The 4 Best Road Trips in Oregon

As the gateway to the Pacific Northwest, Oregon offers visitors a broad range of activities, from coastal viewpoints to volcanic peaks to rolling hills flush with vineyards.

Monumental, jagged (凹凸不平的) cliffs overhang crashing waves. The Oregon coast remains one of the most picturesque locations in the country. The trip starts in Bandon by the sea, and as the 101 winds its way east from the coastal cliffs, you can stop off in Florence to drive across the National Recreation Area. The last stop is Pacific City, where guests can take a sip while watching traditional flat-bottomed boats launch from the shore.

This road trip features the state’s most well-known literary landmarks. The first stop includes a short drive up to the Bridge of the Gods where Cheryl Strayed, author of the memoir Wild, finished her inspirational journey. Next, venture into Portland where you can visit all of the highlighted passages in Beverly Cleary’s Ramona Quimby series. Finish off your real-life book tour by visiting the site of Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in Salem.

The Hood to Coast relay is an annual summer tradition that brings runners across Oregon’s volcanic peaks all the way to the rocky coast. But, why run when you can drive, and ski, and surf, all in the same day? Stop at Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort for the slopes first, and then drive just under three hours to Rockaway Beach for a great sunset scene.

Oregon’s seasonal fruit crops offer a tasty reward to anyone. Beginning just above Hood River off of Highway 35, this 35-mile Fruit Loop features 25 different fruit stands, farms and u-pick centers that feature the Pacific Northwest’s finest selection of homegrown fruit.

Alice In Wonderland is my favorite story. And acting is my number one passion.

At my old school, Poulsbo Elementary, I’d starred in every play from third grade on. Before that, gymnastics was my thing. But then I played my first role as Tinkerbell in Peter Pan. And after that, back flips just couldn’t compare.

So when my sixth-grade teacher, Mrs Pearson announced during my first week at Newland Elementary that we’d be performing Alice in Wonderland for the school play, I practically screamed out loud with excitement. I’d always wanted to play the role of Alice! In the story, Alice went down a rabbit hole where weird (怪异的) things happened. Somehow I could relate to her more than ever now that I was going to a new school.

When Mrs Pearson announced that I would act as one of the hedgehogs (刺猬) in the play, my stomach started to ache! The hedgehogs had no lines but just got hit with mallets (木槌) and then disappeared! But I clapped along with everyone else and pasted a fake smile on my face. Maybe I should just go back to gymnastics and forget all about acting.

Tyler and Ella were the other two hedgehogs. When we were outside the classroom, Ella had one hand against the wall and appeared to be doing ballet warmups. “I really wanted to be the Queen of Hearts,” said Ella. She raised her left leg so that it was almost parallel to her body.

“Yeah, I wanted to be the Cheshire Cat,” said Tyler. He twirled (旋转) around with his hands clasped together above his head. Both of them seemed like good dancers.

Suddenly I had an idea.

My heart was pounding crazily. But at least I didn’t have a stomachache anymore.

The first rehearsal finally came. Then came our cue.

“One...two...three,” with the hedgehog costumes, we ran onstage in a line, steps synchronized (同步) and arms waving together. We stopped in front of the Queen of Hearts and curtsied (屈膝). She was so surprised that she almost forgot her next line.

The Queen took her mallet and aimed at Hedgehog #1—Ella. When the mallet touched her, Ella spun and jumped across the stage using moves from Ballet. “Wow,” said everyone.

The mallet came down on Hedgehog #2, Tyler. Tyler glided across the stage doing a Sideways Moonwalk. “Aah,” said the cast, even louder than before.

The Queen looked excited as she prepared to hit Hedgehog #3—me. When the mallet tapped me, I did three back flips. Everyone erupted into applause.

The three of us looked at each other. We knew we managed to surprise everyone by making small parts cool.

I still miss my friends in Poulsbo. But Seattle feels a lot less like the rabbit hole now, and a lot more like home.

Britain’s meat industry on Friday warned that an upcoming shortage of carbon dioxide (CO2) could cause massive disruption (中断) to food supplies within two weeks.

The gas is used to stun animals before slaughter (屠宰) , in the vacuum packing of food products to extend their shelf life, and to put the fizz into beer, cider and soft drinks. It is also required for some medical procedures and used in the nuclear and semi-conductor industries.

Britain’s food supply chain, already creaking from a severe shortage of heavy goods vehicles (HGV) drivers and the impact of Brexit (脱欧) and COVID-19, is heavily reliant on fertiliser producers for CO2 which is a by-product of their production process. However, two of the largest fertiliser producers, Norway’s Yara YAR.OL and rival CF Industries Holdings CF.N, have restrained production due to a sudden increase in natural gas prices, which has in turn started to dry up CO2 supplies.

Nick Allen, chief executive of the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA), said that once current stocks of the gas run out, some meat companies will have to stop taking animals and close production lines, leading to a logjam of animals back to the farms. “We already have this situation in the pig industry which is now facing the disruption prospect of a humane killing on farms,” he said. The BMPA is persuading Business Minister Kwasi Kwarteng to help support UK CO2 production in the short-term.

“We are monitoring this situation closely and are in regular contact with the food and farming organizations and industry, to help them manage the current situation,” said a UK government spokesperson. “The UK benefits from having access to highly diverse sources of gas supply to ensure households, businesses and heavy industry get the energy they need at a fair price. Britain last suffered a major CO2 shortage in 2018, leading to some drinks wholesalers to ration (定量) sales.”

The commonly held view is that people arrived in North America from Asia via a land bridge once connecting the two continents. But recent discoveries have suggested humans might have been there earlier. Researchers studying fossilized human footprints in New Mexico say that humans were there at least 23,000 years ago.

Matthew Bennett, a specialist in ancient footprints and author of a study on the new findings published in Science, and his colleagues studied 61 footprints by radiocarbon dating layers of aquatic (水生的) plant seeds preserved above and below the footprints and accurately dated they were made 21,000 to 23,000 years ago. The people who made the footprints were living there in the last Ice Age when two massive ice sheets covering the continent and cold temperatures would have made a journey between Asia and Alaska impossible, indicating humans must have been there much earlier than previously thought.

According to their analysis of the footprints, they were likely made in soft ground at the edge of a wetland by children who were sent to do the work like fetching and catching by adults. Wind probably blew dust over the surface, accumulating in the prints, thus, leaving footprints that previously recorded.

Their finding also makes it possible to explore the older and more controversial sites with a different light. One such site is Chiquihuite Cave in central Mexico, where stone tools dating back to 30,000 years ago have been found.

David Rachal, an uninvolved but experienced geoarchaeologist (地质考古学家) thought the footprint dates provided by Bennett and his team looked “solid”，with seeds providing very reliable and precise ages through radiocarbon dating. “You could not ask for a better setup,” said Rachal. However, he was puzzled that no artifacts, such as stone tools, had been found in the area. He thought it was just a theme that was gaining some serious traction in the literature.