I arrived in Oregon for a 7-day vacation, without a specific day-to-day trip plan. I travel alone, have a rental car, and live in a "central" location, so that I can have the flexibility to spontaneously decide where to go next. I'm obsessed with geocaching and interested in museums, but I don't want to spend all my time on these. I need to discover something new.

Planning for Multnomah Falls

Every motel has a shelf of tourist information booklets. When I was checking in on Jun 07 evening, I browsed that shelf, and grabbed a few maps. I asked the front desk lady for recommendation, and she mentioned Multnomah Falls. Photos from the booklet and online search are gorgeous. I have to see Multnomah Falls during this trip!

Official website tells me that parking is very difficult on weekends between 11:00 and 16:00. Therefore, I planned the visit on Monday Jun 10, and I would depart early so that I'm parked well before 11:00.

The Q&A section of Google Places reveals a potential problem:

Jun 08 afternoon, I visited the birthplace of geocaching near Estacada, Oregon. My dinner is scheduled at Copper River Restaurant & Bar in Hillsboro, where I can attend a geocaching event.

GEO June 2019 Meet & Greet

Geocaching is generally a solo sport, except when I run into other geocachers on the trail. However, the "event cache" is an opportunity for geocachers to meet other participants of the sport. When I was planning my Oregon trip, I kept searching the event listing every week, until a suitable event showed up: Geocachers Exploring Oregon (GEO), Oregon's geocaching community, has a meet & greet on Saturday evening. Therefore, I planned my dinner to be at this event.

After spending too much time on the Un-Original, I drove 79 minutes to the event venue. Copper River is a large restaurant with more than 100 seats, and GEO is the largest group in the restaurant. I arrived at 18:02, just as the "official program" was starting and a president-level figure picked up a loud speaker to make announcements. I received a blue raffle ticket, and later won a geocoin.

I found a seat in the middle of a 30-person long table, and introduced myself as yoursunny to people around me. longtrails, who's seated to my left, remembers my name because I signed his challenge cache this morning. We chatted, and he offered me a document of driving directions to some of Oregon's historical caches.

Jun 08 morning, I found GC12 and GC17, two oldest geocaches in Mt Hood National Forest, Oregon. I returned to GC17 trailhead at 12:19. It has been five hours from when I left the motel, I have chewed two protein bars, so it's time for lunch. Google Maps says there's no restaurant in the middle of the forest, but there are some near my next destination. I entered the address into HERE WeGo, ate a third protein bar, and started driving.

Here we go again, HERE WeGo commanded me to "turn sharp left toward SE Brian Ranch Rd", a narrow, steep, and unsafe road through the ranches. I ignored this command, and continued on SE Wildcat Mountain Dr. An hour later, I arrived at View Point Restaurant & Lounge, Estacada, OR. I need a burger right now.

Original Stash Tribute Plaque

World's first geocache, then known as "GPS Stash", was published by Dave Ulmer on 03 May 2000:

On Jun 07, I flew to Portland, Oregon and started my 7-day vacation. Oregon is where the sport of geocaching got started, and my primary goal in Oregon is to find some of the world's oldest geocaches. Saturday Jun 08, the weather was less than perfect compared to next few days. However, I couldn't control my excitement and decided to nab the important geocaches first.

Planning for GC12

GC12, formerly known as GPS Stash #8, was hidden on 12 May 2000, nineteen years ago. It is Oregon's oldest active geocache, and as I later learned, the second oldest active geocache in the world.

When I was doing my initial trip planning, Google Maps says I could drive right to it. Upon closer inspection, oh well, I would have to drive over a "road block".

I had a 7-day vacation in northwestern Oregon in June 2019. This is the biggest solo road trip I've ever had so far.

Why Oregon?

Earlier this year, Alaska Airlines messed up my flight, and then I received a $200 voucher. The voucher entitles me to a free flight to west coast.

Alaska flies to five cities on the west coast:

• Seattle, Washington
• Portland, Oregon
• San Francisco, California
• Los Angeles, California
• San Diego, California