Oregon Scavenger Hunt
Oregon is a state carved not only by water and wind but by bold ideas and resilient people. From the first migrations that followed her river valleys thousands of years ago to the pioneers who braved the Oregon Trail’s last treacherous stretch through the Cascades, the story here has always been one of endurance, innovation, and deep reverence for the land.
In these hundred destinations, we encounter an Oregon far richer than postcards can capture. Here are ancestral fishing grounds like Celilo Falls, sacrificed in the name of hydropower. Here, too, are the forests that built empires, from the ancient beams of Fort Vancouver to the steam-sawed timbers of Hull-Oakes. The wilderness is never far—guard stations, fire lookouts, and smokejumper bases speak to a legacy of stewardship in the Wallowas and the Siskiyous. Bridges stretch across impossible gorges, and dams tame mighty rivers, all testaments to engineering spirit in a land of raw scale.
Yet Oregon is also a state of the mind—a place where artistry and architecture flourish. Whether in Belluschi’s sleek Commonwealth Building, Yeon’s Watzek House, or the drama of Ashland’s Shakespeare Festival, creativity echoes as loudly as any chainsaw. Cities like Portland and Eugene become stages where timber barons meet modernists, and where Wrightian ideals share space with roadside giants like Paul Bunyan.
This is Oregon: ancient and forward-looking, restrained and wild, a land of paradoxes where nature and human ambition tangle like roots in volcanic soil.
The photos and stories collected here are a fast and fun way to learn the explanations behind the quirks, the traditions and the secrets that make Oregon uniquely Oregon. Vertical street? Solved. ODOT green? A mystery no more. The largest non-motorized parade in the United States? Identified. The origins of cable television? Revealed.
WPA workers, with hammer and saw, Built beauty and shelter that left guests in awe. FDR came to open the doors, To rooms carved from Douglas and alpine outdoors. And later on film, when Kubrick took aim— This lodge earned a place in cinematic fame.
With marble from Vermont and a golden-crowned dome, The Oregon Pioneer guards liberty’s home. Three statehouses burned, but this one stands tall, With murals that tell of the fur trapper’s call. From fire to function, with Art Deco grace— It shines like a lantern in Oregon’s place.
With arches that ripple in ribbed concrete span, It carried the coast where no ferry boat ran. McCullough designed with an Art Deco flare, A bridge light and slender that hangs in sea air. The first of its kind, where the Rogue meets the tide— An elegant curve where engineering takes pride.
They poured so much concrete they had to cool fast, To mold the great canyon with visions that last. Tallest on Earth when its arch met the blue, A blueprint for Hoover’s might to ensue. The dam that prefigured a nation’s new plan— Of rivers restrained by the reach of man.
Most logging rails zigzag with nature’s will, But this one punched through with a tunneler’s skill. No granite or brick—just timbers on frame, Still holding their ground without fortune or fame. A rare wooden tunnel through Oregon's spine— Where time and the timber in silence align.
A spiral of tales on a column so high, Tells Oregon’s journey through clouds in the sky. Sgraffito murals climb up with the years, From Gray’s mighty ship to pioneers’ cheers. A lighthouse of history, beacon of pride— Where Pacific winds and timelines collide.