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Oregon has giant evergreens, multicolored moss, snowcapped peaks, a rugged coastline, acres of orchards, and magnificent flowers. It also has thousands of acres of forestland where you can follow the trails on foot, on horseback, or in a four-wheel-drive vehicle. Yet it has desertland and volcanic-ash-strewn areas so deserted you'll think you're on the moon. Oregon has mild weather year-round, thanks to the Japanese current. For visitors taking the scenic trip down US 101, the Pacific Ocean is rarely out of sight. The road winds and dips and takes you by such places as Cape Foulweather and Cape Perpetua, where you can look out over the high cliffs onto the ocean. You can stop at a roadside stand for fresh crabmeat or at a family-style restaurant for clam chowder or oyster stew and fresh cherry cobbler. In Newport, you can visit the resident octopus at the Mark O. Hatfield Marine Science Center marvel at the new Oregon Coast Aquarium, or watch the shrimp boats come in. And at Florence, you can observe the sea lion rookery and its hundreds of inhabitants. For another view of Oregon visit snowcapped Mount Hood, where there's skiing year-round. The annual Rose Festival is held in Portland in June, and the annual Rhododendron Festival is held in Florence in May. The Pendleton Round-Up in September and summer rodeos draw visitors to the ranch country of eastern Oregon.
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