Northwest Winter : Part One - Oregon

Happy Saturday, guys! 

If you follow along with my adventures on Instagram, you'll know I've been on the road out west for a good portion of this month. As always, I love getting out there to catch up with pals and be reunited with all those big trees and mountains. From the moment I landed in Portland, my friend, Hannah, and I were on a mission to get as many miles between us and the city as we could. And after a lot of hours, one closed road, and several handfuls of gummy bears later, we made it to our sunrise destination : Crater Lake National Park. It was the first time visiting for both of us, and we had the surprise upon waking of finding that we had parked only about 50 feet away from the crater's edge! We lucked out with an incredible sunrise, and after a bit of exploring, we hopped back in the car for our next destination : Umpqua National Forest. Waterfalls and hot springs were on our minds, and this area has plenty of both.

With a full day of adventures and running on about three hours of sleep, we headed up toward Bend to camp for the night. After a failed attempt at finding hot springs (they were actually FREEZING springs) the following morning, we made due with a few more waterfalls before our final destination : Mt. Hood. Although I've been to Mt. Hood a handful of times, I've never made my up to Timberline Lodge! We took advantage of the clear skies and made our way up, up, up. Views that stretched for miles, and the mountain looking better than ever. 

Sleepy eyed, we made our way back to Portland. This part of my trip really spoiled me, as the weather and conditions were constantly on our side. Already longing for summer days when this state can be more of a second home to me! Will be sharing more from this trip soon! 

P.S. I updated my print shop with six limited edition prints from my trip! You can check them out here , and enter my giveaway for a chance to win one through my Instagram feed! 

xo

J.