Walked 7.30 Miles - Around the Waterfront

Greg and my mom-in-law were in Eugene completing the half and full marathons respectively. I figured I should go a healthy distance in solidarity. It's been a really long time since I've walked 7 miles. It felt really good. I did have a bit of pain early on, but it faded away after awhile. At the end of the walk, I was definitely tired. But it's a wonderful thing to end a walk only being tired. That's a big achievement for me.

Lawn art never ceases to amaze me.








The construction is really ramping up around OMSI. Several more buidlings have come down including the weird Royal Food place. This building is coming down next.





Since it was Sunday and no construction was happening, I got to get up close to see how things are progressing.





Be your best, beautiful self! 





The new bridge is huge! I walked on the dock that houses the OMSI submarine (the opposite side of the dock is public access) to get a better view of the bridge. So many kayakers on the water.





The OMSI parking lot was fenced at it looked like some sort of event was being taken down. On the side of the path, this poor PBR was thrown out with the ice. It was gone when I returned home this same way. 





So many people on the water. The esplanade was also packed full of people doing all sorts of activities. It's really such a wonderful place to feel a part of the city. 











The Steel Bridge








I'm on the Steel Bridge looking at the Broadway Bride with the Fremont Bridge in the background.





I had to walk over to the Portland Oregon sign after making the pinata. This sign is so iconic and I'm so glad it's still here. 





I haven't spent much time at the Japanese American Heritage Plaza since it's not directly on the main walkway of Tom McCall Waterfront Park. I need to come back and really spend some time looking at this beautiful memorial.





This rock made me stop for a few moments. I visited Minidoka again a couple of years ago with family. Minidoka had always been part of my family's history. They farmed in the area after WWII and after Minidoka was dismantled. The government offered free (rocky, barren) land to folks who wanted to farm in the area. The barracks were relocated to these farms and families still live in them. Most have been remodeled in some shape or form, but there are some that remain much like they were in the 40's. It's a very interesting part of American history and if you get the chance to visit the area, you really should. 





Saturday Market setting up for the day.








Set-up for Cinco de Mayo had begun.





Tiny baby geese! I was surprised that the parents were so far away from their babies. Lots of people were passing by and they just kept on doing their thing.





I used the regular camera on my phone, because I wanted to make sure to capture the baby geese on the Willamette. This was a totally different family from the picture above this.





Welcome to the cat bridge.

Walked 5.68 Miles - Westmoreland Park

Today I walked down to Westmoreland Park, because I had the day off. I love visiting the ducks and geese whenever I can. It was a beautiful morning and a really nice walk.

I walk past the Brooklyn Laundromat often. I've always like the laundry soap rainbow. Today I finally stopped inside to get a picture.





I like the reflection of the floor in the door of the dryers.








I love this mural by Chris Haberman. Brooklyn - frontier wisdom; it doesn't get much better than that.





I haven't been to this movie theater in ages. Mainly because I don't go to movie theaters much at all. I do have fond memories of seeing the late showing of Easy Rider when I was eighteen. I went with friends after work and almost got kicked out because the worker bee thought we were drinking. In reality, we had snuck in Martenelli's apple juice. That was back in the day when employees got a free drink after shift and we thought we were living large with Martenelli's. Hindsight makes me sad that I wasn't able to cash in on free booze - like my older co-workers.





I checked out the MAX construction from the Bybee bridge. Not much going on today.











The water was pretty high and almost to this park bench. You would have to wade in the pond to sit down.








If you wiggle your fingers, the geese will come closer to you, because they think they will be getting a meal. I don't let them get too close, because I want to keep all of my digits.








Such a cool tree house. It's 3 stories high and makes me think of Swiss Family Robinson. 





It ends where it began just beyond the horizon. 

Walked 4.32 Miles - Ladd's Addition

Another beautiful day for walking. It was only about 70 degrees, but it felt down right hot to me. I headed to Ladd's Addition to find some shade. 

Ok, I know this is hard to see, but there is now curb and a single paved lane in the background of this picture. 17th avenue is in the foreground. The new road in the background is brand new due to the Max construction. It's amazing how different 17th ave will be once this project is different.





There have been many changes in the short time I was on vacation. It was fun to walk around the construction area to see what's new.





Soon Powell will be shut down for an entire weekend to finish demolition to the North side (pictured) of the old retaining wall. 





My standard view of the construction from the Gideon pedestrian bridge. 








All of the black dots are bees. These columns were swarming with them. I didn't want to get too much closer, but I did stop and watch them for a few moments. 





Lilacs are blooming! 





I spent most of my walk in alleys. I saw this paint brush in the distance. I thought it was completely random.





Then I saw this to the left of the paint bush. Art in an alley.

















I try not to mess with the pictures I take on my walks. Let's face it, it's hard enough for me to find the time to blog; I don't want to worry about editing pictures too. But I cropped this one and the next one because the squirrels are just too cute and I wanted you to see them as I saw them when I was taking their pictures. 








More Max construction. This is at Powell east of the train tracks. I'm really excited for the new pedestrian walkways to be created. They are supposed to be much safer than the previous versions with switchbacks.

Walked 3.67 Miles - Ladd's Addition

It was hard to know what to wear on my walk today. The skies were blue in one part and super dark in another. I wore a hat, sunglasses, and a jacket and didn't need any of the three. With all of the nice weather we've had lately, I think I'm getting a little soft. I need to remember that it's April and no longer jacket weather.

I checked on the MAX construction. It's great to see cement walls. I'm getting more comfortable taking pictures of the construction. I even had a worker dude wave to me. Fun!





Here's a pano of the construction area. This is looking north on Powell.








I checked out the latest building that was demolished. It's at 12th and Gideon and there used to be a sandwich shop and a few other businesses here. Soon there will be a MAX stop very close to this spot. By chance, a train was just passing by.





Here is a view from the Gideon pedestrian bridge. This is looking south. I was standing close to the white car in the upper right hand corner when I took the pano shot.








I wonder what these slices of tree will be used for.





The wooden plaque over the door says: "I am" Sanctuary. 





This was not the best walk. I had some decent pain in both legs. Walking felt really hard. I was slow and decided to head home sooner than I would on a Friday (my day off). Still I got over three and a half miles in which I feel is a success.

Onions growing in the alley.














The dark clouds were quickly rolling in when I was headed home. It was beautiful to watch.

Walked 3.49 Miles - Kennilworth Park

On my last walk to Westmoreland Park, I noticed that they had started to tear down the photo restoration place at 17th and Holgate. A few days ago, I heard on the news that an old wooden rail car had been discovered in the building. I knew that I had to check this out on today's walk. I can't believe the luck I had, but I talk more about that below. I ended up in Kennilworth Park and it was just the most beautiful day to walk.

Good life - I agree.





ABC, easy as 123





When I first walked past the rail car, I felt comfortable taking pictures of it even though there were worker bees everywhere. It had been on the news, I figured it was probably being photographed often. I took pictures from all sides and then walked on. 





I never get tired of taking pictures from the Holgate overpass.





At first I thought this was a bracelet. Nope, it's an earring.











I'm still fascinated by the sap on the trees at Kennilworth Park.





Today has been the most perfect day I've ever seen. This lyric by Radiohead was playing on my iphone; I stopped and took this picture. And I felt grateful for the day.








It was pretty overcast when I first walked by the rail car. The sun was fully out on the return trip, so I wanted to see if I could better shots. As I was taking pictures, a very nice, well dressed lady said that I could go inside the fence. Nobody would mind. Really? She said sure, go ahead. I didn't ask twice. I thanked her and went in. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. I'm grateful that I was able to go inside and see this bit of history. I didn't want to take advantage of this situation and only went in a few feet. The men in hard hats were nice, but they didn't look all that thrilled. I took a bunch of photos and then left after only a couple of minutes. I didn't want to wear out my welcome. 





Turns out the very nice lady was a reporter from Channel 12 (she's in blue, I wish I had gotten a better picture of her) and they were interviewing people about the rail car. I can't wait to watch the news tonight.





Only two more years to wait. 





But progress is happening fast! There are new curbs where the Semaphore used to be. It's getting easier to visualise the future tracks. 





This is a block from my house and I saw it yesterday when I was out running errands. I'm so glad it was still here today. It reminds me of Lord of the Flies.

Walked 5.57 Miles - Westmoreland Park

Today I headed to Westmoreland Park. Yesterday was an intense weather day with beautiful sun to monsoon downpours sometimes only moments apart from each other. It was pretty overcast when I started walking, but I took a hat and sunglasses just in case and I'm so glad I brought them both. I got very lucky and it only rained a bit. One the return trip home, I was treated with hail! So fun! It doesn't hail here too much and it's always a joy to see it.

My hummingbird was on the small tree in front of my house. He usually sits up crazy high in the neighbor's tree. He was close enough that I could see his beak open and close when he sang.





I walked along 17th to see how the Milwaukie-Portland Max construction was going. So much work! There are many groups working on different parts of the road. There were even flaggers in three different areas. 





It's getting to the point where it's almost too difficult to walk this street. There are so  many sidewalk closures. Crossing Holgate, I noticed that the digital archive building was being torn down. 








I found this pick up again in a completely different part of town. I can't wait to find it again.








I really dig this picture. Mushrooms on the side of a tree. They were about a foot over my head.





I walked up the Bybee bridge to see the MAX construction going on below. It's crazy to think there will be tracks here soon.





Here is a view from the north side of the bridge. The big metal thing on the left of this picture is hanging from the rig below and must be about 20 feet long if not longer. It will be pounded into the ground soon.





The park was pretty empty and the clouds rolled in pretty fast. Usually it's incredibly easy to take good pictures here. Today the ever changing weather and light made it tricky. 








These folks had a bag full of food for the birds. On the pole (very left) is a sign saying "don't feed the birds".








I didn't know that palm trees were so hairy. You don't see many of them in these parts.

Walked 4.02 Miles - Ladd's Addition

Another beautiful day in Portland. This is my backyard. The clouds were just amazing. It was warm enough to walk in short sleeves. I headed to Ladd's Addition to find some shade. I'm sad that the cold crisp sunny days seem to be ending. 

Occupy literature is popping up everywhere in Brooklyn. I wonder if this is happening in other parts of the city. 








There was a house here just a few days ago. I'm curious what the new house will look like.








It's weird to see this building which was always hidden by the building that used to stand in the foreground. The landscape is constantly changing. 











Things seem to be wrapping up in this spot for now. The big hole is gone! And look at those clouds. Just amazing.














A few weeks ago I wouldn't have known what this means. Now that I've been to a Timbers game (and loved every minute of it), I know this stands for Portland Timbers Football Club. I can't wait to go to another game.














I almost didn't notice these tiny mushrooms. Looking straight down at them, they looked like pebbles. 





The whole neighborhood smelled of Daphne.








Night construction is starting on the 17th Ave overpass. This is one last look on the sketchy walkway along Powell that goes under the train tracks. I never walked here. Lots of homeless folks hang out here and with the switchbacks, you couldn't know what you'd walk into. The new path will not have switchbacks and will be well lit. 





Detours are everywhere. The new overpass will be open this fall. I can't wait. 

Walked 4.23 Miles - Rhododendron Gardens

Man, oh man, was it rainy today. Hardcore downpour with lots of wind. I set out towards the Rhododendron Gardens, because it's been too long since I've been. The weather was so extreme that I almost turned around several times. I kept picking a distance up ahead as my turnaround point, but each time I got to that mark I kept going. I'm so glad I didn't give up. I like this picture, because you can see the rain coming down in a sheet up towards the top of the bridge. 

Here's a new development. It looks like the permanent sidewalk will go in soon.








Safety is attitude. Everyone should live be these 2 simple rules. 














This was the only duck out of the water and he just looked miserable. I could commiserate. I was soaked from head to toe.





I had the place completely to myself until this friendly dog and his owner came by. I got to pet her for few seconds. Love that.








The puddles were much bigger on the return trip. 





It was great to see the Max construction this far down. The Westmoreland golf course is directly to my left.





What do we do when we can't be together??





I could see entire large trees reflected in puddles. 

Walked 3.11 Miles - SE Portland

Today was all about the chickens! I figured since it was Valentine's Day that I would treat myself by walking past my favorite house. I've taken pictures here a few times and I just love that their chickens are so close to the sidewalk. After seeing the chickens here, I saw so many more. They are becoming very common in SE and it seems like every other house has a coop. 

The weather was just perfect. These seed pods hanging from trees look really alien to me.





The big long building is finally completely down. It was a weird shock to walk around the corner and see the Gideon Pedestrian bridge which was always hidden by that building before.





The folks in the middle of the bridge were totally making out. It was sweet to see young love on Valentine's Day.





It feels so open now with that massive building gone. You can even see the KOIN tower and downtown in the distance. 





There was already so much happening around this bridge and then a train came through honking it's horn.














Such a fancy coop!














This glass flower was a needed bit of color in this winter yard.





The love birds were gone when I returned to the pedestrian bridge, so I was able to take a picture of the Max construction from my usual vantage point.





My 'waiting for the light to change' picture. Someone had decorated this utility box with Mardi Gras beads.








Construction is definitely ramping up. I had watched worker bees construct the large rebar circle things )on the left) for a couple of weeks. Each one is probably about 20 feet long. It's fun to see them actually go into the ground. 

Walked 3.58 Miles - Oaks Bottom

What a beautiful day! It's the first day of February and boy, it is starting off well. I am so happy to say good-bye to the craziness that was January. I decided to head to Oaks Bottom, because I just wanted to be in nature. This was a cleansing walk to celebrate finally getting through my big project at work. The sun was shining bright and it was a joy to walk in short sleeves. Such a great day to be outside.

I have a new obsession with plants in round holes.














I've turned off my music often to listen to birds. Today I turned off my music to listen to the frogs! Such a great change and they were crazy loud. Very fun! Oaks Bottoms was very busy. At the top of the park, there was a class practicing wilderness first aid. Then at this spot, I passed a guy with a gaggle of 5ish years old with him. He was squatting and he had something in his hands. I doubled back to take a peek and he was showing the kids a little garter snake. I so wished I was brave enough to ask to take a picture, but one of the 5 years old was glaring at me and I chickened out. Also, Portland Public Schools were on holiday today, so traffic on the trail was heavier than usual. I'm glad so many parents thought to take there kids here.





I crossed the Springwater Corridor to get a look at the Willamette. The only other time I'd walked on my trail was a rainy gray day. Even though the sun was out, the trail was still extremely muddy. 





Yeah, it looks pretty much the same as before. There were signs stating that the bank was unstable and to stay at least 50 feet away from the edge. I broke that rule here, but only for brief couple of seconds. Falling into the Willamette is not something I ever want to do.








These blue diamonds were about every 50 feet on this trail. I tried to google them to figure out what they mean, but I couldn't find the answer. Does anyone know?





I've seen this series of public art before, but this one was brand new to me. I don't know how I've missed it before. I couldn't resist getting a self portrait.











It's amazing the amount of work that is spent on this park. Now that I've been here so much, I can see all the changes taking place. From regular filling of bird feeders and clearing away tree debris to this great new trail head. Previously, this was an ugly hard to maneuver weird gate thing that wasn't very user friendly or welcoming. Now there's a great wood fence and bike rake. 








Posted on a car window.

Walked 4.00 Miles - Industrial Inner SE

Today I headed North since the last few walks have been Southbound. I decided to walk around industrial SE to have a change from the park scene. I walked down to Belmont zigzagging along the numbered streets with no real direction in mind.

I checked on the building that is coming down on Gideon. Such a long building! They have taken down almost a full block and there is about a block to go. 





Another view of the MAX construction.





Tag art - I wish I had thought of that.











I've driven past this building a zillion times on my way to Goodwill. I didn't realize that it was the Oregon Bagpipers Society.




















I've walked past this Buddhist center before. I've always been too afraid to take a picture of the very large Buddha. Today the sun was only shining on his face and I just couldn't pass that up.





The bacon-art truck was parked behind CHAP (Children's Healing Art Project). I can't believe someone would write 'sucks' on this side. 








I totally dig the bone and cleaver door handles. 








Waiting (and waiting) at the pedestrial signal on Powell.

Walked 3. Across the Ross Island Bridge

Greg has started training for his next half marathon and needed to run this morning. I used the time to go on a walk. I asked him where I should go and he suggested the Ross Island Bridge to see the new bridge construction. Sounded like a great idea to me.

It was a cold morning and frost was everywhere. 








My job is at the end of this bridge; it's the world's best commute. I've never walked to work because getting on and off the bridge is extremely dangerous for pedestrians. I see near misses all the time. I'm more than happy to ride 4 bus stops to work. This was the first time I've walked on the bridge and boy, it was kind of frightening. The sidewalk is narrow and the traffic is loud and fast. I was nervous the whole time on the bridge.





The new bridge is coming along. It's fun to watch it grow.





This cage is how worker bees get underneath the bridge. I'm so glad this isn't my job.





The bridge makes quite the shadow.





This is SW Moody where they have finished installing the streetcar. To the left of the streetcar tracks under the Marquam Bridge, you can see the brand new MAX tracks. MAX will cross over the new bridge. It's so exciting to see how much progress is happening downtown. 





Looking back at the new bridge from the very end of the Ross Island. This gives some perspective of how large the new bridge will be. The view from this spot 3 years from now is going to look drastically different.





I caught a glimpse of the tram when I turned around to head home.





I saw several boats like this and a few kayaks. It was a great morning to be on the water.

 

This the first time I've gotten a good look at Ross Island Sand and Gravel. It's massive.

Che Guevara posters  have been popping up everywhere in the hood. I hadn't seen this picture of him before.





I wanted to see if I could get a decent picture of the Dairy Cooperative that's painted on the side of a Darigold and right at this moment, a Ferrari pulled in and parked. Not something you see often in these parts.

Walked 4.09 Miles to SE 39th

Today was down right warm for January. I wore a hat and a coat, but I could have easily left them at home. I headed over the Gideon pedestrian bridge and walked up to SE 39th via Brooklyn and Tibbetts. I'm amazed at how much faster I can walk to 39th now. Previously, it was all I could do to walk this far, but today it wasn't hard at all. 

Another building is on its way down! This is at the tail end of the long building that is next to the Gideon pedestrian bridge. It's going to seem really weird and open when this building is completely gone.





I peeked inside to get one last look of the building.





Here is a look at the Max construction. The railroad tracks parallel SE 17th and pass over Powell Blvd (you can't really see Powell here since it dips below the tracks).





Usually there will be a colorful garage or an interesting car. This is the first time I've seen both together. 





I wonder if this is left over from Halloween.











Do you see the face? I did a double take when I first saw this.





These mushrooms are growing inside of an oak barrel.








Have anyone see these Portland Heritage Tree tags before? The tag says 1995. This was the first time I've seen one. It's really great to know that this is a Yellow Buckeye. I'm going to keep an eye out for more of these.





I was reaching up on my tiptoes to take a picture of a ceramic frog on top of a really high fence (that picture didn't work) when I felt something brushing up against my stomach. I take a step back and this calico was standing on a 3 foot wall. It was a startling, but nice surprise.

Walked 3.50 Miles to Oaks Bottom - Last walk of 2012

Today I walked for the last time in 2012. Over the course of the year, I walked 324 miles on 91 different walks. That's only 20 miles shy of walking to Seattle and back. I'm so proud of this accomplishment! I really didn't think I had walked this much in 2012. I've set a new goal for 2013 to walk even further. I also have a few races I'm thinking about participating in. The future is definitely bright!

For my last walk, I decided to head to Oaks Bottom. I wanted to jog a bit and I really like how flat the Springwater Corridor is. I'm still very frightened of tripping, so it's the perfect place to practice without fear of curbs, cracks, or other hazards. 





Due to the Max construction, road closures are common and constantly changing. Often when I drive home, now, I have to find new routes because of the closures.





This entire row of colorful flowers caught my attention from a block away. Such a sight for sore eyes in the dreary winter weather. It wasn't until I took the picture that I realized they were all fake.








I've walked past this broken window for well over a year now. I finally stopped for a self portrait.





I recently drove past the Sellwood bridge and saw this construction in progress. They will be shifting the bridge to sit on a temporary structure while a new bridge can be built. The whole thing sounds like magic. I can't even comprehend what it takes to move a bridge, let alone build a new one. Portland keeps getting better and better! 





Just as I started to descend down into Oaks Bottom, it started to snow. It only lasted a few minutes and the tiny snowflakes didn't last on the ground, but it was a perfect moment. While the water isn't completely frozen, I was amazed to see it covered in ice.





I walked around the tadpole pond and came upon these newly filled bird feeders. So many beautiful birds were waiting their turn to feed. I stopped here and stayed as still as possible, so they would eat in my presence.





I love the reflection of the trees in the water. The water was perfectly still today.





The path around the tadpole pond was extra slippery due to the frost on the mud. I was very careful walking this trail.











I heard these crows from blocks away. I changed directions and tried to get as close to them as I could. They were constantly on the move circling from tree to tree. There must have been over 100 birds.





It's fitting that Oregon has been filled in by moss.





The fall leaves may be gone, but their imprints remain.

Walked 3.65 Miles to Ladd's Addition

It was nice to walk the day after Christmas. I had a great holiday filled with family and good food. I had so much fun, but it's nice to have the holiday over and to slowly return to real life. It was cold and a bit misty out, but really quite lovely for walking.

I can't get enough of moss. It's everywhere and just beautiful. I love having so much green in the month of December. It definitely brightens the gray days of winter.








I hadn't checked out the poetry at my neighbors house for quite some time. Emily Dickinson is a favorite of mine.





I checked on the MAX construction on my way to Ladd's Addition. Last week, we drove past the new MAX tracks in SW Portland. This project is really starting to happen. It's so exciting.





Here is a view of the construction from the Gideon pedestrian bridge.





I don't think folks will be able to skate for some time. There is so much water in this bowl.























I've walked by this church many times. Today, I got on the grounds and explored a bit more. It's such a beautiful building.





As I was taking pictures of the columns, I noticed two dimes stuck into a hole in the wall. I left them there for the next person to find.