USA: Oregon: Eugene

I have a soft spot in my heart for Eugene, Oregon. I attended college at the University of Oregon and graduated in 2012. Although it is known for its free form hippie mentality, Eugene also melts together hippie, hipster, professional, and grunge.
When I went to school in Eugene, the university didn't quite dominate like it does now but, with it's growth downtown Eugene has also been able to develop, grow and flourish.
We spent 3 days in Eugene, 2 of which were simply wandering downtown with friends and exploring all the thrift shops, eateries and bars.

Day 1: Oregon Ducks vs. ASU

I personally love football and particularly Duck football so I am a bit biased, yet I believe there is an aura around Autzen Stadium that is not something to be missed. Typically, I park on the opposite side of the river and take the pilgrimage with thousands others across the Willamette River, down a bike trail, in the trees until the stadium comes out of nowhere and presents itself with glory.

The seating is steep allowing any seat in the stadium to have a good view. If you don't particularly care about the game but want to go watch football, look on craigslist the day of the game and it should be no problem finding tickets under $30 dollars.

Be aware you can only buy and drink alcohol in one portion of the stadium (because it's college football I guess? I'm not sure why on this one.) So, if you want to drink and not pay a whole lot ($12 beers) it is no problem sneaking in a flask or two.

Day 2
Downtown:
Downtown Eugene has really flourished in the past 4 years. Prior to 2012, a square block in the middle of downtown was a giant pit. The city sold the space to Lane Community College for a downtown campus and I believe that was the best thing that's happened to Eugene in the past decade. After the campus came to life, new and trendy businesses filled the spaces that had sat vacant for years. During the day you can get kombucha on tap at Townsend Teas, have beers and beer cheese soup and the Beir Stein and as the sun goes down the multiple bars that make up the Barmuda Triangle fill with people from all walks of life. When the night is winding down grab some drunchies from voodoo doughnuts or other food carts that are conveniently parked outside.


Day 3:
SpencersButte:
A local favorite hike. It is just outside of town, has a wide path, is a little over a mile, and gives some of the best views of the Willamette valley. On a nice spring day the trail will be packed with people old and young but during the dreary fall months sometimes you are the only one up there. It's a great hike to get the blood pumping but doesn't take up your whole day.

Day 4:
Whitaker:
The Whit is a neighborhood NW of downtown. Traditionally filled with counter culture, art-forward individuals it has begun to be gentrified. The houses are mixed with well manicured craftsman homes and homely overgrown multi-color with interpretive art on the porches.
The Whit is a popular area to eat some of the best food found in Eugene. Three of my personal favorites is Papa's Soul Food, Falling Sky, and Tacovore.
Papa's Soul food is no frills BBQ with a small indoor and mostly outdoor patio seating. Sometimes they have live music and always have good food.
Falling Sky opened around 2012, although their food is a bit pricey I like it because its thoughtful. They locally source most of their ingredients and come up with some really unique and delicious food items, not to mention their beer is awesome.
Tacovore is awesome. you can buy plates or single tacos. I love the carnitas but be warned they are spicy.
Don't forget to drop by Ninkasi. Their poor room is mostly outside under tarps with heat lamps.

USA: California: Markleeville and Turtle Rock Campground

Markleeville, CA - September 17-18, 2016

My boyfriend Pope and I took a weekend trip to Markleeville, California on September 17th-18th. Markleeville is 40 miles Southeast of South Lake Tahoe. I often avoid Lake Tahoe on the weekends so this short drive from Reno was a perfect quiet getaway.
We traveled to Markleeville to decompress from Burning Man, play disc golf, and live the small town life.




Turtle Rock Camp Ground:
- Open May - Early October
-First come, first serve
- 26 RV ($15) or Trailer sites ( 2 handicap)
-12 Tent sites ($10). For the tent sites, you park very close and walk your things over into a fenced area.

The tent camping is very communal but tents may camp in the RV spots as well. We chose to pay $15 and take an entire RV site.
We chose to camp at Turtle Rock Campground because although it is a few miles away from town but there is an 18 hole disc golf course we have been eager to play.
We were worried the sites would fill up quickly but it was no problem finding a site. The only downside was the fire bans in the area. We couldn't dutch oven cook like we usually do.

We had a fabulous time here, spots were big but also communal. We made excellent friends with a vagabond named Doc who told us many many many many wild stories.

Another option for camping is at the Grover Hot Springs, yet the hot springs were closed for cleaning so we didn't have a chance to go.

Wolf Creek Restaurant and Bar
The only bar in town. We were determined to watch the Oregon Duck vs. Nebraska game Saturday afternoon. We were told by my dad, this bar had the excellent fries. As we walked up the place was full of bikers wearing pink and drinking a whole lot very quickly. Worried we wouldn't be able to see our game, we snuck in to the corner chairs and watched the flurry of the bikers.
The bikers were doing a Poker run through the Carson Valley, and flew away as quickly as they came.
I love small town living, and this bar is exactly why. The bartender was extraordinary. We had the whole bar rooting for the ducks by the end of the game and we left a little sullen but full of darn good fries.





Markleeville/ Turtle Rock Disc Golf Course
We loved this course so much we played in twice. It was a great walk in the woods. There is some good walking distance in between each hole. The terrain goes up and down making each hole rather unique. Decent map at the beginning of the course, which we took a picture of to help us on just a few holes.

Gardnerville: Overland Restaurant and Pub

On our way home, we wanted to find a brewery in Gardnerville but had no luck. Word on the street is a new Brewery is opening up near Carson Hot Springs later this season. Either way we were happy we stopped here. They advertise farm to table pub food although don't describe much on the menu which made me slightly suspicious. With that aside we had Bavarian Pretzels with beer cheese Sauce and Pulled Pork Sliders, both were very very good. Menu

USA: The White Mountains, New Hampshire

Mt. Washington

The White Mountains:
I spent 3 days in the White Mountains. My destination was Mt. Washington, the tallest mountain on the East Coast.

Camping:

I was frustrated at first because it seemed there was an extreme lack of free camping. Campgrounds with facilities didn't shy away from charging $25 dollars. But, I found a website called Freecampsites.net which has been a life saver. I stayed in the National Forest on the West side of Mt. Washington, about a 20 minute drive from the trail head (SEE, 20 min. to everything). There are no facilities but the campgrounds are spacious and some are quite secluded, some even look perfect for large groups. I stayed at the turnout before the one registered on the websites map and I found them to be better.

Mt. Washington:
In the morning I drove to the West trail heads of Mt. Washington. It is $3 a day to park unless you have a National Parks Pass, then it is free. There are two trailheads from this parking lot, the Ammonoosuc Ravine trail and the Jewell trail. I chose to go up the Ammonoosuc and down the Jewell, which I believe was a good choice. I can imagine the trail, when wet, could be hell but it was no problem for me. It's a decent hike, about 5 miles to the top. The trail is gradual for the first couple miles and then becomes stairmaster like to the hut.

Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail

There was a lot of foot traffic but that is to be expected in such a highly populated area. The top gives some fantastic views but is anything but isolated. I shared my summit experience with 300 bikers and found my self enjoying the process of getting there and back better then the top.

Bikers waiting for a photo at the summit

The hike down was a nice change. You hike the ridgeline on the the Jewell trail. The top is a scramble and if you have bad knees I would recommend trekking poles. It seemed like it took me almost as long to get down as it took to get up.

The Cog Railway seen from Jewell Trail