portland

On the Road Again

Our two month stint in Washington was enjoyable and productive, but it felt nice to wheels up and point our nose south. I like a nice rain, but two months of cold rain wears out its welcome, even with me. We couldn’t have asked for better travel weather with sunlight falling on spring blossoms.

Into Portland

  • Spring Daisies
  • I’d read their blog.
  • Many trees were beginning to bloom.
  • Breakfast at the Fireside

Friday I worked from a rest area so that we could land on the Sandy River just outside Portland for Friday night. We had a few errands we took care of, took a short hike and had breakfast at my favorite spot, The Fireside. We never get to spend as much time as we would like in Stumptown, and less than twenty-four hours left us looking forward to returning later in the year.

Boondockers Welcome

There are so many different ways to find a place to park for the night that I have lost track of the ones we are members of. One of the many is Boondockers Welcome and it payed off for Saturday night. Just a couple hour drive south of Portland we pulled off onto a super quiet plot a fellow traveler put up just to be friendly to other people on the road. It was a great place to spend a rainy Saturday night and we met someone we might caravan with at a later date.

Brookings or Bust

The pictures pretty much say it all. It is an amazing place to be and offers up two of my top three nature sounds. The gusty ocean breeze whistling through the spruce and cedar trees is tremendously relaxing and the beat of the waves with a cliff to echo off of is powerful and peaceful at the same time. If you like nature, Harris Beach State Park should be high on your wish list.

May peace find you.

Stumptown

We love Portland. Being on the road is amazing, but Portland is hands down the best city we have visited. We celebrated Christmas in Portland once before and are pleased to be doing so again.

Yes it is cold and rainy, I know you were wondering. It usually gets into the forties through the day and thirties at night and probably rains two days out of three. On a rare occasion it will get as low as twenty or as high as fifty. The rain is usually not a downpour and if you dress properly you can go out in it comfortably.

If you wonder why I have a gallery of images from a woodland hike in a post about Stumptown, these are pictures of a hike through the city. Early Sunday we hopped on public transit a few minute walk from the rig, stopped at my favorite restaurant for breakfast, The Fireside, then hopped back on public transit to the zoo. From there we hiked several miles to Pittock Mansion which has a wonderful view of the city. This was a serious hike with great views, switch backs across elevation changes and it left both of us a bit sore. There are hundreds of great trails right inside the city of Portland for hiking. This is the only place I have ever been with such great hiking in the city, and such amazing public transportation. When we tire of the road this is where I think we will end up.

With me back at work now we aren’t getting out as much as we did over Thanksgiving, but we still find time to enjoy the city. We eat out a lot, saw one movie, went to a live Christmas Blues show and in general are having a bodacious good time. I hope this city always remains true to it’s weird nature.

May peace find you.