Oregon Odd Stuff

There are some things, Oregon odd stuff, that are specific to regions, and some things that are just unique enough to get their own page.

If there is something here that says “Click to read more…” and the link is not active yet, that means I am still working on the page. Contact me for that info!

Voodoo Doughnuts And
Wedding Chapel

I had heard of Voodoo Doughnuts and once in a bingo game in a biker bar in Eugene (that's a whole different story), I won a game called “Sh*t From Your Pockets”, and one of the things I won was a menu from Voodoo Doughnuts & Wedding Chapel. I was fascinated by it and carried it faithfully in my make up bag hoping someday to actually get to visit Voodoo Doughnuts.

It happened. Read more on Voodoo Doughnut...

The Balancing Rocks

High on the list of Oregon odd stuff, the balancing rocks are unlike anything I have ever seen,. They are the hardened capstones of an ancient lava flow. As the softer material erodes beneath the rocks, pillars that support them grow tall beneath them. At some point the rocks tumble off and this starts the repeating process, which can take 20,000 years so I would take your photo ops now.

The Crack In The Ground

First I would like to say that they should come up with a better name for something so beautiful. More like “Glorious Chasm” or something, but hey, we’re Oregonians and we call it like it is. It’s one huge crack in the ground, that’s for sure, and quite a site for photography.

The Cinnabar Mines

We stumbled on the mines one afternoon in the late summer while on an adventure to photograph wildflowers on the Big Summit Prairie. These fantastic old buildings full of really interesting equipment, HDR photography heaven. I was hooked. After that I had to research and find out what the scoop was on them and were there MORE?

Oregon Airplane Wrecks

More “interesting and historic” than “odd stuff”, out in the desert 25+ miles past Christmas Valley on the desert floor over this rim here, there are two wrecked planes. One is a P-38 Lightning that crashed in 1945 while on a bomb training run. The other is an A-6 Intruder that crashed in 1971. There is also a B-24 out in the Pueblo Mountains in southeastern Oregon due south of Steens Mountain just north of the Nevada border.

If we didn't flatten our tires on the last attempt to photograph the airplanes, there would be pictures. You have to REALLY want to see them. (I really want to, this is not over.)

Oregon Shipwrecks

There are also a few shipwrecks of note. In particular The Peter Iredale at the north end of Oregon on the Clatsop Spit near Fort Stevens in Warrenton and the newly emerged bones of the Sujameco near Coos Bay.

Read more about the Oregon shipwrecks….

Oregon Wild Mushrooms

Spring and Fall are the wild mushroom seasons in Oregon. I haven’t had much luck (read that as ANY luck) in the spring, wait, last spring we did find 3 mushrooms and a basset hound, but in the fall….wow! They’re everywhere! They come in all shapes and sizes and quailfy well as Oregon odd stuff.

Read more about photographing Oregon Wild Mushrooms…

The Painted Hills

The painted hills, although definitely Oregon odd stuff, are breathtaking. Vast landscapes of multi-colored stripes of mountains in a surreal valley in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.

These great colors were caused by multiple deposits of ash from local and not so local volcanoes, and the long term degradation of the ash. Lots of trails and beautiful landscapes make this a fine day trip or weekend camping and photo safari.