Oregon's new state motto: "COME GET LOST IN OREGON!"

What is it exactly about this place that people come here for vacations, get lost on roads, or in forests or up on mountains and just never come back???

Since I have lived here there have been many cases of people getting lost here. There were the climbers on Mt Hood this past year http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16262193/ who were looking for adventure, but found out too late that Mt Hood is not for the novice. There was the heartbreaking story of the Kim family http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/06/missing.family/index.html on vacation with their two kids who were visiting family and then wanted a quick fun getaway to the coast and ended up stranded on the forest when they took the wrong road. In that case, the mom and the kids survived but the dad, sadly did not make it. , There was a priest and his female friend, who drove up from CA and crashed into a ditch at the side of the road, and no one discovered them for three weeks. They both perished. There was a guy who came for a wedding and drove from Portland to the coast and never really made it. There was a guy who took a wrong turn on a road they usually close for the winter in his motorhome, and they closed it for the winter after having discovered that they had forgotten to put the sign up. He died in his motorhome, which got stuck int he snow, but they found this diary he kept and he could not fugure out why no cars had come by that he coulf flag down for help. Now they just found this lady who was lost for two weeks. http://www.koin.com/Global/story.asp?S=7038633&nav=menu494_1 She and her husband were following some scenic route or historic trail or something and they ran out of gas. They both set off on foot to get help but she got thirsty and went to look for water while he kept going. They found him, fine and then it took them two weeks to find here. She was 76, with a broken hip, but she is now in stable condition and doing okay.


I get why people want to come here, there is a lot of really beautiful scenery, the coast is gorgeous, and the weather is mild if you are not in the mountains. But, the mountains here are not bunny hills, and the forests are not small - they are deep and dark and dense and endless. On the coast there are high and rocky cliffs, and NO ONE swims in the ocean here, it is just too cold. In the summer you can explore tide pools or go whale watching or whatever but that is about it. THe Pacific Ocean is freezing freezing cold, even in CA. THe only place it is really warm enough to swim is Southern California. The roads here in Oregon are not easy to navigate and there are thousands of miles of Oregon that are just uninhabited by people.

The point is, if you are going to come here and explore, think twice, or use a guide. Even the maps are not always accurate. Also do not take any roads that you think may be shortcuts, or that you have been advised to stay off of. Also maybe if you want to come here to hike and explore BE PREPARED. Make sure you have all the correct equipment, and even some stuff you don't think you will need, just in case.

One time on our first trip here,l early in our marriage, it was our anniversary and we were at the coast. We were staying at this nice hotel but it was in an isolated town with one restaurant. We wanted to go to a different restaurant, and so we drove there. On the way home, it was getting dark, we were running out of gas, and we got hopelessly lost on this forest road. There was NO CELL PHONE signal, and ONE radio station that was some public station who had this woman who sangs these horrible songs about her cat. So weird. We both thought that this state is SO WEIRD we are NEVER going to live here... We eventually found our way back in the dark but we had some TENSE MOMENTS and it could have turned out badly. As we drove thru the state on that trip I remember thinking:

1. HOW DID Lewis and Clark EVER get through this???
2. These trees are SOOOOO tall.
3. There is no cell service, there are NO GAS STATIONS, just bait shops and drive thru espressos!!!! There is NO WAY of getting help if you are stranded....


SO you have been warned... Come and visit our beautiful state, but be prepared.