Walked 3.23 Miles - Oaks Bottom

I  had a really great walk today. I felt strong and I walked fast. I was enjoying the walk so much that I had to remind myself to look for photo ops. Not a bad problem to have, especially when a year ago I would take photos as an excuse to stop and rest. Not that I'm entirely pain free, but it's no longer getting the better of me. I headed to Oaks Bottom and I was so grateful when I started the descent into the park. The air was cool and fresh on this very sunny day. Lots of folks were out and it's always fun to exchange smiles. I even passed a couple of walkers! Ok, so one was a woman who looked 13 months pregnant and the other was an old man pushing 100. But still! I passed them and that added to my good cheer. 

The flowers on this dogwood are sticking straight up. So interesting. These blooms were a few inches over my head.











I've seen a lot (a lot) of flyers around Brooklyn advocating for the protection of KBOO. Most are full sheets of text which I can glean bits and pieces of when I pass by. This one is definitely my favorite.





The Pac Man at Oaks Bottom has been updated. I think it's pretty rad.





When I was walking to Oaks Bottom, my expectations for greatness was low. It's a well travel route for me. I couldn't believe my luck when I saw this chimpanzee art under the railroad tracks at the of the Oaks Bottom path. There were about 6 total along the walls. Chimpanzees and Pac Man? Such a good day.








2 blocks from home, I walked on this long stretch of sidewalk filled with 'I love you's. There were also rainbows and smiling suns. What a wonderful way to end my walk.

Walked 2.98 Miles - Maitripia College

I knew that the Dalai Lama would be speaking at the Maitripia College which is slightly over a mile from my house. I knew that I should walk there on my walk. I'd kick myself if I didn't check it out. I started walking just after 8am. That's pretty early for me (I like to sleep in a little later on my day off), but I was up and decided to get a jump on the day. The weather was perfect this early. Not too hot and there was a slight breeze. Really nice.

I checked on the construction at 12th and Division. As I standing there, I saw a bald eagle circling the area and he landed on the cell tower (he is the black dot on the left in the middle). Pretty amazing.





This is what I saw when I got to Maitripia College. There were probably about 200 people hanging out. The group inside (on the screen) were chanting and I liked hearing that. Did you see the secret service dude on the roof? There were about 4 on the roof and several others walking around the perimeter.





There was a stage set up behind the big screen. Many people were gathering around the fenced stage. It was just before 9am, so I was hoping that there was a chance the Dalai Lama would make an appearance outside before the official program started at 9am. I figured that if he was going to come out, I should switch to my regular iphone camera. Sadly, he didn't come outside. Just after 9am, we heard the Dalai Lama on the big screen and the program started. Most folks moved over to watch him on the screen.





I stayed about an hour listening to the Dalai Lama. The whole group gathered was very friendly and nice. There were many monks in the group and it was fun to people watch. 











This secret service dude rocked my world. 





I walked through Ladd's Addition on the way home. I love the tree lined streets. It's so peaceful here.





The debate about fluoride in our water continues to rage. I'm so hopeful that we will be able to vote this down. I do not feel that it's the right decision to add fluoride to our water for 3 very simple reasons. 1. Water is life and a healing source. Even if fluoride was a miracle cure (and it's not), it shouldn't be put in our water. 2. Medicating the population without their consent is unethical. People in the surrounding areas will be affected by this and they don't even get to vote. 3. The gain does not outweigh the risks. Fluoride added topically is way more affective to oral health than putting it in the water. As you can see, I feel pretty strongly about this issue. I hope people will vote and will decide that this is not the right decision for Portland. 








There was nobody at the skate park (this never happens) today, so I got to poke around and explore this area a bit. I love all of these skateboard pictures. 

A Stroll with Greg on Mt. Tabor

I wanted to walk somewhere different on my birthday and decided on Mt. Tabor. The base of this mountain is 4 miles from my house, so it's too far for my normal walks. Greg and I drove and parked about halfway up this cinder cone at the visitor center. From there, we strolled to the top, took time to sit and look at beautiful downtown Portland, and just had a wonderful time. The weather was perfect (in the shade) and the park was filled with folks. 

Some of the bathrooms here are truly beautiful.








Mt. Hood looks amazing in the distance.








I think this is some type of beetle, but I'm not exactly sure.





As we were getting ready to leave, we decided to check out the bulletin board posted with notices. Underneath was a squirrel munching on sunflower seeds. I kept sneaking closer and closer to him, but he didn't care. He was solely focused on the food. Getting some squirrel time made the day more special. I also saw a hummingbird as we were walking down the mountain. I always feel lucky when I see a hummingbird. It was really a wonderful walk and a perfect day.

Walked 3.28 Miles - West Hills of Brooklyn

It's hot! Ok, it's only 75 degrees and I'm a total wimp. Most of my friends are basking in the sun, but I'm already over it. While they are energized and happy, the sun makes me tired and sweaty. I'm wishing for the rains to return and a few more cooler days weather before summer really hits. I walked in the West Hills of Brooklyn just because I wanted to keep it simple. My path was dictated by which block and which side of the street had more shade. I noticed, after awhile, that I was letting out audible sighs whenever I entered a shady area and the temp dropped about 10 degrees.

Salmon fingers unclasping the bright green. I couldn't stop thinking about salmon with jazz hands after seeing this.














These Oregon stickers are everywhere. I own one too. This person doubly loves Oregon.

Walked 5.39 Miles - To Reed College

Today I decided to walk through the Reed College Campus. I was looking for somewhere away from construction. Previously, this distance along with the hills prevented me from getting all the way to Reed. Today I decided to give it a try.

I walked through the very industrial area just south of Holgate. I went this route because the buildings provided shade. It's going to be much hotter next week and I'm already dreading it. I had some decent leg pain which stayed with me for over half of the walk. That coupled with the heat made it not a great time. But by the end, I felt better and I was glad I did so much hill work. My time was fast since I didn't stop to take too many photos. I think how I'm feeling during my walk is a direct link to how many pictures I take. I passed by several opportunities, because I just wasn't feeling it.





I get to Reed and these signs are posted about every 10 feet. I took a picture and then proceeded to cross the fence onto campus. I was about 50 feet in when I realized that today is May 3rd. Doh! I'm pretty sure Renn Fayre must be this weekend. So I turned around and decided that I'd walk around Reed. 





This is the north entrance on Steele. I used to visit a friend at Reed and used this entrance since it was close to his dorm. I had a moment of feeling really old, because if these tree were there back in the day, they must have been tiny. And most of this area was a parking lot.





I didn't make it all the way around campus. I got to 37th and called it quits. I'm really excited to return when campus is open to the public again. The grounds are just so beautiful and now I can actually walk all the way here. This is a path leading to campus.





The neighborhood surrounding Reed is kind of boring to walk in. The houses and lawns are perfectly manicured. There were also no sidewalks which cut down on the interesting things one might see when walking. I was so glad to find this house to break up the monotony.





The same house had a tree filled with palindromes. 





I'm getting braver on my walks. This poppy was too stunning to walk past even through there was a dude working in the yard. Normally, I would walk on by and not stop. But today I did. Every little baby step helps me build my courage.





I was mentally honking in my head.

Walked 4.04 Miles - Hawthorne

Happy May Day! I've always love this day. I grew up leaving flowers on neighbors' doorsteps, ringing the bell, and running away. I've only done this once or twice as an adult. I'm always surprised when people have never heard of this tradition. 

This cat's eyes are enormous. I'm really starting to get into photographing the cats I see on my walks. It would be fun to have a whole collection of neighborhood cats.





The American Heating building is about halfway down. Gideon is starting to become bare. The very large brick building is still left. It will be wild when that, the last building standing on that side of the street, is gone.











Since it was May Day, I wanted to head to Hawthorne to see if I could find any May Day stuff.








I do not agree with this statement. Everyone needs to vote and be heard. I'm waiting for my May ballot to arrive in the mail, so I can vote 'No' to fluoride in our water. 





I love walking around this Buddhist Temple. It's so beautiful and peaceful.








One pane is not like the others.








I haven't seen the duct tape camper in ages. The last time I saw it, there was just the sun and flowers. I'm curious to see what this will look like when it's all done. 





What a nice surprise. 

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 3.33 Miles - West Hills of Brooklyn

Yikes! I can't believe my last real walk was on April 5th. 17 days! Well, for 5 of those days, I was in San Fran and got plenty of walking in. As for the other days, I hit another crazy busy period where walking just got pushed to the side. I know these things will happen from time to time. I'm happy that life is a bit easier now and the walking can continue. 

It was a pretty windy day which felt great to walk in, but made taking pictures tricky. A lot of times, I would take a picture and hope for the best. This dogwood was blowing like mad and I can't believe I actually got a picture in focus. 








I know aphids are evil little creatures, but I kind of find them cute.





Ferns are always hard to capture with an iphone. I've been taking pictures of ferns for months. I finally had a very good fern day. 





I'm happy to see bees again. This little guy's feet were so full of pollen that it looked like he was wearing boots.





I don't know why this dog has 3 eyes.





Sadie and I had a staring contest for well over a minute. She won. I love her intense blue eyes.








This triangle in the sidewalk has always intrigued me. It looked extra dramatic today with all of the cherry blossoms gathered inside.





I could spot this green stretch of road from blocks away. This all came from one tree.








I thought this horse was a little low to the ground.

I didn't think much of it until I saw this.





I didn't notice the spider until I was going back and looking through my pictures.

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 3.28 Miles - Oaks Bottom

Since yesterday's walk seemed to be more photos than walking, today I wanted to focus more on walking. That's why I headed to Oaks Bottom. I've covered this ground so many times that I wouldn't be too distracted by what I walked past. It was pretty overcast, but I shed my jacket quickly. 

I always make a loop around the tadpole pond. Today, when I was about a halfway around the pond when I heard a rustle. A baby deer! A brand new deer to the herd. I really didn't think that the few deer that leave here would reproduce. This is so exciting. This little baby deer proves that the deers can sustain a life in this park. 





After I took the picture of the baby deer, I looked to my left and this duck was walking right towards me. She turned when she was probably about 2 feet from me and headed to the tadpole pond. Her mate followed behind. Except he got off the path to walk around me and the got back on the path to continue on his way.





I left the tadpole pond and a few minutes later, I spotted a bit of brown in the trees. Do you see it?





I slowly walked around a bit to get a better view. Another deer! I think this is one of the original 3 deer I keep seeing. I really couldn't believe my luck that I saw two deer in different area of the park. This deer is across the path and several hundred feet (if not more) from where I saw the baby deer.





And then as I was about ready to climb the hill out of Oaks Bottom, I spotted a duck egg just laying out in the open. The egg is a little tricky to see (it's at the base of the tree), but I couldn't pass up the chance to post a picture of it.





All in all, it was a fantastic day. I got some good non-stop walking in to and from the park. I also got to stop and enjoy wildlife. I couldn't have asked for more. Here is the little baby deer again. I saw her again when I looped back towards home. I had to go around the tadpole pond just to see if I could see the baby deer again. And there she was. Just too cute for words.

Walked 4.07 Miles - West Hills of Brooklyn

Today I walked in the West Hills of Brooklyn, because I didn't feel like walking too far from home. Even though the day was sunny, there was a dark cloud hovering over the sun for most of my walk. I was actually pretty grateful for the shade. As much as I've enjoyed the sun the past couple of days, I already need a break from it. It's such a beautiful time of year. I walked a bit slower and enjoyed my surroundings. It was a great walk. 

I'd driven past this tree a couple of times, but I kept forgetting to get a picture of it. I'm so glad the eggs were still up a couple of days after Easter.














I went a little over board with the flower pictures today, but I just couldn't help it. 





The tulips are overflowing with pollen. 

















This poor house is still boarded up. It was in a pretty bad fire a couple of years ago. I keep hoping someone will come along and restore it.








This was an extraordinary house. Whoever lives here is very talented.








"We're wheeling around Brooklyn in a wagon." Such entrepreneurs. I sure hope I run into these two. 

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.