A long gravel road off of Oregon 99W near Dallas takes you to Van Duzer Vineyards. It is a throwback to the days when most Willamette Valley winery visits required navigating roads best suited for pickup trucks and tractors.
Slow is good on Smithfield Road, as it allows you to see things you might miss at 45 mph. Things like western pond turtles, gigantic herons and the sea of wild flowers and cattails growing in the Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge.
You might even spot a rare Fender’s blue butterfly, but more on that later…