Mount St. Helens yesterday...such a gorgeous 60 degree day!
I have never appreciated nature as much as I do now that we live here. Growing up in Florida my limited experience with the outdoors extended to the beach and the backyard when it wasn't too hot. I've never camped unless you count Camp Dorothy Thomas which I attended as a Brownie and cried all weekend because I missed my mom. (Some things never change....) These days I still cry on a dime, it's my hallmark move, and I miss my mama terribly, but I have a special place in my heart for the natural scenery, mountainous terrain, crisp weather, and mossy beauty that make up northwest.
Apparently, love affairs with the northwest have been happening since William Clark and Meriwether Lewis made their way to these parts. One of my favorite books, What There is to Say We Have Said, the correspondence of Eudora Welty and William Maxwell, includes a letter from William to Eudora dated August 7, 1952. The letter ends with this:
"Wonderful time in Oregon, visiting all the places Emmy knew as a child. What with camping on the beach and in the mountains and horseback riding and rushing from rose garden to rose garden, I had the loveliest kind of vacation. - Emmy sends her love with mine. Bill"
That about sums up exactly what Oregon and SW Washington have to offer and it is lovely indeed, though there is much more to see and do. Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, the Oregon coast, the Washington coast, beautiful rose gardens, tulip gardens, skiing, snowshoeing, evergreens, more parks than I can ever imagine, and the winding Columbia River. And that's for starters. JSM and I have vowed that this year we will get out and explore more of it. Just because I appreciate nature doesn't mean I'm really good in it, but I'm going to do my best to experience as much of it as I can. If JSM ever wants to explore Africa, as he says, I better start practicing. So, we started this weekend with a trip to the beautiful Forest Park.
Forest Park is an urban park located in northwest Portland and that's exactly what I love about it. It is located just a few minutes from one of the nicest walking neighborhoods in Portland and is completely unexpected for an urban area. Portlanders are so very lucky! In fact, at 5,157 acres it is the largest urban forest in the United States. It includes 80 miles of trails and overlooks both the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. This is what NW Portland looks like:
Large, stately homes on side-walked streets with shops and restaurants in walking distance. This is typically more my style....
And a few minutes drive up Lovejoy you can find this:
But, I think this is beautiful! A little fog on a January morning.
Look at the bark on that tree!
I told you I love moss!
A peek-a-boo view of Mt. Hood on the way home...I can't get enough!
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