Oregon farmland, located near Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge
So, after surviving a Mutant Tent/Inflatable Bed Attack on Mt. Shasta the evening before, my wife and I (and Chauncy & Rudy) continued our journey to Oregon by—gasp—continuing our drive to Oregon. Lots of images and even some text after the fold…
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Chauncy eyes the terrain in Northern Oregon
After coffee and a proverbial danish in Mt. Shasta we drove north at a good clip, arriving in Grant’s Pass for breakfast around 11:30 a.m. We stayed in Grant’s Pass on our way back to California, so more about this part of Oregon later.
Sky, clouds, window, life…
The one thing we noticed right off about Oregon was how green it was in comparison to Southern California. Yeah, this a “duh” moment but “duh” moments sometimes must be experienced to be truly appreciated. L.A. had three inches of rain last year—Eugene averages 50.9 inches of rain every year, and Portland (no slouch itself) comes in at forty-four inches of rain annually. So there it is: Oregon is wetter and greener than Southern California. A very large Duh indeed.
Throughout Oregon we saw baskets of flowers hanging from power and light poles…
I forget sometimes how a journey away from one’s home can invigorate, excite, confuse and otherwise add some spice and vinegar to the Life Pie. That’s all: sometimes I forget that.
In Hollywood terms this shot is known as b-roll signage…
We arrived in Portland in the late afternoon and drove by the aerial tram adjacent to the Pearl District…
The Tram! We can’t see the Tram!
…before heading over the Willamette and exploring Portland neighborhoods just east of the river. We liked what we saw—modest Craftsmen houses, well-kept gardens, a couple of traffic circles landscaped with late spring flowers. We will definitely be going back to get a more detailed look in August.
Back home in L.A., Lydia & Juan Carlos pretend to not be jealous…
We decided to drive farther east to camp for the night. We ended up on a leisurely drive that took us out to Mt. Hood and environs…
Mt. Hood, Oregon, a mere hour away from Portland proper…
We stopped for take-out at a restaurant and headed for a campground on the Zigzag River. It being a week night we had no trouble getting a spot next to the river. We could just make out a couple of cabins across the water, so our wilderness came with just a touch of the-not-quite-as-wild. No matter. It was a beautiful and densely forrested bit of paradise for our party of four tired travelers.
As green-green as they say…
Wait—there’s more green…
A fire is lit, and a dog is ready for bed…
We ate our dinner, walked around the campground, drank some wine and went to bed next to the sonorous rush of the Zigzag River. Of course, around midnight the dogs began to growl…
Stay tuned: To Oregon We Go! Part 3 coming soon…
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All images by mjs, except that last prophetic one which came from a movie I remember having seen once upon a time…
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Front page
Southern Oregon
Man, you buzzed right past my house and So. Or. with nary a mention! Prhaps because it is, climatoligically speaking, NoCal. The green you speak of, and I’ve had to explain this to people a hundred times, doesn’t start unitl well north of Grants Pass. We’re hot and dry all summer long. But we have our wonderful spots, as you probably know.
Anyway, good journeys to you, and stop by my Opn Mike if you’re comng through on a Sunday.
loverly!
now i feel bad about not taking shots of my ohio trip this week. /spanks own bottom/ i will learn to use my camera. i will.
thanks, Thom! And yes, CD, learn how to use that camera!
Thom: I’m going to write and show pics of Southern Oregon (what I have, anyway) in Part 3 (or Part 4?)—this series is in the same chronological order as our trip was. We zoomed up to Portland, back down to Eugene, then back north for more Portland scouting, on to Silverton (east of Salem), then a brief layover in Grants Pass on our way home.
Oregon indeed got greener once we were north of Grants Pass, etc.
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p.s. Thom: what city are you in/near? Where is the Sunday night open mic?
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Dang--
I wish you’d said you were coming, I would at least have made sure you knew how to get to Powell’s. The trees there are more on the dead side, but interesting all the same. It’s the biggest independent bookstore in the country by most accounts, and in the world by at least one that I’ve read (though I am a little skeptical about that).
Oscar
We made it to Powell’s—and to Henry’s Tavern and to Jake’s. Stay tuned for the exciting Part 4 of To Oregon We Go!
p.s. I’ll give you a heads up before our next trip to your fair state. At least that way you can have sufficient time to hide the IPA.
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No need to hide the IPA
If you should make it up this way again, the least I could do is buy a couple of beers. Maybe there’ll even be a copy of the record (6 of 13 songs with your lyrics) ready by then…