The Big Picture: Oregon Forest, Mountain, and Lake Landmarks Tour

Hosted by K.C. VanNatta & Bob Kintigh

October 19-21

This 3-day tour departs the Hilton at 8am on 10/19 and returns at 6pm on 10/21

Cost: $400pp/$630 couple

Includes: transportation, lodging, most meals, wine tasting

In Oregon, they have a saying: "Things look different here." This tour will prove that point. Over three days and two nights, your guides – both award-winning tree farmers – will take you through three distinct forest regions of the state, with stops at some of its most breathtaking landmarks including Crater Lake National Park, Mt. Hood and the Columbia River Gorge.

Your tour guides are Bob Kintigh, American Tree Farm System 2006 National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year and K.C. VanNatta, 1997 Western Regional Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year. Bob and K.C. love their state and are eager to give you a cook’s tour of their beautiful home.

Day 1 will find us cruising through the bucolic Willamette Valley as we head for a guided tour of Bob’s award-winning Mountain Home Ranch tree farm and nursery on the McKenzie River in the foothills of the Cascades. After lunch at the local grange hall and a tour through Weyerhaeuser’s mill-yard, we’ll head south for wine tasting in the beautiful Umpqua Valley and overnight stay in Roseburg.

As Day 2 dawns, we’ll leave Douglas fir country behind and drive high into the Ponderosa pine country surrounding beautiful Diamond Lake, horn-topped Mt. Thielsen and cerulean Crater Lake – the deepest lake in the United States. After lunch at Crater Lake, we’ll turn north through the lava-strewn Oregon high desert to our home for the night in vacation destination Redmond. As the sun sets over the Oregon Cascades, we’ll dine and listen to high desert tree farmers John and Lynn Breese tell stories about tree farming in lava and juniper country.

Day 3 will include must-see highlights of any trip to Oregon. After crossing the magnificent Crooked River Gorge, we’ll climb the back of the Northern Oregon Cascades through several climate and tree zones and head for 11,249-foot Mt. Hood, the largest peak in the state and home to fabled Timberline Lodge. After lunch and a guided tour of this national historic landmark, we’ll coast down the mountain and follow the glacier-fed waters of the Hood River as it tumbles toward its meeting with the Columbia River. We’ll complete the loop by turning east toward Portland, tarrying along the way in the Columbia Gorge National Scenic

Area for a required stop at the postcard-perfect Multnomah Falls. Our cameras, bellies and memories full, we’ll head into the sunset and back to Portland. Limited to 55 participants.

Tentative Schedule:

Sunday, October 19

8:00 a.m. - Leave Portland

11:00 a.m. - Mountain Home Ranch tree farm tour

1:00 p.m. - Lunch, Walterville Grange

2:00 p.m. - Tour of nursery stock operation and in-coach mill tour

4:00 p.m. - Leave Cottage Grove

5:00 p.m. - Arrive Roseburg, wine tasting, hotel check-in

Monday, October 20

9:00 a.m. - Leave Roseburg via Highway 138

11:30 a.m. - Arrive Crater Lake, lunch on own

1:30 p.m. - Leave Crater Lake, continue on highways 138 and 97 to Redmond

4:00 p.m. - Arrive Redmond; check-in Comfort Suites

6:00 p.m. - Dinner program: Tree farming in lava lands, John and Lynn Breese

Tuesday, October 21

8:30 a.m. - Leave Redmond; photo stop at Crooked River Gorge

11:00 a.m. - Arrive Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood, lunch and guided tour

1:30 p.m. - Leave Timberline Lodge for Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway

3:00 p.m. - Arrive Multnomah Falls; photo stop

4:00 p.m. - Leave Multnomah Falls for Portland

5:00 p.m. - Arrive at airport hotel for passengers leaving next day

6:00 p.m. - Arrive back at Portland Hilton