"OREGON COAST, DUNES, & CRATER LAKE " a Oregon Travel Page by worldtrekker

Oregon is one beautiful place! With white sand beaches, incredible shifting sand dunes, rocky cliffs, lush countryside, forests, mountains, and high desert, this state has a lot to offer. Many think of Oregon and think RAIN. It does rain a lot in western Oregon but it doesn't rain enough in the eastern part of the state. This is a result of the Cascade Mountains which divide the state in half. With almost 3.5 million people this state is not very populated being that it is the 10th largest in land area. See: http://www.netstate.com/states/geography/or_geography.htm Oregon is particularly well known for its forests where about 10% of the nations timber is and it is actually the leading provider of lumber in the US. The first settlers here in the early 1800's were fur traders, lumbermen, and missionaries. The Lewis and Clark Expedition opened the Oregon Trail which took thousands west after the Civil War (1861-1865). Pioneers came to Oregon mainly for its rich farmland. There are several interpretive parks in the state highlighting the triumphs and hardships experienced by these pioneers as they traveled the Oregon Trail in their covered wagons, almost 150 years ago. Some of the best preserved traces of this trail are at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Park at Blue Mountain Crossing. It's located 12 miles from LaGrande, westbound on Highway I-84 at the Spring Creek Exit #248. From there follow signs for 2 1/2 miles. See: http://tomlaidlaw.com/clickable/blumtn. Another good thing to point out about Oregon is that there's no sales tax!