Explore Oregon

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Oregon Travel: Bend

In 1915, the two largest sawmills in the country (Shevlin-Hixon and Brooks-Scanlon) sat facing each other across the Deschutes River in Bend. It’s doubtful that anyone could have, through all that smoke, predicted that one day the small timber town would morph into a winter recreation destination. Perhaps a few of the Swedish and Norwegian loggers and mill workers, who brought the ski sports to Bend and Central Oregon, might have had a momentary flight of fancy that involved a future with an alpine ski area, miles of cross-country ski trails and possibly more breweries than churches.

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Artisan Chocolate

Charlie Douglass faces supreme temptation daily. Nearly every morning he has a rendezvous with an enrober, a machine that releases a sensual wave of shining liquid chocolate over row after row of truffle centers.

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Oregon Dorymen and the Best Season that Never Happened

In the early and mid 1970s, hundreds of dory fishermen set off from Pacific City in a quest that generously produced fishing legends. Ray Monroe had been there then, alongside his father and grandfather. As a young man, Monroe was one of the 300 or so commercially licensed salmon fishermen sailing dory boats out of Pacific City to harvest the bounty for which the Oregon Coast is renown. The old salts recount stories of making thousands of dollars in a single haul, full of fish, prized for its fight, profit and taste.

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Tommy Ford – U.S. Ski Team

U.S. Alpine Ski Team member Tommy Ford talks about his first season on the World Cup, being in college, and growing up in Bend.

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Inn at the 5th

Inn at the 5th is a very special boutique hotel in Eugene Oregon, offering luxurious, spacious, and inviting guest rooms, personalized amenities and a variety of business-friendly features.

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Timberline Lodge

With its rough-cut stones and exposed timbers, the Timberline is a special place any time of the year. Warm, comfortable and inviting, Timberline Lodge was built by hand to withstand the elements and the ages. Named a National Historic Landmark in 1977, Timberline is an authentic piece of Pacific Northwest heritage and a delight for any traveler.

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Columbia Cliff Villas

There are plenty of great ways to soak in the wonder of the Columbia River Gorge. But a weekend at Columbia Cliff Villas is definitely top of the list. Think private veranda perched high above the river, cocktail in hand and soulmate by your side.

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Into the Outback

Bracketed by views of Mt. Bachelor and the Abert Rim, the Outback Scenic Byway is a sinuous ribbon of asphalt that carries travelers on an adventure of sights, sounds and smells. Traveling the Outback Scenic Byway, or Highway 31, isn’t so much a drive as it is a geological experience. This stretch of Oregon is best experienced at low speeds.

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Dundee: A Junction of Worldly Wines and Small Town Charm

The plan for Jesse Lange was already in the soil of tiny Dundee when he moved there as a 9-year-old. It wasn’t preordained determinism. Oregon’s wine industry back then couldn’t yet be called much of an industry. The soil was new to the noses in the wine world, and most clear thinkers were clearly skeptical of its potential. Oregon wine was what Californian wine-growers considered to be the hooch of a few hippies who had lost the points on their compass, errant souls swept up in a northerly trade wind.