Places Kara Davis Wants to Go

This gorgeous beach hides behind two headlands in Oregon's Ecola State Park.

Sasqu(w)atch out!

The second largest waterfall by volume in the U.S., Willamette Falls is outdone only by Niagara in the amount of water that is pushed northward.

Hundreds of handmade critters fill this tiny window gallery in the heart of Portland's Alberta Arts District.

Not-so-fearsome tiny trolls live under this wooden train trestle in Portland.

Remember that scene in the Matrix, when Neo is in the big white room with all the weapons flying by? Well, this is what it would look like if he had wanted trees instead of guns.

At the base of Steens Mountain resides an otherworldly desert.

Instead of fruit, the branches of this tree are brimming with hopes and dreams.

This little slice of the Netherlands in the Pacific Northwest blooms in a rainbow of color each spring.

This great stone guardian of the forest is a relic from the land's volatile volcanic past.

This natural marble cave is one of only five national monuments in Oregon.

This historic steamboat is scuttled just a few hundred feet from where it was built over a hundred years ago.

A midcentury ranch house hides a literal treasure trove of unique rocks and minerals.

1920's mining camp and environmental education center is serving to protect the surrounding forest, one of the last of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.

A vertically floating hemlock controls the waves and weather at Crater Lake.

This massive mushroom has spent centuries eating its way across a huge swath of Oregon.

This lake in the Cascades lives up to its name, disappearing down a hole every spring.

The lush coastal city of Astoria is riddled with forgotten secret sidewalks.

The deepest lake in the United States, and once the site of epic destruction that lives on in legends.

The building features one of the last remaining free-floating spiral grand staircases in the U.S.

This inanimate goat created by the "welding nun" has been helping to clean up the city of Spokane for more than 40 years.

This dilapidated ship carcass covered in trees is a striking sight.

This private home is famous for appearing in the cult-classic "Twin Peaks" series.

A commemorative mural in this tiny Ballard park honors the neighborhood's rich Scandinavian ties, particularly with Seattle's Norwegian sister city Bergen.