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72 hours<br />
Around Oregon<br />
ABOVE Fall colors dot the city as<br />
the steely gray Willamette meanders<br />
through Corvallis on a crisp<br />
autumn day. CLOCKWISE One of<br />
the specialties at dim sum restaurant,<br />
Magenta. Magenta outdoor<br />
seating in downtown Corvallis.<br />
Live music at Cloud and Kelly’s<br />
Public House, downtown Corvallis.<br />
BassettStudios.com<br />
DAY<br />
DOWNTOWN • TRAILS • DIM SUM<br />
Downtown Corvallis is a pleasant collection of shops, restaurants and cafes<br />
that can’t adequately be consumed in one day. The core of the downtown<br />
sets up along 1st, 2nd and 3rd streets, with, perhaps, more music shops per<br />
square foot than any other small city in America. There is Grass Roots Books<br />
& Music, Gracewinds Music and Bullfrog Music, to name a few. If you were<br />
dropped from outer space into downtown Corvallis, you might conclude that<br />
OSU was not the engineering and agriculture state university, but the rival<br />
college with a thriving liberal arts program and a large music conservatory.<br />
Tomorrow brings a sedentary stretch of tailgating, drinking, standing and<br />
sitting to watch the game. Thrilling from the neck up, but negligent of the<br />
rest of the body, if done correctly. The antidote is a preemptive run or hike in<br />
McDonald-Dunn State Forest north of town. Out 53rd to Oak Creek Drive,<br />
you come to the trailhead for the McDonald Research Forest—11,250 acres<br />
that Oregon State University’s School of Forestry manages. Here you’ll find<br />
hiking and biking trails, and challenging trail runs with long climbs that will<br />
really have you looking forward to tomorrow’s rest, fest. Past moss-covered<br />
big leaf maples and into old growth stands of Douglas fir, the Patterson Road<br />
trail brings you four miles up to the summit of Dimple Hill. The trees recede<br />
downhill, opening a beautiful panorama of the valley and your photographic<br />
money shot before heading back down.<br />
The best room in town, especially on game day, is the Hilton Garden Inn,<br />
right across from Reser Stadium. The hotel has a bar, a restaurant and, naturally,<br />
a Beaver-themed gift shop. These accommodations are also a good transition<br />
between the peripheral forests, campus and downtown, where one of<br />
the sauciest chefs is busy making dim sum.<br />
Kimber Hoang, Vietnamese but originally from Laos, is the creator of myriad<br />
flavors at Magenta Restaurant on 2nd Street. Hoang’s dim sum menu has<br />
more than forty items that showcase her talent as a saucier: fried wild salmon<br />
with pepper sauce, seared beef tri-tip with wine sauce, fried tilapia with spicy<br />
lime sauce and ricotta cheese ravioli with parmesan dill sauce. Magenta has<br />
a full bar, but that shouldn’t stop you from hitting the downstairs speak-easy,<br />
SNUGbar, after dinner. Any decent bourbon ever barreled resides on the<br />
shelves of the bar. The cozy warmth of this den and its enticing spirits make<br />
for a wonderful nightcap.<br />
photo by Kimber Hoang<br />
BassettStudios.com<br />
photo by David Bassett<br />
photo by Kimber Hoang<br />
<strong>1859</strong> oregon's mAgAzine SEPT OCT <strong>2012</strong>
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