The Sunday Times - UK (2022-06-05)

The Sunday Times June 5, 2022 21

Giant redwoods in Muir Woods

National Monument, north of

San Francisco. Shilpa tucks into

the local seafood and beer in

Oregon and takes to the river

with the Warm Springs tribe,
the Wasco tribe and the
northern Paiute tribe, to
exchange the surrounding
land for access to services and
protection. “The irony is that
they brought together warring
tribes,” Bridget explained with
smiling eyes. “But they seem
to have gotten along well since
then, because I’m part of all
three tribes.”
She served us a lunch of
smoked salmon that was
caught by her husband, she
explained, using gillnets in
the Columbia River two hours
away (he’s there now, she
said, and pleased with the
morning’s haul of 36 salmon).

Then she wind-dried it —

one of the first preserving

methods used by indigenous

people — before smoking the

fish. We ate on the benches

by her gift/salmon shop —

found on the same parade

as a restaurant and the

reservation’s casino — with

the sun beating down and

a sweeping view of the tall,

untouched hills.

Our return to the road was

under the watch of the Three

Sisters, the majestic snow-

capped trio of mountains that

dominated much of this leg’s

backdrop (Mount Bachelor,

delightfully, stands apart

nearby). By evening, we

arrived in Bend, a city of

100,000 known for outdoor

pursuits such as hiking,

climbing and cycling at Smith

Rock State Park. For those of a

more static nature, it has also

kept the world’s last remaining

branch of Blockbuster. I

visited the next day, when

there was a steady stream of

Bendites renting and

returning DVDs. “It’s

Bendites renting and

returning DVDs. “It’s

Below: Portland, Warm

Springs Indian Reservation

and Smith Rock State Park

old school,” one local said

with pride. “People still buy

vinyl, right?”

The city’s unusual name

is taken from early

industrialists leaving

the area via the

notable bend in

the Deschutes

River and

calling out:

“Farewell

bend!” This

became the

town’s original

name but when the

postal system began,

they changed it to Bend to

avoid confusion. “Confusion?

Little could they imagine

that now there are six Bends

in America,” says our

kayaking guide, Katy, as we

glide along the river the next

day. “And another of them is

in Oregon. And that’s known

as North Bend. But that’s

south of us here.”

The river is also the reason

behind the town’s thriving

craft beer scene.

Consider it

mandatory

to stop off at

Deschutes

Brewery, one

of the largest

craft breweries

in the States;

and the Crux

Fermentation

Project, set in a

former repair shop,

where the sunset view of

the Cascade mountain range

was worth the price of the

drink alone.

I opted for a flight of four

tasters and put it to

the barman to pick a staple,

a citrussy one, a complex

one and a wild card. He

pursed his lips in thought,

then scrawled on the coaster/

cards as if it were an exam.

Pre Pro, Bubble Wrap, Purple

Bolt and Cast Out, he wrote.

With each hitting the mark

and even the wild card

palatable to this novice beer

drinker, he certainly passed.

Once we were over the

Oregon-California border and

into Santa Rosa, I was drawn

to the Cali flight at Russian

River Brewing Company —

little did I expect 12 taster

glasses, including its flagship

ale, Pliny the Elder. Mercifully

our lodgings, Hotel E, a

restored former courthouse

that formed the focal point of

Santa Rosa’s quaint historic

centre, was a five-minute

stumble away.

While the lesser-

visited towns of

Oregon and

California were

enthralling to

explore, it was

the state and

national parks

along the way

that filled my

heart. There was

Sonoma Coast State

Park, where the wild wind

of the Pacific arrived onshore

with aggression. The famous

Muir Woods National

Monument, crammed with

magnificent and mature coast

redwood trees — the tallest

living things on Earth. It felt

less like forest bathing than

a full immersion.

The high-altitude Crater

Lake was still inaccessible,

snowbound even in May, and

its views obscured

within its national

park by an

unyielding

whiteout. But

we larked

about anyway,

posing for

photos as if the

background

wasn’t monotone

behind us. And it

allowed us to make an

impromptu stop later at the

woodland paradise of Rogue

Gorge, whose rushing waters

I heard before I saw them —

enough runs past each minute

to fill an Olympic-sized

swimming pool.

The tour ended by the

rusty-orange of the Golden

Gate Bridge in San Francisco,

a sight so common in pictures

and postcards that it lost its

spectacle for me. Yet that

merely confirmed what I’d

known from the get-go. We

hadn’t been en route at all.

We had just been blessed

with many destinations along

the way.

Shilpa Ganatra was a guest

of Intrepid Travel, which has

six days’ B&B from £1,730pp,

including transfers, some

extra meals and activities

(intrepidtravel.com). BA flies to

Portland from £498 (ba.com)

The sunset view

of the Cascade

mountains was

worth the price

of the drink

OREGON

CALIFORNIA NEVADANEVADA

San Francisco

Santa

Rosa

Portland

Bend

Crater Lake

Warm Springs

Indian

Reservation

Warm Springs

Indian

Pacific Reservation

Ocean

100 miles

MARTIN VALIGURSKY, SEAN PAVONE, AGEFOTOSTOCK/ALAMY; INTREPID TRAVEL; KATHY WEISSGERBER/GETTY IMAGES