Editor's note: another fun story from Christian Grand, our national park-obsessed writer! To read more of his work, click here. Over the course of my lifetime, I intend to visit every national park. I hope you’ll forgive me, however, when I tell you that this article isn’t about a national park. My intentions to drive…
Editor's note: I, too, have visited Crater Lake a number of times, but it is fascinating to read Christian's account of visiting during these times. For more of his stories here on The Royal Tour, visit his index here! Every visit to a national park is a unique experience. I roll over memories in my…
Editor's note: I have known Christian for about twenty years now, and seen him grow from a cute kid into an incredible adult with a love of travel and learning rarely matched. He has been posting photos of his local cemetery for weeks, and I finally wore him down enough to write about it. After…
The largest city in Southern Oregon, Medford is best known as a rest stop for weary drivers between California and Portland or Seattle. Located directly on Interstate 5, which runs from Mexico to Canada, it is a convenient place to stop for the night, and indeed, that is what most people think of when thinking…
There is something relaxing for me about being in the mountains. Sitting on the balcony of my room at Callahan's Mountain Lodge, just off Interstate 5 in the Siskiyou Mountains at the base of Mt. Ashland, I stare at the forested peaks around me. These mountains were those I had always driven past, admired through…
Opening night of Love's Labours Lost is packed. It's a chilly night here at the Allen Elizabethan Theatre - the first of its kind - here in Ashland, Oregon, but I am wearing a thick jacket. Other spectators are wrapped in blankets; the theatre is, after all, outside. A trumpet sounds and a figure appears…
Two plastic chairs hastily set up in a food storage room behind the storefront of a family farm. It doesn't seem like the place where, suddenly, inspiration will strike. And yet, it did. As a traveler, I have learned that these unexpected epiphanies are to be cherished. "Nowadays, people are so focused on the consumer…
Portland is an awesome city, but what makes it unique? Here are four recommendations from us of things to do with a few days in Portland that are completely unique. 1. Check out the view from the Pittock Mansion Nowhere else in Portland can you get a view of the city quite like this. Pittock…
Portland is a beautiful city, full of culture, great food, pretty sights, and lovely people. So when visiting, why would you want to leave town? The answer: because the Columbia River Gorge is one of the true natural gems in the entire Pacific Northwest. As you drive east on I-84, you'll cross Sandy River. At…
Travel and food go together like Abbott and Costello: they play off of each other, adding to the experience. Each individually might be amazing, but as a duo, they are a mighty force! So when it comes to bringing these two passions of mine together, nothing does it better than visiting food factories. See your…