Here’s who you are: You’re a person who doesn’t have a lot of money and doesn’t like to travel very far, and still demands more out of life than the usual boring, bullshit tourist activities. Well, have we got some blurbs for you! Check out the following list of oddball tourist attractions, all within easy driving distance of the Portland metro area. You’re welcome, oddball!
ABANDONED VERNONIA SAWMILL
Desperate for that “haunted cathedral” experience, but you’re a church-allergic heathen? Get thee immediately to the abandoned mill at Vernonia Lake, a hidden oasis for feral pagans like yourself. Formerly used as the fuel bunker for the Oregon-American Lumber Co. (est. 1924), this four-story concrete structure is a showcase for some righteous graffiti artists; every reachable surface is layered with an always-evolving collection of tags and murals. Mature aspens and sword ferns grow within the walls toward the open roof, giving the place a strangely reverent vibe (in that post-apocalyptic, Planet of the Apes kind of way). The old fuel bunker is the last vestige of the lumber mill and its huge operation… and yes, it’s definitely FULL of ghosts. TREE GHOSTS.