Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Multnomah Falls - Portland - Mt. St Helens

Whew ... This month has just flown by! With our bridge down and our modem going on the fritz everything just was ... odd! I feel technologically behind and am trying to get my posts done before we head out on our big vacation! I'm really excited to visit family in CoosBay, San Fransisco, and Truckee ... next week we'll be on the road, just Steve and I in the little silver GTI zippin down hwy 101 ... camera ready!

We've just returned from a long weekend in Portland, Oregon, for a Fire Equipment Hoopla at the Expo Center. I passed on actually "attending" the Expo and took advantage of the freedom to escape to greater downtown Portland via the MAX (Portland's mass commuter transit system). That is a sweet system! For $4.95 you have an all day pass and it goes everywhere ... from the Expo Center, to Downtown, to the Airport. Sure beats trying to find a parking space.



Man I love Portland! So much flavor packed in one little mini-Seattle.One of my favorite spots to hang in is the Pioneer Square. Every walk of life mixes and mingles together harmoniously right in the center of the city. The rail borders the square making it a natural destination and meeting place. There is of course a Starbuck's and street musicians, food vendors, hackie-sack, religious fanatics, street rats, business men, tattooed Mommies, chess matches, an ancient wisteria ... if you can imagine it, you'll eventually find it at Pioneer Square.










I hoofed it over to the very best book store in the whole world ... Powell's Used Books on 10th. Just the smell alone is intoxicating. Each floor is stuffed with loved and cherished books, they even have a rare book section. It's a MUST for anyone visiting Portland. One of those places you compare all others to.



Down by the waterfront where they have the Saturday Market, they were setting up for the Rose Fesitval weekend with the traditional carnival rides and booths. I enjoyed cooling in the shade of the border trees and watching the people pass by on the waterside pathway. Portland is so bike-pedestrian friendly ... I could live there. Seriously.







After the Expo was over Steve and I headed out to Multnomah falls ... A truly amazing soul-searching kind of place. The cool sweet mist, the rich green mosses, the humming thunder of the falls echoing in the solid granite bowl, the winding steep pathway, all the way down to the details in the trail posts ... beautiful just doesn't do it justice! I will always make an effort to stop by whenever we are in the area.



After the falls we drove out to Mt. St. Helens ... for some reason the observatory wasn't opened so we settled for a gorgeous view from a dining balcony of a rather fantastic restaurant. I can't remember the name. There is a heli-pad for touring right next to it ... one of these days, Steve and I will just fly over Mt. St. Helens in the RV7. Can't wait to bring home THOSE photos!



Sheriff's Log

The following are samplings of police calls posted in our weekly local newspaper ... This is just one of the reasons I love PT!

A woman who lives on Hill Street said a sick or injured raccoon was at her front door May 7 and wouldn't let her leave.

Deputies talked to a Port Hadlock man May 1 after a store employee was asked to call deputies. The man said he was feeling "insecure," but after talking to deputies, he felt better.

A bobcat was chased from the Chimacum High School property May 2.


An assault at a home in Chimacum on May 1 involved several people. Deputies concluded it was "mutual combat" situation. All parties agreed that the situation was resolved and no further action was needed.

A deputy contacted a marina manager to advise him that it was legal to shoot off a small cannon in the marina, which is within a "no shooting" zone, provided the cannon didn't fire a "projectile."

I really wish I had saved the one where the lady calls the deputies to complain that someone is yelling across the valley for her rooster to "shut up!".

Seriously, if these calls make the paper ... you know you're living in a pretty great place!