Where to stay when visiting Portland Oregon

Little old Portland Oregon has certainly became an extremely popular place to visit and move to these days. It has made hundreds of "best of" lists in newspapers, magazines, and blogs. These include lists "Best Food City" Best place to live, and even as a Top Ten Tourist Destination. Instead of focusing on all of that, because if you're hear you already know all about that stuff, here is a list of places to stay while you're visiting Portland - Portland Airport Hotels - Downtown Portland Hotels - Portland Bed and Breakfast (my favorite category!) - McMenamins Portland - home to a number of historic hotels - Portland Guest Houses - for the budget traveler - Hotels in Portland Oregon - the list of the best of the best - Oregon Dude Ranches - just in case you want the cowboy/cowgirl/rural living experience. What is your favorite hotel in Portland?

Pet Friendly Hotels, Motels and Vacation Rentals on the Oregon and Washington Coasts

I am working on a number of posts about Pet Friendly travel for the Pacific Northwest. So far I have Lincoln City, Bend, and Cannon Beach. More are coming soon, so keep on the look out for them! See the full list here - Northwest Pet Friendly Travel

Canemah, Oregon (Falls City) - Willamette River Ghost Town

Name: Canemah, Oregon
Class: G4
GPS: 45.347178, -122.622699
Directions: From Oregon City head south on 99E. Canemah is now a neighborhood of Oregon City directly on the Willamette River.
Description:
Canemah, Oregon is one of the most important towns in Oregon’s early history and...
Canemah, Oregon (Falls City) - Willamette River Ghost Town

Oregon"s only Frank Lloyd Wright house

Also known as the Gordon House, it’s based in Silverton, Oregon and shares land with the Oregon Gardens.

This specific house was designed for working class consumers. It was designed in 1957 and finished in 1963 after Wright’s death. The house was originally for Conrad and Evelyn...
Oregon"s only Frank Lloyd Wright house

Harris, Oregon - Ghost Town, Covered Bridge, Winery (Elam)

Name: Harris (Elam)
Class: E2
GPS: 44.5781755, -123.4601035
Directions: From Philomath head west on Highway 20. At about four miles, the town of “Wren” is on the right side. Take the right to Wren (Kings Valley Highway,) then immediately take the next right to Wren Road. Take the...
Harris, Oregon - Ghost Town, Covered Bridge, Winery (Elam)

Ghost town of Taylor"s Bridge Oregon

Do you know anything about this town? Have you ever lived here? Please leave your recollections in the comments below!

Ghost town of Taylor"s Bridge Oregon

Ghost town of King"s Valley Oregon

Do you know anything about this town? Have you ever lived here? Please leave your recollections in the comments below!

Ghost town of King"s Valley Oregon

Ghost town of Garrsion"s Landing Oregon

Do you know anything about this town? Have you ever lived here? Please leave your recollections in the comments below!

Ghost town of Garrsion"s Landing Oregon

Danford Balch Homesite and "Witches Castle" - Part Two

Danford Balch Homesite and “Witches Castle” – Part Two
back to part one
But that did not end the story of this piece of land. It passed through several hands finally being purchased by Donald Macleay, President of the Portland Board of Trade. The story goes that in 1897 he was...
Danford Balch Homesite and "Witches Castle" - Part Two

"Hidden" Multnomah Falls

“Hidden” Multnomah Falls
During the winter, or periods of heavy rain, a second falls shows up at Multnomah Falls. In this case, higher elevations of the Columbia River Gorge had seen several inches of snow and it was starting to melt off.

Nearby are these two history signs.


It...
"Hidden" Multnomah Falls

"Umbrella Man" Closeup

“Umbrella Man” Closeup

This is a closeup of the face of the “Umbrella Man” who stands in Pioneer Square in Portland, Oregon, everyday. The title is actually “Allow me” and has two twins, one in Philadelphi and another in New York City.

"Umbrella Man" Closeup

"Oregon Coast Indians" Oregon History Sign

“Oregon Coast Indians” Oregon History Sign
I’m not sure who put this sign up, but I’m assuming the Lane County Historical Society did. The sign is located on Highway 126 east of Florence, past the Three River’s Casino and & Hotel, and just over the North Fork of...
"Oregon Coast Indians" Oregon History Sign

Oregon History Sign "Salem Began Here"

Oregon History Sign “Salem Began Here”
Located on NE High Street in the 850 block, in Salem Oregon. This one was put up by the Marion County Historical Society. It’s in the same design as the Oregon History Signs.

“In the fall of 1840. The Oregon Methodist Mission under...
Oregon History Sign "Salem Began Here"

"A Lewis and Clark Botanical Memorial"

A Lewis and Clark Botanical Memorial
The “A Lewis and Clark Botanical Memorial” history sign is on Naito Parkway just next to the Burnside Bridge in Portland. The placement, and the subject matter of the plaque strikes me as rather odd. Lewis and Clark never specifically said that...
"A Lewis and Clark Botanical Memorial"

Danford Balch Homesite and "Witches Castle"

Danford Balch Homesite and “Witches Castle”
In Northwest Portland just Northwest of where the Lewis and Clark Exposition was held is Danford Balch’s Homesite (or as the sign in the park says “Lower Macleay Park.”) This area has had been the source of some major news...
Danford Balch Homesite and "Witches Castle"

The "Other" Shoe Tree

The “Other” Shoe Tree
Driving on Highway 26 east of Mitchell Oregon on the way to John Day Oregon is this “Shoe Tree.” There is another such tree further south, but recent reports say that it’s been cut down. I’m not sure of the significance of this tree, or...
The "Other" Shoe Tree

The "Umbrella Man" Statue

The “Umbrella Man” Statue
This statue is called “Allow Me” and was created by J. Seward Johnson. It sits in Pioneer Square near the Max station. Locals simply call it the “Umbrella Man.” As in, “Meet me at 6 by the Umbrella Man.”
It apparently has...
The "Umbrella Man" Statue

Goodbye "Made in Oregon" sign

Goodbye “Made in Oregon” sign
One of Portland’s most famous landmarks is slated to soon be destroyed. Ok, not exactly destroyed, but rather defaced in such a way that Civic pride in it will decrease significantly.

It says:
Case File: LU 08-191800 HDZ (White Stag Sign)
Review...
Goodbye "Made in Oregon" sign

Harris, Oregon - Ghost Town, Covered Bridge, Winery (Elam)

Name: Harris (Elam)
Class: E2
GPS: 44.5781755, -123.4601035
Directions: From Philomath head west on Highway 20. At about four miles, the town of “Wren” is on the right side. Take the right to Wren (Kings Valley Highway,) then immediately take the next right to Wren Road. Take the...
Harris, Oregon - Ghost Town, Covered Bridge, Winery (Elam)

Legend of Treasure on Neahkahnie Mountain

Legend of Treasure on Neahkahnie Mountain

In my stash of papers dating from High School, I found this neat little legend about a shipwreck and buried Treasure near Neahkahnie Mountain on the Oregon Coast. I have no recollection of where or when I picked up this document. Based on the age of the papers it’s in, I’d guess sometime in late 80′s to early 90′s time frame. There are no identifying marks anywhere to say who wrote it originally. Interesting to note is that the web page about the mountain mentions this, but has a slightly different telling.

A GHOST GUARDS THE TREASURE ON NEAHKAHNIE MOUNTAIN

One summer afternoon, many years ago, Indians near Neahkahnie

mountain were astonished to see two sailing ships approaching the coast.

These were the first sailing ships ever seen along the Oregon coast, and

to the Indians, they looked like “great birds” as they raced in full sail

toward the shore. Suddenly, the ships drew close together, and just

beyond the breakers, they began to ”thunder” and puffs of smoke issued

from their sides. After much noise and smoke, one of the ships began to

list, and was cast up on the beach near the foot of the mountain. The

other sailed off over the horizon and was never seen again.

As the great ship lurched onto the sand, men tumbled over its sides

and staggered ashore through the surf. All of the men were white, except

one, who was much larger than the others–a giant, some say. He was

black. To the Indians, who assumed until then that there was only one

race, these men of different colors were a frightening sight, and they

regarded them much as we might regard visitors from another planet.

At low tide the strangers straggled out to their ship and began to

bring their belongings ashore. Among the items brought from the ship was

a huge chest, so heavy and cumbersome that it took eight men to carry it.

With great effort, they carried the chest a short way up the mountain,

where they dug a deep hole. Carefully, they lowered the ohrst into the

hole. The black giant, whom the Indians believed was an evil demon, was

told to step forward. When he did, he was struck down, and his body was

thrown into the hole on top of the chest. The men then filled the hole

with sand and returned to the beach.

The Indians, as usual in their initial dealings with white people,

were friendly, generous, and peaceful. They welcomed the strangers to

their village, offered food and helped the men to obtain shelter for the

coming winer. The white men, as usual in their dealings with people of

another race, were quick to capitalize on the generosity of their hosts.

They took food, land and other belongings from the Indians and offered

Venereal disease, measles and violence in return.

The sailors quarreled with each other and with the Indians.

Eventually, an Indian was killed. The Indians retaliated, killing a white

man. A balance, of sorts, was maintained in this way through two winters,

but during the third year the tolerable of the Indians for their irascible

visitors was finally exceeded.

When the sailors began, at will, to violate the Indian women, a

council was held among the Clatsops, the Tillamook, and the Nehalems.

Before dawn, one autumn morning, 1,500 warriors crept into the camp of tbe

white men and set fire to their dwellings. As the sailors ran from the

blazing camp, the Indians killed them all. The white men were buried in a

huge mound near the place where the box and the black man were buried. It

is said that after this massacre, the river ran red With blood for 3 days.

The Indians, because of their reverence for the dead, never disturbed

the burial place of the sailors, and because of their fear of reprisal as

the white prescence grew in Oregon, refrained from talking about the

massacre.

Because of their fear of the ”black demon”, they never dug up the

huge chest that the sailors buried on their beach. To this day. no one is

sure what was in the chest, but many believe that the ship was a Spanish

pirate ship and that the chest contained a fortune in gold.

Considerable evidence supports the assumption of buried treasure near

Neahkahnle. In addition to the Indian legend, there are records of

Spanish ships, loaded with treasure gained in raids on South American

cities, sailing northward from Peru, never to be heard of again.

Mysterious markings carved into the rocks on Neahkahnie Mountain could

hold the key to the location of the treasure. At Three Rocks Beach, in

North Lincoln County, skeletons and remnants of an old sailing vessel were

found- one of the skeletons belonged to a man thought to be a Negro,

nearly eight feet tall. Stone wallas, masonry and giant mounds of rocks

placed in the shape of an inverted “W” with a base nearly a mile long have

been discovered by treasure hunters near Neahkahnie.

If the treasure is there, it hae elluded an army of treasure hunters,

most of whom come to Neahkahnie with a hunch, a shovel and a wheelbarrow.

A few have come with bulldozers and backhoes. Many have come with metal

detectors. Five people, including Charles and Lyn Wood, a father and son

who were killed when their 30 foot deep hole caved in on them in 1931 have

died during the search for Neahkahnie’s elusive treasure.

Some say that the treasure is there, but it will never be found.

They believe that the ghosts of the black giant and his evil companions

still guard the treasure of Neahkahnie and that they will keep tbe

treasure hidden forever.

—————–

If you want to go digging for the Legend of Treasure on Neahkahnie Mountain, it is located on the Oregon coast just north of Manzanita, Oregon.

Legend of Treasure on Neahkahnie Mountain