OTE - Oregon Travel Experience

Trees on 240,000 acres were killed in 1933 in one of the Nation’s worst forest fires which started four miles northeast of this point. Later fires extended the burn to 355,000 acres-to more than 13 billion board feet of timber. This area is now being reforested with Douglas Fir, spruce, cedar and hemlock. With effective protection a new forest will in a few decades be ready to harvest on “The …

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Dwight Huss, an automobile engineer from Detroit, made automotive history here June 20, 1905 when his car, “Old Scout,” became the first documented car to cross the Cascade Mountains from east to west. Huss was competing in America’s First Transcontinental Automobile Race against Percy McGargle, which departed New York City on May 8, 1905 in separate 7-Horsepower, 1904 Oldsmobile Curved-Dash Runabouts. “Old Scout” was also the fastest automobile to travel …

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The John Day River (called Walla Walla- little river) area was the original homeland to several tribal villages. Tákspas was the principal village of the lower John Day River, whose people, the Tákspaslama, became enrolled in the Warm Springs and Umatilla tribes. The tribes settled this area due to the wealth of water, salmon, eels, plant foods, and game.

A Rush of Newcomers: The discovery of gold at Canyon Creek in …

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Weary Oregon Trail emigrants, eager to ease travel or gain mileage, often attempted cutoffs and shortcuts. While many of these alternate routes proved successful, others did not–they became roads to ruin for some and the end of the trail for others.

In 1853, Elijah Elliott, a Willamette Valley settler, convinced over 1,000 people to attempt a shortcut over the Cascade Range. Following Meek’s route to Harney Valley, Elliott’s party diverged around …

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The Oregon Coast boasts forested headlands, towering dunes of sand, and sparkling lakes and rivers. From the Columbia River south to Bandon, the picturesque coastline is bordered to the east by the peaks of the Coast Range Mountains. These peaks are the remnants of a chain of volcanic islands that collided with the North American continent some 50 million years ago. The rugged southernmost section of the coast is quite …

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This highway is reverently dedicated to Oregon’s sons. Members of the 41st division, both living and dead, who wore the Sunset emblem and offered their all in complete devotion to the cause of world peace.

Location: South side of US 26, 3/10 of a mile from junction with OR 53

Learn More: Visit Oregon Encyclopedia

Aircraft proved their military worth during World War I — initially for observation purposes, and later for the support of ground troops and bombing. When the United States entered the war in 1917, air supremacy was hotly contested and airplane production was vital to the war effort.

Early airplanes were constructed of linen stretched over a wood framework. Because of its light weight, flexibility and strength, Sitka spruce was the wood …

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The Coos Bay dune field is one of ten different sand dune sheets spreading across half of the Oregon coast. The Coos Bay dune field, directly across the bay in front of you, is the southern end of a 60-mile-long dunes sheet that runs north to Florence. How and when did these dunes form?Layers of a Dune “Sandwich” The Coos Bay dunes consist of layers of ever-changing sand deposits on …

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During the late 20th Century thousands of Americans left farms, families and friends to trek the Oregon Trail toward new lives in the West. The trail was nearly 2,000 miles across prairies, mountains and parched deserts, and contrary to popular belief, it was not a single set of parallel ruts leading from Missouri to the Willamette Valley. Pioneers, always searching for shortcuts or easier traveling often followed alternative routes, and …

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Jedediah Smith’s explorations in the American West began when he was 21 and lasted until his death at age 32. He crisscrossed the region in search of beaver pelts and new travel routes. His travel journals became a foundation for the first accurate maps of what is now the western United States.

A life of Exploration After three years in the Rocky Mountains, Jedediah Smith led trapping expeditions to California in …

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