Forgot your tent? Rent a yurt

by Josh Lew on

Want to find the biggest collection of yurts outside of Mongolia? Head to Oregon’s state parks. Since the early 1990s, the state park system has installed 190 yurts in its campgrounds. 170 of those are in coastal areas where the weather can get nasty, especially during the winter. The sturdy, circular, canvas-covered structures provide a more comfortable experience than the average tent. Rental costs run about $30 per night.

Yurts remain an extremely popular option long after the novelty should have worn off. More than 15 years in state parks and still in high demand. In fact, the main problem with the Mongolian tents: they are usually booked months in advance, meaning that a spur-of-the-moment yurt excursion is out of the question. Oregon has been building cabins at some coastal state parks in an effort to draw more campers who don’t want to pack a tent. However, the wooden structures cannot compete with the canvas ones in terms of popularity.

[Via Seattle Times]

Come Visit Portland, OR! Just Don’t Move Here, Please.

by Iva Skoch on

It rains here all the time, it really does. Do not move here, you will regret it! At least that’s what the locals want you to think. The more people move here, the more developed and expensive the city will become. While the “transplants” generally like that idea, a lot of locals dread it.

In terms of quality of life, Portland consistently ranks near the top of all American cities. Oregon seems to have it all — vibrant urban life, mountains, beach, desert, woods… without the prices of California. Not yet at least. I am actually in Portland this week and loving it. Since living here in the late nineties, the city has grown and changed a lot. The once edgy and artsy Pearl District–however fun and chic it still is–has become a sanctuary of rich white people, it seems.

In terms of rainfall, I am here to tell you that it really is not bad. I would take Portland over New York any time. According to a recent study, the Top 10 wettest cities are all in the Southeast. However, Olympia, WA ranks first in the number of rainy days each year (63). Olympia is only two hours north of Portland. See? Believe the locals, you don’t want to live here. Especially, I hear, if you are from California.

Caffeinated in Seattle

by Iva Skoch on

Greetings from the Pacific Northwest! Man, is this a beautiful piece of the planet or what. On that perfect sunny day in Seattle–like today–you’d be hard-pressed to find a more picturesque city (sorry, Prague).

Although I lived here a few years ago, I forgot how many coffee shops there are! Literally one on every block and they keep multiplying. And it’s not just Starbucks, although the original location (picture) in the Pike Place Market still attracts tourists.

I remember walking to work in that “morning march of the claws” (MMC) every day. MMC are all the people bundled up in Columbia Sportswear rain gear, marching to work with their right arm extended, their hand (mutated into a cup-holding claw) tightly gripping a cup of java. Their expression suggested: “Don’t talk to me before I have a chance to caffeinate.”

Everyone here seems to have a favorite coffee place, too. While favorite places used to be chains, such as Starbucks, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Tully’s, Peet’s…, now people seem to appreciate and cherish their independent coffee shops, as the latest Best of Citysearch survey indicates. When I lived here, my favorite local place used to be Uptown Coffee. Although they now have a few locations now, they still make possibly the best cappuccino foam West of Italy.

Fresh Fruits and the Nude Beach of Sauvie Island, Oregon

by Iva Skoch on

Portland, Oregon, is home to some wonderful sights and is a terrific, vibrant town nestled in some of the best scenery in the country. But, however picturesque the city is, you might still need to “get away from it all.” One of the best places to go is a small alluvial island near the convergence of the Columbia and Willamette (pronounced will-A-mit, sounds like “dammit”) rivers, called Sauvie Island.

It’s actually minutes from the center of town, but it’s worlds away. Here, the lovable hippie-grunginess of the Pacific Northwest meets the quaintness of Tuscany and the vistas of Switzerland. You can find ‘u-pick’ farms growing vegetables and flowers, along with dairy cows, horses, and a big wildlife preserve. There are camping locations, nature trails and beaches.

Right now is the time to head there to grab your late-summer-harvest fresh foods. Make sure to try the different berries indigenous to this region, such as the marionberry, which even grow wild on the roadsides. If you are not afraid of starches, test your orientation skills in the Corn Maize, an annual maze cut through a farmer’s field. A tip for runners or cyclists: the paved portion of the island is a scenic 12-mile loop of good, flat pavement.

The best time to go is early morning, when the quiet little rural island is still waking up. Clear days offer gorgeous views of both Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood and very little traffic. It’s common legend that it has Portland’s only nude beach; but this, I can neither confirm or deny. I can confirm, however, as a former resident, that the legendary Pacific Northwest “Pillsbury-doughboy tan” can be spotted here, in the wild.