Kaylee Travels

When I was a kid, my favorite level to play in the Nintendo game Super Mario Bros 3 was level 4: The Land of Giants. I loved playing as the tiny Mario (or Luigi, more often than not, being the younger sibling), hopping on the giant blocks and pipes, picking up giant turtle shells, and smashing giant mushrooms.

Oregon feels giant like that world. It's not because of the mountains. The highest mountain in Oregon is Mount Hood, at a respectable 11,250 feet. But being from Colorado, a land of 53 peaks that are over 14,000 feet, I scoff at anything below that. (Have I climbed a 14er though? Shhh . . . don't worry about it). But the mountains in Oregon don't feel small. They are extremely rugged, and necessitate highways to be extremely serpentine with speed limits of 65 MPH or slower. Maybe it is the trees, of which the tallest is 327 feet and the widest has a girth of 37 feet 7 inches. Maybe it is the rivers, which seem to be everywhere. Or it's everything, and so much more.

Stout Grove. Northern California, in all honesty, but I think of it as Southern Oregon.

Over the past five months, I have had the opportunity to explore the southwest corner of Oregon. The natural beauty cannot be overstated, and truly must be experienced to be understood.

Oregon Dunes

Something about this part of Oregon feels very untamed. Nature creeps in quickly, and one can easily get lost in the blink of an eye. One of my patients told me that people in Oregon don't age, they rust. It seems accurate. Homes that cannot be consistently maintained grow moss and the roofs rust over. Trees and grass around the homes have to be trimmed and kept free of too much leaf litter due to the constant threat of wildfire in the summer. But in the winter, it rains more days than not. Fog, dripping and moist, clings to the sides of the mountains. I love it.

I can certainly recommend specific things to do in Oregon, and maybe I will. I think, however, that people should just come here. Experience the vastness that makes you feel like you've entered into Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. It is absolutely worth the trip.