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Sunday, July 6, 2014

A Week in Portland, OR

We've spent a week in what just might be our favorite big city, Portland, OR. It's vibrant, green, edgy, and charmingly old all at once. There's always something to do, be it a hike in the massive Forest Park or a myriad of smaller parks scattered throughout the city, exploring unique neighborhoods, visiting brew pubs, seeing live music, any kind of shopping you need to do, tax free (we love the Columbia Outlet Store on Tacoma St.).

Here's a look at some of the things we did during our stay in Portland. We've visited this city several times before so I am always on the hunt for new places to explore, this time was no exception.

South East of Portland lies the community of Milwaukie, home of Bob's Red Mill, world famous makers of whole grain products. They give factory tours on weekdays, free samples included, and just down the road is their store and cafe where you can buy every single product they make, even in bulk form. Their story is fascinating, they've faced many challenges during the past 40 years, but their commitment to quality has made them the outstanding brand they are today.

Also, if you like Dave's Killer Bread as much as we do, Dave's uses Bob's Red Mill products in their breads and took over Bob's old factory space right across the street from Bob's store and cafe. Dave's has a retail store there too, so you can stock up on their fabulous bread as well!

Bob traveled Europe looking for old grinding stones, we are posed next to the first stone mill.

Bob's Red Mill Store and Cafe.

We visited the small but lovely Leach Botanical Garden. John and Lilla Leach traveled the world in the 1930's collecting botanical specimens and ultimately left their estate to the City of Portland. A few trails wind through the beautiful gardens, creating a peaceful oasis in the city.

Pretty trails crisscross Leach Botanical Garden.

Vancouver, WA sits just across the Columbia River from Portland, OR. Oregon boasts no sales tax and Washington no state income tax; as you can imagine people take advantage of this situation so there is a lot of commuting between the two cities.

I discovered a unique urban trail in Vancouver, the Burnt Bridge Creek Trail. This paved path winds 8 miles through the city, sometimes in dense, lush, green forest, sometimes through meadows with ancient apple trees, sometimes making convoluted turns across city streets to connect to the next section. We biked the whole trail using this excellent guide to navigate the quirky transitions along the way.

Lush greenery surrounds you through large swaths of the trail.
The forest opens up to pretty meadows.


This was the noisy part, crossing over interstate 5.

Glimpsed through the trees, an egret shimmers on a cotton covered slough.

I mentioned Forest Park at the top of the post. This 5,000+ acre urban forest contains about 70 miles of trails, right in the heart of Portland. During this stay we hiked the Linnton Loop hike in the North half of the park.

Many of the trails through Forest Park look like this.

A chance meeting on a trail in Eastern Oregon tipped us off to a new (to us) brewery, Burnside Brewing Company. Our fellow hiker recommended the Sweet Heat, an apricot wheat ale with scotch bonnet peppers! The bartender told us that beer changes all the time due to the heat of each batch of peppers, and though tasty, we decided it was just too spicy to drink a whole pint...so we had an excellent IPA and some delicious fried pickles instead.

Those cornmeal fried pickles were yummy! Good beer too!

One day we hiked in Whipple Creek Park, a small forested beauty of a park just North of Vancouver. I always feel like I am in a fairyland as we walk through these lush forests, practically dripping with green, mossy goodness!

Old grist mill being engulfed by the green.



For our last hike in the area we headed to Camas, WA, a cute little town on the East edge of Vancouver. The Lacamas Creek hike is an in-town, city park hike that feels like it's out in the woods; winding up and down gentle slopes through gorgeous green forest along creeks and lakes. The trail was fairly busy on this beautiful summer Sunday, but not overly so; I imagine on weekdays it's a very peaceful place to be.

A lovely, slow section of Lacamas Creek

Tiny, burbling Washougal Creek.

We've thrown in visits with old friends who live in this wonderful city and coincidentally happened to stay at the same park as fellow full time RVer and blogger Suzanne of Take To The Highway fame. We've had near misses with Suzanne for months, so it was great to finally make a connection. We hit it off instantly and enjoyed a couple of evenings together, dinner at home one night and an excursion to a fun tiki bar, Hale Pele, and a pub with live music, Laurelthirst, another night. Very much looking forward to our paths crossing again, perhaps even later this summer.

Fun drinks and atmosphere at Hale Pele with Portland Bob and Suzanne.

One thing we discovered, it's not so great spending the 4th of July in a metropolitan area where fireworks are legal! Fireworks are fully legal in Washington and some are legal in Oregon and on the 4th we experienced many, many HOURS of constant booms, bangs and pops by the thousands. Even the air had a pervasive scent of combustible material...the thought of the environmental impact was disturbing. Next year we'll try to be in a less populated area...

There aren't many RV park options around Portland, we stayed at Columbia River RV Park. This is a big park, everyone is lined up in neat rows with about 12 feet between rigs, it's very clean, good 4G Verizon signal, sometimes okay park wifi, the location is very convenient, there is airplane noise from nearby PDX, and the weekly rate is very good at $168. This place works well if you are visiting Portland.

Sunset over Columbia River RV Park.

Tomorrow we head into Washington for a long stretch, almost two months. First stop, Castle Rock, gateway to Mt St Helens.




30 comments:

  1. WHOA!! When did I miss that sunset?? Was it last night, when I was passed out from too many Mai Tais at the Hale Pale? LOL! Such fun getting to spend time with you guys...I look forward to more good times down the road.

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    1. ;-) I think it was on the 3rd...I can't tell you how many sunsets we miss because we're all snuggled up in our little cocoon on wheels!

      Good times my friend, very good times! I do hope we cross paths again!

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  2. We took the train/subway to Forest Park from downtown Portland (fyi the most bicycle friendly city in the use). We got lost in the park…so big with a maze of trails that wind down into deep ravines and old growth forests. An amazing place.
    I jealous that everyone or our RV friends are getting to meet Suzanne before we do. We are Pen Pals via Email, but I'm sure we will eventually cross paths this fall/winter/spring. I better go stock up on wine, or did you convert her to umbrella drinks :))
    (Kidding Suzanne)
    Two months in Washington…I envy that too. I have a secret love affair with Anacortes and Whidbey Island…jumping off point to the San Juan Islands, not to mention Victoria, BC…with it's Bushard (sp?) Gardens and manicured Victorian neighborhoods (sigh).
    Maybe next year.
    You and Hans have a good time,
    Box Canyon Mark

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    1. Suzanne is wonderful! An excellent writer, like you! She likes beer too!

      I just love Forest Park. We have hiked so many of its' trails, there are so many unique finds I think I could hike it for years and not get bored!

      We are spending a month in Sequim, I hope to make a day trip to Whidbey.

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  3. Hope we can find you guys in the next month or so as we make our way into WA. I'm sure you know where you're going to be but we will figure it out as we go!
    We also hope to see Suzanne again. We had a great time with her, too.
    Gayle

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    1. We look forward to our paths crossing! We go from Castle Rock, to Auburn, to Port Townsend then to Sequim for a month (start 7/22). After that SW Washington through Labor Day. We may just miss Suzanne when we get to Sequim...not sure.

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  4. That sunset is stunning but all that lush vegetation has me wanting to head that way. It's always interesting learning the different tax practices of each state.

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    1. It is amazingly green here! Every shade you can possibly imagine! Good thing it's one of may favorite colors!!

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  5. Next time in that area, Lisa and Hans, try the Columbia Riverfront RV Park in Woodland, WA!! We stay there because my daughter is in Ridgefield but it is still very convenient to Vancouver and Portland.

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  6. Looking forward to the breweries of Portland!

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    1. So many breweries (and just plain cool bars), so little time...

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  7. This is why I love reading blogs. Been to Portland a bunch of times, but have never done any of these outings. Great tips! Glad you got too meet Suzanne too.

    Nina

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    1. I don't think we'll ever run out of new things to do in this city!

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  8. Ah, Portland. One of my favorite cities too. We lived in the Portland Metro area over 30 years. The Columbia Gorge RV Park is good if you want to be close to downtown and Washington state. Sometime, you ought to try Pheasant Ridge RV Park in Wilsonville. It's heavily treed, and close to Costco, restaurants, etc. in Wilsonville and Tualatin. One downside...it is near the fire station so you may hear sirens from time to time.

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  9. Bob's alone is enough to make anyone want to go to Portland. But you have put icing on the cake. Beautiful pictures. How did you do so much in one week?

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    1. We're busy little beavers...thank goodness we are retired!

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  10. The Egret picture is incredible! Bob's is a must see for us as well and those lush green hikes look like the perfect place to spend a warm summer day (or six). I think Portland got it right in so many ways, and I enjoyed seeing more of the surrounding area.

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    1. It has been a warm week here and we were really thankful for the dense, beautiful forests to hike in! I don't think I'll ever get tired of Portland!

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  11. City stops can be a nice change of pace. Look forward to your Washington adventures... Travel Safe.

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  12. How did O not know that Bob's Red Mill was in that area!! I can't wait to return someday soon. We placed ourselves in Salem so we could visit all around us and stay put. We made three trips into Portland and really enjoyed it. It is a neat city. I liked the bike ride you did. Nice to have all those changes in scenery as you ride. Good to know you aren't getting board:) You both look great. Can't wait to see you.

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    1. I can't remember how I found out about Bob's Red Mill...but when I did months ago I put it on my calendar!

      I bet you are getting antsy to head West! Looking forward to seeing you two too! :-)

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  13. We have only spent a long weekend in Portland, pre-RV days but agreed that it could be one of the large cities we could settle in, mainly because it is so green and so bike-friendly. I had no idea Bob's Red Mill was there, nor did we know about all the hiking and biking trails. Thanks for all the information Lisa. Great sunset shot!

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    1. It is such an awesome city! I agree, if I wanted to be in a big city, this could be it!

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  14. We've traveled through Portland many times on our way north (our hometown is Ashland) but it's almost always just a quick couple of days to visit family. We've done all of the Portland city attractions and the hiking trails in Forest Park over the years, but now you've got me excited about all of the hiking/biking trails that you shared! Thanks for the great tips. We're heading up that way in a couple of weeks. :-)

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    1. Yes indeed, we too had covered most of the usual Portland sites and trails...it was time to branch out. I love finding stuff that the locals do!

      Interesting that you are from Ashland, we liked that town too!

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  15. We love Ashland as our hometown -- that's one reason it was a difficult decision for us to go full-time. (We rented our home instead of selling so that we can return at some point.) It would be fun to meet up with you in Ashland sometime -- we can be your local guides! :-)

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    1. I can totally understand why you would keep your home, we really liked Ashland and it could be on our "list" of future homes.

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