Sightseeing (Some Indoors, Some Outdoors)

When we begin to sightsee, who knows where the sights we see will be?

It is nice to buy things, but most things we buy come and go. Memories on the other hand usually stay with us our entire lives. Build memories. Go sightseeing. There are so many sights to be seen in this world. You might begin your sightseeing adventures close to your home (or not). Pick a place and go.

Here Are Some Suggestions of Places You Might Like to See in the USA

Museums

One type of attraction my husband and I like to go to is a museum. Museums are great places to visit. They typically provide hours of entertainment for people who visit them. Most museum exhibits are indoor activities.

Museums (Scientific)

We love to learn about things from the past. We have visited many museums, some with old, some with very old, and some with millennium-old things on display.

Click on the link to read a little bit about the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana.

Museums (Historical)

We visited the Boundary County Historical Museum when we were in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Click on the link if you would like to read a little bit about this museum.

Museums (Rocks and More)

My husband and I enjoy going to rock museums. They are primarily indoor activities (but some have outdoor activities too). You get to see so much at these museums. There are rocks, crystals, petrified wood, fossils, and more.

Click this link if you would like to read about the Crater Rock Museum in Central Point, Oregon.

We spent a few of hours going through the exhibits.

We have also gone to the Rice Rock Museum in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Both the Crater Rock Museum and the Rice Rock Museum have wonderful collections. Admission is very reasonable, too.

Museum (OMSI)

If you haven’t already done so (or even if you have), you should go to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry), in Portland, Oregon. OMSI has so much to offer. There is a submarine you can tour, planetarium shows and a HUGE movie screen which help immerse a person in whatever movie they are projecting.

OMSI exhibits seem to change quite often, so even if you went a year ago, chances are things have changed and you will get to see something new. We love OMSI.

Lick Observatory

We enjoyed going to the Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton in California. The ride to the top of the mountain was scenic. The view from the parking lot was amazing. The Observatory was free for us to visit, and the information within, along with a presentation, made the trip well worthwhile.

Lick Observatory has indoor activities, but if you wanted to, you could also enjoy the outdoor activity of walking around the buildings and enjoying the vista views.

Vista House

Vista House is a great place to visit and rest when you are traveling through Oregon. Vista House is only 18 minutes West of Multnomah Falls. It was built to serve as a viewpoint for the Columbia River and a comfort station for travelers, but also as a memorial to those who suffered trials and hardships while coming to the Oregon country.

In 1913, Samuel Lancaster (Assistant Highway Engineer for Multnomah County) suggested the building should be constructed on the Crown Point promontory (a 733-foot basalt promontory with a panoramic view of the Columbia River Gorge).

Construction of Vista House was completed in 1922.

As with Lick Observatory, Vista House has wonderful views outdoors, things to view indoors, along with a nice gift shop. But, as was intended, it is a place to reflect, a place to rest, and to have relief when you need a break from traveling, and simply a place to see.

Gardens

The Oregon Gardens in Silverton, Oregon

Most (if not all), states in the United States have magnificent gardens that you can go visit. Wherever you go, check and see if there is a garden nearby that is available for you to walk through and enjoy.

My husband and I went to see the Oregon Gardens in Silverton Oregon. The gardens were in bloom and were quite a site to see. When we went there, there was a charge for admission.

The Portland International Rose Test Garden

Another place you could go to is the Portland International Rose Test Garden in Portland Oregon. There you can see more than 10,000 individual rose bushes. The variety and color are beyond description. The last time I went to this garden, there was no charge for parking or admission.

Ocean Shore Fossils, Rocks, Shells and Petrified Wood

Glen Eden Beach

You might enjoy going to an ocean shore. The ocean and its beaches are vast, beautiful and ever-changing.

This is Gleneden Beach in Lincoln Beach Oregon. At low tide, you can see fossils in the exposed shoreline rock.

If you are into rock and shell collecting, Oregon beaches are the places to go. I’ve collected rocks from many of the beaches there. I’ve seen petrified wood washed up on the shore too.

There are rocks all over the shoreline to see. Walk where the water meets the dry sand you should find amazingly beautiful rocks everywhere.

If you like collecting these types of things, look up the State of Oregon rules, as there are limits to what you can and can’t take.

I bought the book, Smithsonian Nature Guide – Rocks and Minerals. I found it very helpful with my rock collecting hobby. I see that Amazon sells it too. If you are interested in collecting rocks and/or minerals, you might enjoy a copy of this book for yourself.

Seaside, a City in Oregon

Some ocean shores are just a short distance away from restaurants, shopping, arcades and beachfront walking paths. Seaside Beach in Seaside Oregon is a great example of this.

You should go and see the carousel in the Seaside Mall on Broadway St.

The Oregon Coastline

The Oregon coastline is beautiful and is different from one beach to the next. If you drive to the beach, some state beaches may have a fee for parking, so bring some cash. Some state beaches do not charge for parking. Some beaches can be walked to from town, (like Seaside and Cannon Beach). Some ocean shores are rugged and can be a bit of a walk to get to.

Before you go to the ocean coastline, find out ahead of time what you can expect. Be careful too. Pay attention to any warnings, because Oregon is serious about the things to beware of.

If you would like to read about one of our trips to Fort Stevens in Hammond Oregon, click here.

Aquariums, Zoos and a Safari

Wild Animals

I believe that all of the states in the USA have aquariums and zoos that people can visit.

You might enjoy going to see the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport Oregon.

Portland Oregon has a wonderful zoo with Lions and Tigers and Bears (Oh My).

Did you know that you can go on a wildlife safari in Oregon? The wildlife safari I’m referring to is in Winston, Oregon. It is a 610-acre drive through wild animal park. You can drive your vehicle through it and see many animals just walking alongside your vehicle. I went and it was quite an adventure. Click the link to read some frequently asked questions about the Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon USA.

Some Attractions and Events Don’t Charge Anything for Admission

The Bonneville Fish Hatchery – Cascade Locks Oregon

You should go see Herman at the Bonneville Fish Hatchery. At the time of this writing, there was no cost to go see Herman. Herman is 11 feet long and 500 pounds and he turned 89 years old in 2023. He has lots of friends like him where he lives.

The hatchery also has trout that are in various stages of their lives, waiting to be released into the wild.

Places That Won’t Cost You Much, If Anything

At the time of this writing, there was no charge to go to the following places, referenced above, (except for some parking at some of them). The Bonneville Fish Hatchery (no charge); The Lick Observatory (no charge with the exception of some scheduled special calendar events); Lincoln City, Oregon (were you have hundreds of places to park downtown for free and where you can walk to the beach from downtown); The Portland International Rose Test Garden, (no charge); Glen Eden Beach (no charge). Most Oregon Beaches are free to visit (however some, may charge for parking or require proof of a State Parks parking pass)

Some Advice for Travelers

My advice is, if you are traveling in any state, you should carry some small cash in case a State Park requires you to purchase a day pass and the ranger station is unmanned. Many only take cash, and may only want 5 dollars or 7 dollars, and can’t make change, and don’t take ATM or Credit Cards. I know, for those of you who never use cash, this may seem archaic…well yes, it is. But it is what it is.

Wildlife

Many places you may go to might have wild animals for you to see.

During certain times of the year, Depot Bay in Oregon has whale-watching excursions.

On the coast of Oregon (in Florence), you can see Sea Lions in the Sea Lion Caves.

If you enjoy trails and lakeside activities, you might see Blue Heron, Deer and Elk at Fort Stevens in Hammond, Oregon.

An Elk decided the grass at the back of our truck, at our campsite in Fort Stevens looked delicious.

Not So Wild Animals

Ok, maybe this isn’t a wild animal but I’ve got to tell you, like any wild animal you may look but don’t touch. She’s got her eye on you.

Something Funny

I was a volunteer County Mounty in California. I patrolled in one of the state parks assisting visitors while on my horse. The things that happen and the things you hear about in a park sometimes make you want to laugh.

Rangers in state parks get asked some of the funniest questions.

It seems that every year some park visitor in the continental United States will ask a Ranger “Where are the bears kept at night”?

The Ranger has to explain that the park is not a zoo. There aren’t any cages. Bears are not taken in at night. They are loose, roaming wild in the park.

Bridges

When you go to see a site, There is a good chance you will travel across a bridge.

On one of our trips, we decided to visit the lighthouse at Cape Disappointment in Washington State USA. We would leaving Oregon and enter Washington State using the The Astoria-Mengler Bridge.

This bridge is one of the top four scariest bridges for truckers in the USA.

It is a steel cantilever through truss bridge (cantilever closer to the Oregon end of the bridge, through truss closer to the Washington end of the bridge).

The main span is 1,232 feet in length, making it the longest “continuous truss” in the nation. What a site it is to see.

Don’t Forget to Look Around as You Go

When traveling to a place, you may see many amazing things along the way. Often, my husband drives us to places. This is lucky for me because I love to take pictures of things along the way as we go.

If you can do so, pay attention to the sites as you travel to your destinations. You may see historic buildings, waterfalls, viewpoints, statues, bridges, rock formations or maybe a volcano (the things to see are innumerable).

Did you know there are more waterfalls in our world than can be seen by a person in a lifetime? They are all so unique, all varying in beauty, shape and size.

Now, as for volcanos, I read that there are more than 160 of them in the United States.

I am lucky in that respect, as there is an active volcano in Washington State (in the USA), that I can go see whenever I want to (at a distance). It’s called Mount Saint Helens.

On 9/21/2022, Mount Saint Helens had a lava dome that was a thousand feet high. Today (7/15/2026), it is thirteen hundred feet high. The mountain also has a glacier that is (at this update), 127 acres in surface size and has an average depth of 328 feet. That is the average, but it’s maximum depth right now is 656 feet.

Simply saying it is an active volcano might be an understatement because it is listed as the 2nd most dangerous volcano in this country. Kilauea (in Hawaii), is the only volcano that is considered more dangerous at this point in time.

Places I Want to See

I’d love to go see Mount Saint Helens in Washington State USA (again), The Louvre Museum in Paris France, Yosemite National Park in Sierra Nevada California USA, The National History Museum in London England, Crater Lake in Southern Oregon USA, The Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey California USA, The Butchart Gardens in Brentwood Bay British Columbia, The Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona USA, The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose California USA, and Yellowstone National Park in the USA (primarily in Wyoming but three percent is in Montana and one percent is in Idaho).

I had The Boston Museum of Fine Arts in Boston Massachusetts USA on the list above, but I removed it because I got to go see it! I’ll tell you about it one of my future posts (watch for it).

My list of places I’d “Love to go see”, will change over time as I will go see many of the sites on my list (and I will add new sites I want to see).

Think of someplace or thing you would like to see (either local to where you are or not). Make a list, make a plan and go see those places and things. Make a memory for you (and yours).

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