Happy 167th birthday, Oregon! And yes, my 8th & 9th grade math students did the 6-7 hand gestures when they saw that message on my digital white board yesterday. Because despite the news articles declaring that adults killed the fad, 6-7 is still here. They love it.
Fortunately, my students also love Oregon. The warm-up question I assigned for the day wasn’t a math problem but “What is your favorite place in Oregon?” And they answered with gusto. Possibly to postpone doing math work.
Now I wish I’d kept a tally on the places they listed, but I’ll try to recount the best I can remember. I’m pretty sure the most mentioned locale was Crater Lake. Next was definitely the coast, with Coos Bay being the most mentioned coastal city. After that was the local rivers, especially the McKenzie. Several of the kids are really into fishing. A few kids mentioned vacation spots like Sunriver in Central Oregon and the Wallowa Mountains in Eastern Oregon. I was pleased that so many of my students love the outdoors!
Not many of them mentioned human-made places, but I know one of the 12th graders in my homeroom (who recently graduated early, congrats to her!) loves the Enchanted Forest theme park. My husband and I heard the news yesterday that Roger Tofte, who built it, passed away at age 96. May he rest in peace and his legacy live on.
I know I ask this nearly every year, but what are your favorite places in Oregon? I don’t know if I can narrow down mine very well (I love all of Oregon too much), but this last summer I finally made it down to the water’s edge in Crater Lake. My 17yo stepdaughter came with me while Chris hung out with the rest of the kids up at the rim. The trail down will be closed for the next couple years while they revamp the boat ramp, so I was grateful to get there before that! The water was beautiful, but our family’s favorite sight that day was the rainbow-cloud above one of the peaks on the rim.
A new favorite for me is the similarly-named Carter Lake in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. It’s a low-key rustic campground along a small lake, complete with a little sandy beach to play on. It also has a trail over the dunes to the ocean beach, but be forewarned that it is a hefty workout. The 17yo was the only one to join me on that one, too, while everyone else played by the lake. We caught the sunset and saw one of the protected Snowy Plover birds.
As for my favorite human-made place, of course it is the Enchanted Forest. We took my mom there on Mother’s Day for her 70th birthday that week. She loved it as much as when she went there for her 40th birthday. My brother came, too, and had a blast playing there with our kids. Oregon is magical!
Photos from 2025, taken by me aside from the one I’m in. Please tell me your favorites in the comments below! And stay tuned for future posts. I’m still working on a fun article as well as a more serious one. Wishing you a happy Valentine’s Day and Oregon Statehood Day.
The Compass Rose Queen 