Whether you are a born and raised Oregonian or new to the area, these are some facts that you may not know about our interesting and unique state!

1. Oregon is home to some some unique homes. An individual purchased a retired Boeing 757 in 1999 for $100,000 and converted it into his home deep in the woods of Hillsboro. He opens it to the public for tours, and holds multiple concerts on the wing throughout the year as well as a small festival each Fall. Drone photograph above! Check it out at AirplaneHome.com

2. Oregon residents own 1/4 of the country's total Llama population. Most of the llamas (and alpacas) reside in Clackamas county, closely followed by Washington, Yamhill and Marion counties. Meet these shy animals and purchase some alpacaca socks, gloves, scarves or yarn at the annual alpaca fest held in Sherwood each year.

3. Springfield, Oregon is the real life inspiration for The Simpson's hometown. According to the creator Matt Groening, the show "took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown," he says. The names of many of the characters on the show are names after street names in Portland such as: Flanders, Kearney, Lovejoy.

4. Oregon is home to Laika Studios. The internationally known and revered stop-motion animation studio is located right here in Oregon. The studio’s focus is on the artists first and foremost, creating highly detailed films that are in a class of their own. Some of our favorite Laika creations include: Coraline, Kubo and the Two Strings and Missing Link.

5. Portland was named by a coin-flip. In 1845 when Francis Pettygrove of Portland Maine, and Asa Lovejoy of Boston Ma, could not figure out what to name their newly settled land, they left it up to the flip of a coin. After the best-of-three, Pettygrove was victorious . Visitors can see the copper coin that named our city, at the Oregon Historical Society.

6. We have a holiday called “Exploding Whale Day”. Each Nov. 12th we commemorate the 1970 incident on the coastal town of Florence, Oregon where a large deceased beached whale was stuck on the shore. Not sure what else to do, the whale was filled with explosives and blown up. Leaving a horrific mess along the beach.

7. Oregon is home to the largest living organism on the planet. The honey mushroom (Armillaria ostoyae), is a species of fungi that covers over 2300 acres within the Malhuer National Forest of Eastern Oregon. The fungi’s huge network of underground mycellia penetrate the roots of the trees, feeding off them.

8. The historic Timberline Lodge was used in the exterior shots of Stanley Kubrick’s version of the Shining. The lodge served as the backdrop to the movie, The Shining. Today the lodge has an axe from the set with the words “Here’s Johnny” emblazoned on it, in memory of the hotel’s history. Thankfully, there is no room 237 so you never have to worry about staying in the infamous room.

9. Downtown Portland has an underground tunnel system with a dark past. Underneath Portland’s Old Town, there is an extensive system of tunnels that connect many of the area’s bars, restaurants and hotels. Nicknamed the “Shanghai Tunnels”, because they were rumored to be used for kidnapping drunken bar-goers at the turn of the century who would wake up as forced labor on ships already out to sea. Sign up for a tour to explore the tunnels and see a part of Portland history!

10. Oregon is home to more ghost towns than any other state. The many booms and busts of the West, led these once thriving towns across the state to be abandoned for greener pastures & deeper pockets. For the ultimate Oregon road trip, one can visit a plethora of ghost towns throughout Central, Eastern and Southern Oregon for a trip back through history.