Remember the Great Gift Exchange (hosted by Kailani at An Island Life) that I participated in around the beginning of June?  Well I finally received my great gift!  Rhonda over at Cafe Mom sent me these wonderful goodies all the way from the great state of Oregon…

Thank you, Rhonda!  The huckleberry lotion smells yummy, and I can’t wait to try the marionberry syrup!  I am soooo making pancakes this weekend.

So, in honor of these gifts from Oregon, I thought that I would do a little research on the state.  And honestly?  I’ve never given the state of Oregon much thought in terms of being travel-worthy (for me, that is), but I’m thinking that I might have to add it to my list of future travels.  Just paging through the Oregon Wine Press publication that Rhonda sent, made me long to stay in one of the beautiful Oregon B&Bs, guzzle sip wine, and go horseback-riding through wine country.  Actually, riding in a covered wagon would be more my style.  Especially after sipping wine.

Anyhow, I’m dedicating my Thursday Thirteen to things that I would like to do or see in Oregon.  In no particular order.  Because I want to do them all…

1.  Visit Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.  Okay, technically, the volcano is in the state of Washington.  But it’s so close to Oregon, that I had to include it on the list.

2.  Ride an OHV (Off-Highway Vehicle) through the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.  The dunes extend for 40 miles along the Oregon Coast and are the largest expanse of coastal sand dunes in North America.  However, if I can’t ride a bike in Mexico, it’s doubtful that I can maneuver one of these babies.  Thank God for roll bars…

3.  Visit the Oregon Zoo.  Compared to Zoo Atlanta, the Oregon Zoo contains 24 more acres and a wide variety of animals.  I’m sure that a Nathan’s hot dog would not be the highlight of my visit to this zoo…

4.  Visit all 11 Oregon coast lighthouses.  This one is my favorite—Heceta Head Lighthouse…

5.  Visit the Sea Lion Caves.  Who can resist sea lions?  Here’s a couple of facts about the cave:  it’s the largest sea cave in the world; the cave is made of basalt rock and was formed 25 millions years ago; the variety of sea lions which live in the caves is known as the Steller sea lion; there’s approximately 200 sea lions living in the region; the sea lions are really cute!  I made up the last one.

6.  Visit Crater Lake National Park.  This looks like a beautiful place to hike and take in the beauty and nature of Oregon.  And apparently, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States with a depth of 1,943 feet.  I won’t be swimming.

7.  Stay at the Timberline Lodge and ski Mt. Hood.  That is, if I could ski.

8.  Take a Sternwheeler trip on the Columbia Gorge.  Nothin’ better than cruising through the Columbia Gorge and reliving the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  Seriously, y’all!  It would be fun!

9.  Visit Powell’s City of Books.  Located in Portland, it’s the largest independent bookstore in the world, with more than 1.5 million new and used books.  My cousin, Toodles, would be in heaven!

10.  Visit Tillamook Cheese Factory.  I’m thinking that this should be my #1 sightseeing choice.  Aside from hot-buttered bread and Clive Owen, cheese is the love of my life.

11.  And what goes hand-in-hand with cheese?  Well, that would surely be sipping beer while overlooking the Hood River, my friends.  I’m thinking that a visit to the Full Sail Brewing Company is in order.

12.  Visit the Portland Japanese Garden.  I’ve never visited a Japanese garden, but I’m dying to go to this one.  The pictures on the Web site are amazing.

13.  Attend the Oregon Star Party.  I’ve never heard of this, but it sounds pretty cool.  Apparently, star parties (which happen all over the U.S.) consist of dozens to hundreds of people camping out with telescopes gazing at the stars.  And probably drinking.  The Oregon Star party takes place in August 2007 in a prairie in the Ochoco National Forest.  The closest thing that we have to this in Atlanta is the Lasershow at Stone Mountain Park where we sit in an open field and watch lasers form characters on the mountain while  we listen to such tunes as The Devil Went Down to Georgia and Georgia on My Mind.  Yes, we Southeners really do it up right.  Yee-haw.