Today we had the opportunity to spend some time with both Oregon Ducks and Beavers.
And if you know anything about Oregon, we aren’t talking about the cute, furry kind.
Instead, today we spent some time at both Oregon State University and the University of Oregon.
As we left the quaint town of Albany, we decided to head southwest to the city of Corvallis, the home of Oregon State University.
We still needed to purchase our Oregon Christmas ornament, and we thought this would be the perfect opportunity.
As many of you know, one of our challenges is to collect an ornament from each state. And our only requirement is that the state’s name is printed on it.
So we figured that it would be easy to find one at Oregon State University, especially this time of the year!
Oregon State University – The Beavers
Once we arrived on campus we immediately found the bookstore. And within minutes, we had the perfect ornament to add to our collection.
As we began to drive off campus, we saw the Oregon State University football stadium in the distance. Being huge college football fans, we had to drive by to take a closer look.
We were able to pull right up to the stadium for a little impromptu photo shoot with the trailer.
But when we drove around the side of the stadium, there was another opportunity that we just couldn’t pass up.
There was an open gate that lead straight to the football field. We figured it couldn’t hurt for two strangers from Ohio to walk down the tunnel to check it out.
So that is exactly what we did. It always amazes us the size of these stadiums, especially when looking at it from the field itself.
We took our pictures and headed back to the parking lot where we saw the equipment tractor trailer being loaded for the upcoming game.
Even the Mack dog on the hood was dressed in the Beavs favorite color – orange!
The Oregon Ducks
Then it was time to head 45 miles south to Eugene, Oregon. We had plans to spend the night here but we knew that we had to make a quick stop before we arrived at our overnight destination.
The University of Oregon is located in Eugene and we knew that a stop to Autzen Stadium was a must.
When we arrived at the Oregon Ducks stadium and it was much different feel than when we were at the Beavers football complex.
The Ducks stadium was off-campus which was great for us. It gave us plenty of room to park and take a look around.
We walked around the stadium, taking pictures of the outside of the locked facility. Although we would have loved to take a look at the inside, there were no gates open.
Therefore we decided that we would just go inside the Duck Store that was adjacent to the stadium.
And we are so happy that we did! After speaking with the store attendant she informed us that we could possibly get a quick look inside the stadium.
All we had to do was to go to the front desk of the sports complex and ask Paula if she had time to give us a quick peek of the field.
So we quickly marched up the steps to her desk and introduced ourselves.
Not only was she more than willing to show us the field, she offered to give us a complete tour of the Athletic complex that surrounded us.
The Tour
Talk about excited! On our way through the main building the first thing that we saw was the massive displays of trophies in their Hall of Champions display.
Then as we walked down the stairs to get to the stadium, we stopped at the Marcus Mariota Sports Performance Center.
This was an amazing state of the art facility that he funded as a way to give back to his alma mater.
And in appreciation of the donation, there is an amazing display in his honor.
From the awards that he received to the murals made in his honor, this was an amazing sight to see. The details that went into this display were simply incredible.
Autzen Stadium
However, it was now time to move on to the see the stadium. Paula opened the locked gates and we headed down the same tunnel that the Oregon Ducks run through on game day.
We stepped foot on turf and just looked around in amazement. The stadium was massive and we felt so small as we stood on the field.
We took in the sights for a few minutes and then headed back towards the office building, thanking Paula for the tour.
She laughed and told us if we had time she would show us a few more things. Of course we the have time!
We then headed over to the massive indoor field house that is designed for all athletes. It is the indoor practice facility that can be adjusted to accommodate all sports.
Not only does it have an indoor track, a turf field, nets and cages to meet the needs of every team. It also has climate control capabilities to expose the athletes to various weather conditions that they may be faced with for their upcoming game.
And on game day, this facility transitions into the location of the largest tailgate party on campus. In fact, anyone that holds a ticket to the game can come inside and enjoy pre-game activities.
What a fantastic way to bring everyone together indoors, especially when it rains!
Our Final Stop – The Heisman Trophy
But no trip to the Oregon Ducks sports complex would be complete without a stop to see Marcus Mariota’s Heisman Trophy.
Set on a tier of 8 levels, the trophy is open to the public to view. Each level is a dedication to someone or something that helped him succeed in his football career.
And unlike most Heisman Trophy displays, this one is not behind a glass encasement. Mariota wanted visitors to be able to get a close up view and even touch the trophy if they wanted.
Throughout the whole tour you really get a sense of the appreciation and love that he had for the staff, fans and the entire Oregon Ducks community.
A huge Thank You to Paula for taking the time to give us such a fantastic tour!
Happy Traveling – Jim and Mary
CURRENT TRIP STATS
- Day 74 of 365
- States Visited: 11 / 50
- National Parks / Monuments Visited : 10
- Stayed In : Eugene, Oregon
- Miles Driven : 52.1
- Total Trip Miles To Date : 7776.5
- Total Gallons Used : 580.34
- Biking Miles : 0.0
- Biking Miles To Date : 142.5
- Hiking Miles : 2.3
- Hiking Miles To Date : 171.1
About Our Living Simple Tour
On September 9th, 2019, we set out in our NuCamp T@B 400 Teardrop Camper to travel to every state. You can check out all of our dates here : Dates for the States
Follow along by signing up for our twice weekly email updates at the bottom of the page. You can also follow us on Facebook : Live Simple Tour Facebook and Instagram : Live Simple Now Instagram Page.
So jealous of your Autzen stadium complex tour! We are following your travels from our home in Eugene and hoped to “bump into you” when you passed through, but are glad you enjoyed your visit to this area. We used to live in Albany (before the carousel project started) and have camped & hiked at Silver Falls St Pk. FYI, there was a push, a few years ago, to have it designated as a national park! Happy travels… and ‘Sco Ducks!
So sorry we didn’t get the chance to meet you. We love when we get a chance to visit with one of our followers. If you ever want to get a tour of the Ducks stadium, please go and ask Paula. She was absolutely wonderful, and as long as there is nothing going on in the stadium, she will most likely give you a tour as well. And for Silver Falls State Park, we were wondering why it wasn’t a national park! It sure deserves the recognition! We loved Oregon and will definitely be back in the future (our son is moving to Beaverton in August 2020).