In my visits to India in the last 10 years, Kundan had joined me in most of my treks. So when he mentioned that he is planning to visit the US West Coast, I got excited and asked him to add a few more days for a trip together. As his travel dates were finalized, we decided on a five-day Washington-Oregon road trip in early February.
Day 1 – Leavenworth
I picked up Kundan from the Seattle airport, and we drove to his childhood friend Dipak’s place for lunch. Kundan was meeting him after almost 30 years. They wouldn’t have ever imagined meeting again on the other side of the world.
After lunch, we were on the road heading to Leavenworth. It was a scenic drive on the US-2 highway, with increasing snow coverage as we made our way up to Stevens Pass. We took a short break at the ski resort for some pictures and then continued our drive to Leavenworth.
I didn’t have Leavenworth on my radar initially, but when I reached out to a friend who knew the area well, he recommended it. Leavenworth is a Bavarian-style village nestled in the Cascade Mountains, situated within the traditional territories of the indigenous Wenatchi and Yakama peoples.
The town was lit up with Christmas lights, which I didn’t expect in February. Just the lights made the visit to this unique town worthwhile. We walked around the town for a bit, tried a few cafes/restaurants and after dinner made our way to Wenatchee, where we would be staying overnight.
Day 2 – Columbia River Gorge Waterfalls
The next day, we drove south, crossed the Columbia River into Oregon, and then drove east. It was a beautiful drive along the Columbia River, which is approximately 2,000 km long (forms in the Canadian Rockies) and 2.4 km wide on average. After a brief stop for lunch, we got on the Historic Columbia River Hwy and stopped at Horsetail Falls.
Horsetail Falls
The falls is right across the parking lot and has a trail that takes you to the base of the waterfalls. Horsetail Falls trail also starts from here and provides access to some of the other waterfalls that are not visible from the highway.
It was raining, and considering the drive ahead, we decided to skip the hike and continued our drive along the highway to Multnomah Falls.
Multnomah Falls
Multnomah Falls is the tallest waterfall in Oregon at 189 m (620 feet) and is easily accessible. It was a weekend, and although it wasn’t peak season, the parking lot was still busy.
The lower viewing platform provides a great view of the two-drop waterfall. The bridge, which is the upper viewpoint, makes for a unique setting with the waterfall in the background. It is a short hike to the bridge, and from here you can continue the hike to the top of the waterfalls.
We hiked down to the base, grabbed a coffee and got back on the road. We had a couple of hours of driving to our destination for the night – Astoria.
Day 3 – Northern Oregon Coast
Astoria
Astoria is the oldest city in Oregon, located at the mouth of the Columbia River. In the morning, we walked to the pier and then along the train tracks to the Astoria-Megler Bridge. This is a 6.5 km bridge, the longest continuous truss bridge in North America.
Later, we visited the lightship Columbia docked outside the Columbia River Maritime Museum.
Ecola State Park
After breakfast, we started driving down the coast and our first stop was at Ecola State Park.
We drove to the North end of the park to Indian Beach day-use area. Indian Beach has been the filming location for lots of movies including the Goonies, Free Willy and Twilight. Later, we drove down to the Ecola Point day-use area. From the parking lot, it is a short hike to the beautiful Ecola Point Viewpoint.
Close to the viewpoint, there is a cozy picnic shelter, and it was too good to pass up an opportunity to cook some hot food. We went back to the car and carried our stuff to the shelter.
It was the first time Kundan had seen such a portable setup for cooking. He was amused and happy to taste some familiar comfort food of Maggie noodles and chai.
Cannon Beach
Late in the afternoon, we went to Cannon Beach, which has the iconic Haystack Rock. On our entire trip, this is one area where I took the most pictures. Especially with the combination of the beach, the sun and the clouds, the giant rock looked even more impressive.
The beach is also known for its tide pools and the marine life. We saw a lot of colourful Sea Stars (Starfish) and Mussels.
Late in the evening, we drove down to Newport and checked into our hotel.
Day 4 – Central Oregon Coast
Yaquina Head
We started our day with a visit to the Yaquina Head and stopped by the interpretive centre, which has a nice display section and a small movie theatre.
We watched a documentary on the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, which was established in 1873. The documentary provided some insight into the unique Fresnel lens sourced from France, life at the lighthouse and how it protected sailors from the rocky Oregon coast.
We were late to sign up for a tour, so we just drove to the lighthouse and walked around the area. Later, we visited the nearby Quarry Cove, which has a great observation deck to watch the seals.
Thor’s Well – Spouting Horn
As we continued our drive south, we stopped at Cape Cove Trailhead Parking and did a small loop with views of Thor’s Well and Spouting Horn. Even from a distance, we could feel the energy as the waves crashed into the unique rock features.
Sea Lion Caves
After a lunch break, we stopped at Sea Lion Caves – America’s largest sea cave, which is privately owned. It is home to the Steller (Northern) Sea Lion. We purchased the tickets to the cave and then walked to the elevator. The short walk had some fantastic views of the coast.
The elevator that takes you to the bottom of the cave descends about 208 feet. Going down the elevator felt similar to the ride to Ruby Falls in Chattanooga, TN.
As soon as we exited the elevator, we could hear and smell the seals. Soon we saw them through a fence. There were hundreds of them, and their barks, growls, and grunts created a cacophony that probably got amplified in the cave.
The cave also contains some sea lion bones and displays information about marine life in the region. A viewpoint in the cave has a nice view of the coast and a lighthouse.
Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park
Our final stop on the Oregon Coast was Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park. It is a unique state park in the region, as it is located within a 75 km stretch of dunes on the Oregon Coast. Dunes are not something I imagined we would see on our trip.
We parked near Lilly Lake and used the trail to access the dunes. We walked to a high point and could see a faint trail leading to the coast. However, it was getting late, so we decided to turn around.
After trying to find a good spot to watch the sunset on Google Maps, we drove on the Sand Dunes Rd and stopped by the South Jetty Beach 2 Day Use Area. But we just missed the sunset by a few minutes.
Finally, it was time for us to drive north to Salem, where we would stay overnight before heading to Seattle the next day.
Day 5 – Seattle
We reached Pike Place Market in Seattle around lunchtime and enjoyed some of the flavours the place had to offer.
We then walked around Seattle downtown, visiting the Space Needle and then the Original Starbucks store.
We also stopped by a post office and mailed some postcards to friends in the US and one to Kundan’s address in India. How long did it take for Kundan to receive the postcard? Seven Months. If only the postcard could talk and share the stories of its journey.
We were back at Pike Place for the sunset – a nice way to wrap up our trip. We met Dipak again for dinner at a brewery. Kundan would stay with him for the night and then fly back to California for the last few days of his US trip.
In five days, we drove close to 1700 km across Washington and Oregon. It was a lot of driving, but time flies when you are having fun and especially when you are listening to some of the popular songs from your undergrad days. “Dil Chahta Hai” title track was played a couple of times, but the most played song was “Khalasi – Gotilo” song. It’s a 2023 Coke Studio song that tells the story of a sailor’s adventures and experiences. But we also paid homage to the golden age of Bollywood by playing “Sapno ki Rani” when we found ourselves driving along a train just like in the song. Fun times.
On this trip, we visited some popular spots but barely scratching the surface of what this region has to offer. But I hope Kundan saw enough that he would want to come back, and next time it would be a road trip in the Canadian Rockies.
खूप छान
tumba chanda unto