Portland 2021
I took Scott to Portland in early October so he could see his first concert — the Front Bottoms — and spend a few days with his friends in that city. While he hung out with them, I explored the city on my own. I decided on a parks-and-food-carts tour.
After settling into my B&B on the first afternoon, I scooted over to see the Beverly Cleary statue garden, tucked away in one of Portland’s many beautifully kept urban parks.
As long as you dodge rush hour, everything east of the river in Portland seems to be 10 minutes away from everything else, because the city is knitted with highways and fast-flowing streets through treed neighbourhoods.
The sun was setting as I drove back to the BnB, and I’d heard the evening views were good from Rocky Butte, a viewpoint at the end of my street (and up a winding cliffside road).
The next day, I set out to explore the Hoyt Arboretum, a curated forest in Washington Park. After breakfast at the marvelous Hunnymilk, I parked at a trailhead near Pittock Mansion, built in 1914.
The chauffeur at this mansion lived in a four-story 2500 square foot “gate house.”
There’s a long wooded trail from the mansion to Washington Park. A kooky bridge lets you pass high above a thoroughfare.
I wandered for hours on the arboretum trails.
The trees aren’t so different than Vancouver Island, aside from the sequoias, but it was a refreshing place to explore.
The hike back to the mansion was all uphill.
I wasn’t done with trails for the day. There was a trail I’d read about in nearby Forest Park. Some road closures and Google Maps confusion meant that it probably would have been faster to walk to the trailhead, but let’s say I enjoyed a motorized sightseeing tour.
They call the stone house The Witch’s Castle.
I met some friends for dinner at Hawthorne Asylum, a food cart pod.
My American friends talked about moving to Canada someday, but kept forgetting the difference between Victoria and Vancouver. I joined two of them again the next morning at Coquine for “yeasted barley waffles,” which taste better than they sound.
The cafe was at the base of Mount Tabor, another park I’d planned to visit. It’s built on an extinct volcano.
Mount Tabor park has several historical reservoirs.
The reservoirs were decommissioned in 2015 and are only for sightseeing now. The city used to be able to generate enough electricity for the park lights by letting water flow from one reservoir to another. One had a geyser fountain.
After Mount Tabor, I took Scott for our COVID-19 travel tests at a Walgreen’s 45 minutes south of Portland. A detour, but the tests were free, rather than the US$250 per person I’d being seeing. Along the way, there was a huge ruined complex that appears to be part of a hydroelectric station or video game level.
The testing went smooth as pumpkin pie; they were friendly and didn’t need to see anything beyond the emails confirming our appointments.
After returning Scott to his friends, I drove across town to retrieve a toque I’d left in a rum club, realized a smash burger place I’d wanted to try was right next door, and then, after finishing the burger on the sidewalk, decided I’d come so far west that I may as well go tour the rest of Hoyt Arboretum and Washington Park. I did see the park’s famous rose garden, but the bushes were mucky with the fall weather and (shh) roses are boring.
The next day was the highlight of the trip for me, but I have to save those photos for later. I hiked Silver Falls State Park’s waterfall trail. I emerged with too many photos and have fallen into a paralysis trying pick which ones to post. I’ll share a waterfall-only page later.
Returning to the city, I realized I still hadn’t been to downtown Portland, which our family had loved in 2014.
It’s going through some rough times. Many parks and courtyards are either fenced off or have been converted to tent cities.
I found some old downtown friends before heading back across the river.
You may remember those otters.
Out of downtown, I stopped at Matt’s BBQ, a food cart in a busy neighbourhood pasted with social justice posters. There was nowhere to sit, so I sought the nearest green square on Google Maps: Peninsula Park. Gorgeous. While eating my takeout brisket, I watched a wedding shoot in the gazebo.
This day had already been packed with sights, but my route home took me past The Grotto, a Catholic sanctuary that’s open to the public, so I pulled in there too.
We returned to Canada the next day, arms full with the paperwork it requires to cross a border during a pandemic. Vancouver airport was eerily empty — a scene from a zombie apocalypse where they still want to sell you cashmere sweaters.
Thanks for reading!
Oh and hey, I finished that waterfall page!
