FAMILY TIME IN PORTLAND

Carol writes:   From the moment we arrived on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon, we had the feeling that Portland was where all the baby boomer hippies must have come to live out their lives.  The ambience and social vibes we experienced were definitely different.  Portland’s progressive politics and hippie residents were like a flashback to the Age of Aquarius.

The 60s scene from our youth was on full display at Saturday’s Portland Farmers Market, 

where there were almost as many flower stands as food vendors.  While surrounded by a profusion of fresh produce, the music certainly invited us to sit and listen while enjoying a great cup of coffee and a cranberry scone.

Our campground was located in tiny Troutdale, a small bedroom community 12 miles east of Portland, at the confluence of the Sandy and Columbia Rivers.

While daughter Megan visited us for 4 days, Troutdale was a perfect gateway for fun excursions up the Columbia River Gorge.

At Megan’s suggestion, on the first day we headed up the Columbia Gorge to a series of wineries.  The first stop was our favorite—The Gorge White House—where we delighted in samples of hard cider made out of Oregon’s diverse bounty of fresh fruit.  Megan and Mom took over the selection of hard ciders accompanied by a snack food pairing,

under the watchful eye of Mt. Hood in the distance.

The White House also offered pick-it-yourself blueberries and raspberries; we couldn’t resist…

This cloudless sunny day was just perfect for precious family photographs with a slumbering  volcano in the Cascade section of the Ring of Fire off in the distance.

The only hard part about refilling our “wine cellar” was limiting our choices.

A Sunday brunch cruise on the Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler out of Cascade Locks was a unique way to experience the history and natural beauty of the Columbia River, the fourth largest river in the United States.

The setting was classy and the food was delicious.

As the sternwheeler maneuvered under the Bridge of the Gods,

and up to the impressive Bonneville Dam,

we were treated to unique viewpoints.

After the cruise, we drove to the Bonneville Dam

for a closer look at this marvel of hydroelectric power.

We got an up-close look at the fish-friendly engineering of fish ladders that were designed to protect seasonal runs of salmon along the Columbia River.

The powerhouse of the largest producer of hydroelectric power in North America was a pristine marvel of mechanical ingenuity.

We rounded out our Sunday excursion at the Vista House viewpoint 733 feet above the Columbia River.

For our third day’s excursion, the Galus Family decided on a trip into Portland.  First stop was the iconic Portland Japanese Garden, a haven of cool tranquil beauty perched high above the downtown.

Authentic Japanese landscaping along with lovely koi ponds completed the picture.

We actually found the next door International Rose Test Garden, overlooking the Portland skyline, to be a bit more interesting…

Portland, the City of Roses, had just concluded the annual Rose Festival, and the roses were showing their most exquisite side.

Every color imaginable, and all in between, were on display.  This lavender one especially caught my eye.

A visit to the world’s largest book store at Powell’s City of Books 

and an excellent meal at a Thai restaurant downtown rounded out a fun-filled family day for all…

By the 4th of July, a Portland summer had kicked into gear.  All trees and flowers were leafy and in full-bloom.  Grapes were still small and green; however, the promise of a bountiful harvest that would produce great Oregon wine was clearly in the forecast.

At Portland’s location halfway between the North Pole and the Equator, daylight hours were long, so we had lots of time to explore.  We experimented by riding the MAX Light Rail all the way into Portland from where we were camped.  

The MAX was smooth, very cheap and efficient!  We couldn’t agree more with Portland’s reputation of having one of the best public mass transit systems in the country!

Portland was one of those 2-week stopovers where I was actually a little sad on leaving, but our ambitious travel schedule dictated we must.    

Portland was the fifth city where daughter Megan caught up with us on the trail (also:  Santa Fe, Charleston, Amarillo, and Reno).  I will always remember Portland fondly as the place where we had another great session of family time with our Megan Rose.

“…and love will steer the stars”

Aquarius, The 5th Dimension

IN THE STEPS OF A GREAT OREGON RUNNER IN EUGENE

Carol writes:  Al selected a “cozy” little campground on the Oregon coast in Lincoln City as our next stopping point.  

The descriptive word I used was “cozy,” as in:  Campsites are narrow and a bit small for our big bus.  Our location along traffic-insane 101 spelled few easy opportunities to cross over to visit Lincoln City’s beach below. 

Instead, we contented ourselves with checking out the local cheese industry 40 miles up the road at Tillamook, where us city folks learned a bit about different breeds of dairy cows.

A couple of samples of Oregon-famous Tillamook cheese, Tillamook ice cream cones, and a gander at the Blue Heron French Cheese Company made the whole day’s excursion worthwhile…  

The best vantage point to soak in the always spectacular Oregon coast was in Depot Bay,

with its touristy-cute picturesque oceanfront, 

requisite recreational cannabis shop,

and an eye-catching bridge 

under which the whale-viewing excursions shot a narrow gap out to sea.

We made a brief day trip to tiny Coos Bay, which was just that:  small with little of interest to us, except as the home of running legend Steve Prefontaine.  A very large pictorial on the sides of two downtown buildings was Coos Bay’s nod as “Pre’s” boyhood home.

A week in Lincoln City was enough for us.  For only the second time in our 3-year road adventure, we made a slight detour—this time to Eugene, Oregon, for some dental issues that I won’t go into here, but are best discussed another time over a glass of some hard cherry cider.

On the Oregon coast, we found the opening weeks of summer to be downright cool.  Friends who live in warmer summer climates have accused me of taunting them with all the pictures of me in layers topped by a warm quilted vest… Finally, in Eugene we discovered summer temperatures, and out came the shorts!

A visit to Mount Pisgah Arboretum on a hot day convinced me that a few miles of walking the arboretum trails in the hot sun was enough of a challenge for me.  It was amusing to spot brilliant yellow orioles,

admire fields of daisies in what were once farmers’ fields, 

and get close-up shots of shy birds in cleverly designed bird houses.

I left it to Al to make the 1500-ft climb by himself to the top of Mount Pisgah, where he had plenty of fellow hikers who also didn't mind hiking in a Eugene heatwave…

One advantage of the detour to Eugene was the chance to look around the campus of the University of Oregon, nestled in the valley along the shores of the scenic Willamette River.  Al had visions of running a few laps at iconic Hayward Field, 

where Steve Prefontaine achieved stellar heights during a running career at Oregon from 1969-73.  So, it came as a shock to discover that demolition of the grandstands at Hayward Field had begun just the day before we arrived, and access to the entire field was blocked by fencing!  A wooden pile of rubble marked the destruction of the first grandstand. 

Sadly, our visit was limited to what we could shoot through gaps in the chainlink fence, along with old photographs of what used to be.

The role of the latest University of Oregon superstar has been assumed by 2014 Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota.  His Heisman trophy was displayed out in the open for all to see.  We were told that Mariota personally designed the trophy base to honor all the coaches, teammates and mentors who played pivotal roles in his athletic achievements.

It was clear to us from walking around Oregon’s athletic fields that the fighting Ducks are an athletic powerhouse.  Football’s Autzen Stadium

and the baseball facilities were first rate.

If athletic success can be measured by trophies, the University of Oregon has been very successful.  The athletic Hall of Fame consisted of a series of hallways lined with trophy cases filled with awards from every sport imaginable.  The success of the Cross Country and Track and Field teams was undeniable.

Prefontaine’s National Champion achievements were impressive.  However, the sad ending to this story was that we never found out what Prefontaine would have accomplished at the 1976 Olympics for which he was training, as he was tragically killed in an automobile crash on May 30, 1975, at the age of 24.  His passing came just hours after beating Frank Shorter in a 5000-meter race at Hayward Field.  At his death ‘Pre’ was the American record holder in every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters, a feat that has not been matched since.

Our brief visit to the Oregon campus gave us an appreciation of much that has been accomplished there—as a public flagship research university, and as an athletic powerhouse.  We took a few minutes to walk on Pre’s Trail, the carefully restored pathway that Prefontaine ran on his campus workouts.  

Prefontaine’s work ethic was legendary; in 4 years at Oregon, he never missed a meet or a workout.  We had a moment’s pause along the trail on the bridge spanning the Willamette River, 

where it seemed appropriate to reflect on one of Prefontaine’s most often quoted statements:

“TO GIVE ANYTHING LESS THAN YOUR BEST IS TO SACRIFICE THE GIFT.”

That sounds like a sentiment that one could apply to almost anything worthwhile in life…