21 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

Snoopy, let me say that Silver Falls is worth the detour. I've made trips to Oregon just to go there.

This image is copyrighted by the owner

the whites are blown out on this one due to my poor processing at the time. It's the only sample I could find on line. But it will give you the general idea.

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Aug 15, 2008 at 08:34 PM

xicotencatl
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p.1 #22 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

SNOOPY64 .......

I went to Mt. St. Helens yesterday (8-17), and it's closed !!!!!

I drove off HWY 12 (Randle) ~~~25 mls, only to find the road closed. (About 2-3 miles before getting there).

I hope by Sept the road is fixed. I turned around and went to Mt Rainier again !! (Sunrise).

All the signs I read: "Mt St Helens" OPEN

Xicotencatl

Aug 18, 2008 at 05:03 PM

snoopy64
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p.1 #23 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

@Xicotencatl
Although that's bad news for us, thx a lot for your report. I just checked the USDA internet page and it says here:

... major failure of Forest Road 99, which accesses the east side of the Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument (MSHNVM), will prevent visitors, for the remainder of the summer, from accessing the popular Windy Ridge viewpoint over looking Spirit Lake as well as the northeast side of the volcano.

That doesn't sound as if the road will be open in September

- unfortunately we probably won't have enough time to drive around to the west side. At least we'll only take the detour if the weather is fine ...
Thx again
snoopy64

Aug 18, 2008 at 08:35 PM

kurz_ein
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p.1 #24 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

definately silver falls.

be careful around the matolias. my buddy's dad got camera gear stolen twice there.

if you go to mt hood (which you should), hit up the huckleberry inn. Great food and brick sized maple bars

Aug 19, 2008 at 04:39 AM

tanglefoot47
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p.1 #25 · Visiting Oregon and Washington soon

Deception pass is nice and they have a ton of camping spots. You are on the sound and the bridges you cross just before you get into the park are cool. Makes for great picture taking

Aug 20, 2008 at 09:55 PM


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