Portland Spoke – The Official Blog of Travel Portland

Annie Bailey from Clackamas Co. Tourism holding Marquam Hill Ranch's award-winning alpaca, "Conopa Royal."

How often do you have the chance to hold something as cute as this, as fluffy, as special? Rarely. But I was the kid in school who would have been the last to join 4-H club, and I chickened out.

This sweet thing was just one of the many cuties I got to see up close a couple of weeks ago, and it made me feel like a kid again. I was touring the Molalla Country Farm Loop, a group of farms out in Clackamas County.

So close to Portland, Molalla feels like a world away with its rural reality of pastures, barns and fields. I saw elk, horses, sheep, geese, chickens, pigmy goats, and even a wallaby. It was so much fun, and a perfect way for a family with kids to spend a day this summer.

In the fall, there are farm stands, orchards and wineries to check out as well. You can download a map and brochure here. This video shows a lot more of what the area is all about. Enjoy!

My view from the top of "Cabbage Hill" in Eastern Oregon on my recent road trip.

The weather is warming, the days are getting longer, and the itch to get out and explore is mounting!

Put down your to-do list, step away from the laptop, and make plans to savor the open road. Whether on four wheels or by bike, Oregon has so much to offer for the road trip warrior (or even the weekend novice).

Need some ideas? Visit Travel Oregon’s website, get inspired and make plans to explore your world. It’s beautiful out there. It’s Oregon!

I love nothing more than an open road on a clear sunny day with a few hours to spare. Call it the thrill of the “road trip,” but I also adore the fact that we can squeeze out an asphalt adventure around Portland at the drop of the hat — and in less than an hour there and back!

Want to know where that wide open bit of paradise is? Less than 15 miles west of downtown, you can cruise by old farmsteads, fields of golden wheat and roads shaded with towering firs all by cruising through the scenery in Washington County. You can do all this AND make time for a beer and burger at one of my favorite west-side haunts, Helvetia Tavern.

See you on the road!