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"One flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo's nest..."

You've seen the movie, maybe you even read the book in high school, but did you know that both book and film were set here in Oregon?  The movie was mostly filmed at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, and featured staff and patients being their authentic selves.  The hospital has since been reborn as the Oregon State Hospital Museum of Mental Health, and that is where we're headed.

Buy your own train ticket in advance. Museum admission is $7, which I will pay for everyone together, so please be prepared to repay me, either cash or Venmo OK.

We'll catch the 7:45 AM train at the Eugene Amtrak station, arriving in Salem at 8:54. From there we'll trek to the Museum (2 miles) where we'll have the place to ourselves for an exclusive guided tour, focusing on the pivotal role outdoor activities  played in people’s lives.  After exploring the museum, we'll trek to Walker Park (.5 miles)  where we'll lunch at the covered picnic tables.  After that, we'll return by way of the Heritage Center (1.3 miles), which is just 5 minutes from the Amtrak station, leaving us plenty of time to catch the Coast Starlight at 3:39 PM, arriving back in Eugene at 5:08.

The Heritage Center is very cool and will be a good place to have coffee and shmooze about what we've learned – admission to the exhibits there is $13, but cafe and window shopping are free.  If you decide to stay and explore the Heritage Center for longer, the next train to Eugene will be at 7:36, arriving at 9:02.

Total trek will be about 4 miles.  If you want one more mile, you can park in the Riverfront Park free parking lot (close to the Campbell Center but not in their parking lot) since we'll arrive back while it's still light and safe to walk through the park.  There is some limited free parking at the Amtrik station in Eugene.