GARY GOES WEST, AGAIN, WAY WEST THIS TIME

until he reaches portland oregon, he goes east, south, north, and west, until he runs out of land, watches trains, rides light rail, photos old rail, sees birds, beer, waterfalls, including the backside of water, cliffs, ships, barges, dams, baseball, nature walks, city parks, national forests, state parks, volcanoes. and comes home with 10,586 photos before culling, not bad for 1 short evening, and 9 full days.bear with me, this one will be a long one, and take awhile to finish. so anytime it shows back up near the top, it means i got some more processed and web posted.
let's start off with the a nice comfortable flight to pdx, and since i was in the front, off the plane fast, bag off fast, rental car shuttle right out the door, fast break rental, 30 minutes after landing i was pulling out of the car rental lot, and on m y way to jonsrud viewpoint, in a nice neighborhood in sandy oregon, where i took a few mount hood sunset shots, only kept 2 but here they are
oh i forgot to mention, it was 87 degrees at 7:00 pm when i landed in portland, not a cloud in the sky for the next 2 days, and hot into the 90"s each day




and with a telephoto, shot 3 mount hood sunsets, all in great weather, but just did not get the violet yellow alpenglow, i know it happens, i have seen the photos, but i suspect it needs cooler clearer skies
REPROCESSED WITH THE NEW PRESETS I HAVE, BIG DIFFERENCE

 

so sunday morning rolls around, i am rested, decent hotel breakfast, so i decide to hit up the vancouver washington amtrak station first, it is a nicely maintained wooden station, right in the middle of a double track full wye track arrangement, and there is a small bnsf yard to the immediate east, and a terminal building. it is a crew change point



and a double tracked swing bridge over the columbia river, that later in the trip i watched open and close



and the 8:30 cascades train to seattle, and on time no less



a nice roundhouse model in ho scale, that used to be at this yard in steam days, wish it did not have that plexiglass in front, but then people would not stop touching it and damage would surely occur



i like it when civic pride helps keep a railroad station looking good



and within 10 minutes of amtrak clearing the station, this freight came out of the yard and went westbound over the river



and its a shame to see these like this, this was one sharp paint scheme when new, but these have been worked hard for 20 years now, and if they do get rebuilt are not repainted in the warbonnet scheme



so it is around 10:00 and i have moved about 6 miles and back across the river into oregon, to portland international raceway, for a weekend amateur road racing meet, day 2, of omrra, the oregon motorcycle road racing association, 6 classes ran races, concluding with super bike, i do not remember what these are, and i shipped home some stuff that has not arrived yet, and in the box is the program, so when i get it i will amend the information. they have a pace lap, where apparently it is traditional for the riders to salute the corner workers with a wave, all classes did this

ok according to the program this first race on sunday was a mixed class, novice 1000/novice 600, well nobody went down that i know of, big bikes, with inexperienced riders, that was a possibility, ironically as i type this i just returned from the first call of the day, mva motorcycle, some older gent dumped his beautiful triumph when he hit some rough pavement, but neither he or the bike are banged up too bad.



and now it is race time



and do not worry, we are living the commercial, i got more, much more

 

so we are getting into the bigger and faster classes now, i think these are a 450cc sportsman type, i have decided to dump all the photos with only one bike, i think it just seems a better photo if their are multiple bikes in the turn







and my favorites, super bike, i am thinking these are very similar to european motogp class?? they had a pretty good field, close to 20 in the feature, more than i expected considering these are the biggest bikes, probably cost the most and are certainly seriously fast. it takes a set to run these

 

and then early afternoon, out to make a circle around mount hood, from the west, the south side and then around the east side and north to hood river, this is from trillium lake, almost due south of mount hood and about 2 miles down a forest service road, this is from a fishing dock at the day use and picnic area, unfortunately the wind came up, this is a very nice reflection shot in early am or right before sunset if no wind.



now we are on the east side of mount hood, the community of parkdale, in the hood river valley, a major fruit producing area, there is even a marked loop road tour called the fruit loop that you can pick up a brochure at tourist and visitor centers and follow, i am sure in the season it is packed. this is an area where a lot of the bing cherries we eat come from. mountain over the orchards

 

a few more of the hood river valley, these are from a raised knoll overlook called panorama point, not hard to find, and is on google maps, so you can use google directions. that haze, that's not poor photography or processing, it is about 92 degrees right now, unbelievably hot and cloudless my first 3 days in oregon. thought i'd be living in a rain suit, hah, needed a cooler, bags of ice, and a case of bottled water just to start the trip.



see that red barn in the center, i have seen a great shot incorporating that barn on a real nice clear day, but try as i might, i could not find a shot from public highway, so i'm guessing that requires knowing the owner or asking permission, and i would bet on needing to know the owner, western landowners have a rep as not the friendliest folks on earth towards strangers, even ones carrying photo gear and explaining what they would like to do



old route 30, the historic columbia highway, parts are still open despite the eagle creek fire



looking east, upriver, from rowena crest viewpoint, the columbia river drainage is second only to the mississippi



north bank, washington state, and those swirls of current are due in part to the river being 2 feet higher than normal for this time of year, the extreme record heat is melting snowpack at the rate of 1 foot per day, raising the river in a hurry



not long after this photo i called it a day, i was hot, sweaty and tired, and had a 70 mile drive back to my hotel, although almost all of it was interstate, so it passed quickly, not bad for my first day in oregon. saw some stuff, got photos of it
coming next, monday, another trip out into the gorge, this time starting on the washington side of the river, all the way to the dalles, cross over, come west, and get some waterfalls

 

so monday dawns hot and not a cloud to be seen anywhere, so i went across the river, took washington 14 east to dallesport, crossed over to the dalles oregon side and came back to portland again on the south side of the river. now i tried to do some photos, but when i reached the dalles it was 94 and high sun, that's right 94 degrees, it was hard to persuade myself to get out of the air-conditioned car, let alone do much walking to take pictures, so i do not have much for the day. first up bonneville dam, a power dam project with 2 power house sections, a lock, and fish ladders, although the damming for irrigation and power of the columbia and snake rivers raised hell with what had been probably the world's finest wild salmon fishery. taken around 8:00 with mist still rising off the river, since the visitor center did not open until 9, i took this and drove to stevenson, and back with the necessary cup of good coffee.



downstream from the part off the powerhouse open to visitors not on the official tour, i probably should have waited for the 10:30 tour, would only have been about 5 people on it, especially considering how bad the hot high sun got today



ironically the only place i saw a real outburst of colorful wildflowers was on the washington side, against some rock faces that were sheltered from direct afternoon sun, i was just a couple of weeks too late for the color explosion at rowena crest



and here we have the famous multnomah falls, site of multnomah house, and for right now the westernmost point of the historic highway that is open, and the last waterfall open going westward, the upper bridge is also closed, which i regretted at first, but after watching the crowd awhile i realized that all i would have had was a solid line of faces with phones in front of them of folks whose complete photography interest is only in a good selfie. it was kind of disappointing though to be standing there with one of the park rangers and crossing waterfall after waterfall off my shot list
added: all due to the huge eagle creek fire last year, caused by a reckless teen throwing fireworks around in the woods,



but the ranger did tell me how to go back east and what exit to take so i could get vista house and a couple of other waterfalls, this is looking east, upriver from vista house



i know, i should have gone further back, but here is my poorly executed shot of vista house, it was so hot after i took this, i just went up those steps, around to the shaded side, and sat there drinking water and eating an orange



inside vista house, maybe michael can help us out with some of the architectural details, i did read a plaque, but forgot to take a photo, it seems like it is supposed to bring to mind some sort of eastern temple thing

 

so let's finish out monday, i at least got out of the car and did hike a half mile into the woods and down to the base of bridal veil falls, it was shady and i had plenty of water, and traveled very light, body, 16-35 f4 with attached nd filter, cable release, tripod, and 2 bottles of water



and then because i am a glutton for punishment, and it wasn't dark yet, back to portland, across the river and up into the hills of west portland, to pittock mansion, an older private mansion that has enough road parking so that you can walk around the gate that closes at 9, and stay on the grounds to try for the portland lights with mount hood in the background, too hazy for much tonight due to heat, but not a bad looking city night scenic



and that's it for today

 

It looks Art Nouveau to me.

 

michael for the win, per wikipedia vista house designed by edgar m lazarus, incorporating elements of jugendstil, a german interpretation of art nouveau. there is a huge amount of high quality marble, even the toilets, sandstone exterior and the dome has a bronze lining. originally dedicated in 1918

 

glad some are enjoying this so far, it will be a long one, this was a longer trip than i usually take, i put a lot of days into it on the hopes i would get 1 sunny day for mount hood, well i got more than that, and it was a trip pretty packed with things. there are a lot of things to see and do in portland/oregon. next up tuesday, which dawned a little gray, and drizzly. so due to my fatigue level, pixel mania day four level of defcon. i decided tuesday would be transit tuesday, the day dedicated to riding tri-met, portland's light rail and street car system. portland has 5 light rail lines, designated by color, a streetcar loop which runs counterclockwise and clockwise, the A & B loops, and a north-south named streetcar loop, there are places where they share trackage, and quite a few interchange spots, and a day pass is good on all these plus the busses.
so first up, a stop at the amtrak station, both because it is in great shape, and to use the bathroom, here is the inside, looking out towards the train platforms



and the well maintained outside, and that is a neon sign at the top that lights up at night saying " go by train"



tillikum crossing bridge, opened in 2015, has a wide sidewalk on each side, a wide bike lane on each side, marked directionally, and 2 rail tracks in the center for streetcar and light rail use, and by busses. portland is consistently voted as the best bike friendly city in the country.



sitting at waterfront station enjoying a coffee, before walking halfway across tillikum bridge



out on the bridge, looking north, up the willamette river



and why i ventured out there, the uss blueback, on permanent display in portland, the last diesel electric submarine in service in the united states navy, once she was decommissioned, except for one diesel boat used for training purposes, the us sub service is all nuclear

 

riding the orange line, saw this and got off at milwaukie/main street, to take a photo. there are a couple of tiller ladders towards ny, in more heavily populated areas, and fdny has a few in service, but it is pretty interesting and not a rig i have any practical experience with



lunch time, had a great food truck burrito



after doing the orange line to the end and back to waterfront, i walked over to the oregon health sciences center cable car, up marquardt hill. this is a cable car that was actually built as part of the transit system available to workers, and draws quite a bit of tourist action as the view from the top is a very good one. and i daresay the $4.70 round trip tourist ticket helps offset the cost to run this. and i lucked out as tomorrow 6/3 it goes down for 5 weeks for annual service, replaced by busses, not as scenic a ride.



nearing the top



there is a pretty good sized wrap around open viewing deck at the top



northeast up the willamette from the top



waiting for a cabin to come in to go back down



my view riding back down since i was in the back of the car

 

Awesome trip so far, @gary I'm heading a state north of you later this summer and, I dare say, even farther west then you.

 

thanks, glad folks are enjoying the travelogue, i really like doing these, and sharing the new places i sometimes get to.

so back onto the max system, on the combined red/blue line towards hillcrest, getting off at the only underground station on the whole system, washington park, they just bored on through washington hill, and what they lack in underground stations this makes it up in depth, 450 feet underground, you take an elevator up to street level, where the zoo is across the street, and you can take the free shuttle to hoyt arboretum,vietnam memorial, holocaust memorial, rose test garden, and the japanese garden, which was my stop this afternoon



at the top of the hill that the garden winds around is a small recreation of a rural japanese village



some bonsai, very well done, although the bonsai garden in washington dc at the national arboretum has a much larger collection, if one ever wants to really experience bonsai, go there





the zen garden, i took this sitting on the porch of the gallery building, so peaceful, i will next make sure to see this in morning light, and i liked portland, and left enough on the table that there will someday be a return







and let's go into the gallery, the current display honors shokunin, artisans of hand crafted items, learned through a decades long apprenticeship, using hand tools and natural materials. the examples of each art were stunning, in both beauty, craftsmanship, and simplicity of form

 

back outside for more of the grounds



formal japanese gardens have to have a water feature, it is a required design element of the form







let's wrap up our visit to the japanese garden and head on back to the hotel, we have an early start tomorrow and a long day with a little over 300 miles of round trip driving

 

I finally got a chance to take a good look at this Gary! Loving your report, as usual. Keep'em coming!

 

Nice work Gary!

 

So, it is thursday, we are staying based in portland today, rode light rail into downtown, i made a great hotel choice, the residence inn by marriott, at the mt hood avenue light rail stop, the stop was literally maybe 250 feet out the hotel door, ticket machine took debit card and sold day passes, nice to have all my transportation needs so easy.
light rain for awhile this am, so rode into courthouse square, went to the visitor center, has a starbucks upstairs so had my mid morning coffee people watching in comfort



some life size statues around the square area





i could not find a plaque telling me about what this building had been, or what made it so important that the remains are shored up with steel framing

 

portland has a lot of park space, waiting for the streetcar, according to the charter organizer, waterproof boots or hiking shoes will be needed on saturday, so while riding the streetcar, saw the rei store, which is the flagship original, stopped in and got 25% founders day sale, so i picked up a nice pair of north face hiking boots and am on the way back to the hotel to change out footwear, and return to washington park to visit hoyt arboretum



took a nice 2 hour trail walk in hoyt arboretum,



essentials of day hiking, taking a break on a nice bench area



trails were well marked, finished out the day by returning to the hotel, showering and going to dinner nearby at shari's cafe and pies, a regional chain in the pnw that has decent food, and great pie

 

so resuming our trip, it's friday morning, after a full night's sleep. and laundry morning in my hotel, at 1100 i pick up michael at pdx and we set off on our winding trip to the coast, first up a stop for lunch, since the heritage rail center does not open until 1:00, so we go to burnside brewery, and have real good burgers for lunch, i had a fine craft beer, a heffewiezen, good times