Skate skiing at Teacup on Mt. Hood

Teacup Lake is a groomed cross country ski area on Mt. Hood. Trails are groomed and maintained by Teacup Lake chapter of the Oregon Nordic Club. The season opened early last weekend, but the snow was the typical Cascades wet, heavy glop. This week, warm weather will delay the re-opening. Here is a video I put together of the Hood River Road Trail, one of the few groomed trails open when I skied (Nov. 23). One reason I love skate skiing is because I get to combine screaming downhill fun and hard work required to skate ski and particularly climb hills, or the lung-busters. Hope you get out of town whereever you are and enjoy winter.

Division Street, and wow, it has changed
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.

I really love having no reference points, visual or otherwise, between the time I lived in Portland in the 1980s and the present. This lets me make comparisons from mental pictures. SE Division Street between Cesar Chavez Boulevard (formerly 39th Street) and about 26th Street used to be a quiet place. I distinctly remember several biker bars. The Oregonian (now called Oregon Live) now claims it is Portland’s “hottest food destination.” I like the food cart court here, St. Honoré Boulangerie, and the Bollywood Theatre.

A few more scenes from a trip to Alberta Street
Earl’s Barber Shop is plastered with images highlighting prominent African American leaders and opposition figures.
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.

Yesterday I published a video highlighting NE Alberta Street. Here are a few more pictures from that outing, as stills.

Alberta Street, that oh-so popular place in NE Portland

A colleague I know who grew up in Portland described the Alberta Street of his youth as a place his mom told him not to visit. It was not that friendly. It was in an area that used to be defined by low-wage earning residents, clear social and crime problems, and inattention by the City of Portland. The story is a long one, involving the building of a nearby interstate, the demolition of  African American residences nearby, a great flood in 1948, and the emergence of the new Portland in the late 1990s.

Today the street is a local if not national darling of Portland’s vaunted urban revitalization. There are plenty of restaurants, small business, and cafes. I tried to go to a boulangerie last weekend, when I filmed this video, but it was packed. Northeast Portland also use to have a lot more African American residents. That is no longer the case. There remains plenty of buzz about this place. I say, take a look for yourself. Do not let the hype or even this video sway your mind. Decide for yourself. It is most defnitely a shining star of the Portland I know, as Portland would define things.

Manzanita, Oregon
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.

Manzanita is a lovely beach community in the Northwest corner of the Oregon, and just south of the more famous Canon Beach. I have come here many times over the decades and still love it. Here are some shots in the first half of November. I plan to go back again soon.

Westmoreland, on a very cold fall day in Portland
The main intersection at Milwaukee and SE Bybee, in Westmoreland. Shot with a GoPro.
There is always a big line at Saboru Sushi, in Westmoreland.
Shot with a GoPro.
Shot with a GoPro.

Technically I live in the Sellwood-Westmoreland neighborhood, but I consider Westmoreland to be distinct unto itself. I once lived here oh so many years ago when I was an undergraduate, so it is a place I have called home. The defining features are the massive rail right of way, the Westmoreland Manor retirement community off McLauphlin Boulevard, and the newly restored Westmoreland Park. They all mash together in a valley. I now run and walk here and enjoy the park, the local eateries and brewpubs, and cozy little homes. It would be a good place to call home for the long haul. (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Woodstock, a neighborhood that will soon go upscale
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.

Woodstock. Ah, the memories…so many memories here. I used to come up here in the 1980s, when I attended a nearby college in Portland. I always liked it because it was distinctly lower-brow than the more upscale leafy neighborhood nearby called Eastmoreland, which has lovely estates and manicured lawns. No, Woodstock was all about small businesses making a go at it, a Safeway, a Bi-Mart, some specialty shops like Otto’s Sausage, and some other businesses that came and went, like a tea shop where I bought really strong gun powder tea to stay awake while writing research papers.

Today, most of these are all still around, but some new developments are coming in, and I can virtually guarantee in five years this street will not be recognizable. I love that Grand Central Bakery is here, but Portland has more than enough wine bistros and trendy watering holes. In fact, I just read the great tavern up here, the Lutz, is now considered one of top hip bars in Portland. I mean this is where folks used to come to get drunk on pitchers blitz beer on week nights. Change. It truly is unstoppable.  (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

St. Honoré Boulangerie, in Portland
This shot was taken at the boulangerie on Division, in Southeast Division.

St. Honoré Boulangerie is a lovely and authentic French bakery and pastry shop. There are three locations, and I go to the one on Division mostly. Love their tarts. Great service and always with a smile. People very much enjoy hanging out here, and I cannot blame them. Funny. Today, a guy was filming in there with his camcorder, and for some reason focussed on me being served–coming like a foot from my head from different angles. Very odd. He didn’t ask me permission, never said who he was, and was running all over in classic paparazzo fashion. If you see a guy on some B-roll or Youtube video in an orange hoodie that says, “Alaskan Grown,” filmed here, that would be me. In the meantime, pay these folks a visit and enjoy their deserts and lovely meals. (Click on the photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Portland scenes, trail to hilltop mansion
A view of Mt. Hood taken from the Pittock Mansion in Portland.
This is the lower MacLeay Trail, a popular hiking and running trail in Portland.

There is a wonderful hike you can take from the MacLeay Trail, to the Wildwood Trail, and then to the Pittock Mansion, which rests high above the city and has a commanding view of Mt. Hood in the distance. I snapped these shots on my first trip to the mansion this week on a clear and cold day, and I was rewarded with excellent views. (Click on each photo to see a larger photo on a separate picture page.)

A potpourri of Portland places of worship
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a Nikon 300S.
Taken with a GoPro.

I took these photos in October and November 2014. I will eventually have photographed most of the unique houses of worship in Portland that I considered to be architecturally significant and uplifting to the eye, mind, and spirit. There is no particular order or deeper purpose. I really do like what the craftsman, architects, and builders did in this town in the 1900s. Nice work, everyone. (Click on each photograph to see larger pictures on separate picture pages.)