Oregon Travel News: Esoteric Eclipse, State Parks, Coast Weather and Roads

Published 12/08/2010

An eclipse of the moon caught in Portland earlier this year

(Portland, Oregon) - Some new travel developments around the state, new ways to check road conditions and traffic on the coast and to and from the beaches, some information for the future, and a handful of intriguing facts and views of places on the coast all made the news this past week.

There's a lot more information from ODOT about road conditions and traffic alerts than you might imagine. Their TripCheck.com is really just part of the story. You can now see ODOT’s text alerts from Twitter about road and traffic issues at BeachConnection.net's Oregon Coast Road, Traffic Conditions page, which shows Highway 101 issues as well as the coast range passes, along with various web cams and a bevy of direct links that would be needed by anyone going to the coast. 

Seaside on a balmy February day: coastal weather is full of surprises.

There is a full roster of wine tasting on the central Oregon coast, in the tiny town of Yachats. The Wine Place shows off its ability to host interesting wineries every Saturday, while it recently added an art gallery. More at the Coast Wine Shop article.

For the lovers of science, OSU researchers have come up with some remarkable similarities between predators in the ocean and those in forests: namely sharks and wolves. Both alter the behavior of surrounding wildlife in interesting yet similar ways, and have a ripple effect on the biosphere around them. The studies were done in Australia and the U.S., but it shows how vastly different creatures in the forests of Oregon and offshore operate. Predators article here.

Also in the science realm, the world of coastal weather is always full of surprises – and not just in regards to what it does from one minute to the next. Did you know sunset happens ten minutes later on the coast? Do you know why it’s much easier to get sunburned on the beach? Also, winter is often actually warmer on the coast than the valley. More at the Wacky Weather Facts article.

Moongazing near Cannon Beach

For would-be astronomers, an oddball lunar eclipse is coming up on December 20, and Portland’s OMSI will be giving front row seats. That is, if the weather cooperates. On this night, the moon will only be visible in a reddish glow for a while, for a variety of stellar reasons. The OMSI Event article is here.

If you want to stuff the stockings of a loved one with an actual state park, you’re in luck. Passes to Oregon’s glorious state parks are on sale until late December. More on that State Park Passes story here.

A secret beach near Heceta Head.

A new, in-depth look was made at Depoe Bay’s famed Spouting Horn, where an impressive jet of water shoots up given the right conditions. More on the Spouting Horn here, including plenty of photos of it in various states.

Plus, the Heceta Head Lighthouse has been a favorite attraction for generations. But have you ever wondered what funky treasures lurk below? More on the Heceta Head Beach here.

For those hankering for some awesome grub in the Portland area, some new restaurants were recently added to PortlandRestaurantDining.com. The Canyon Grille in Beaverton is emerging as a new favorite (see Beaverton Restaurants). And some others were added to the North Portland Restaurants section and the Hawthorne District Restaurants section.

Stargazing in Manzanita: the big dipper above Neahkahnie Mountain.

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