Taken with a GoPro.

Taken with a GoPro

Portland, like many cities, has a lot of parks. Seen here are Grant Park and Mt. Scott Park. Portland’s parks have this almost eerie quality with Douglas firs and ultra green grass, manicured by Parks and Recreation Department staff. It is as if some great omnipotent being wanted to make a cross between an English garden and a Pacific Northwest forest, and plop it in a city. That is what they feel like to me. I like them. So do residents, who approved a big bond levy on Nov. 4 to pay for improvements.  (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)