After our abortive effort at the Hoyt Arboretum yesterday we took the truck all the way to the top. It was a bit scary to see that there was probably another mile of even steeper grade from where we'd called it quits. Glad we didn't push on.
As the name suggests, it's a large area filled with 8000+ species of trees. That's pretty much it. Sadly it wasn't as interesting as roaming a real forest, but it sure looked like one:
It seems that the spirit of Minas is always with us:
Totally incongruous to see gum trees in the USA in my opinion!
Next stop was the Pittock Mansion. Again no prizes for guessing what it was - yes, a mansion once occupied by the Pittock family - early players in the growth of Portland. The house is no longer owned by them, but is owned by the city, and serves as a museum.
The grounds are fantastic. I want me a garden like this one.
You can smell the money inside, but I find it funny to see the gaudiness of it all - now we know where those hideous gold/marble trailer decor schemes for rich people come from.
I shall have a harp in my music room as well.
Ahh the kitchen.
A telephone from around the same time the turd was manufactured:
Delightful marble staircase leading from the foyer:
It was a very clear day on Friday, and you could see the shape of Mt. Hood looming in the distance (albeit faintly):
Of course NOW I get to see Mt. St. Helens.......
The mansion:
This is the last picture of Kat's bike, before it was stolen on Friday night. As you can see it's right outside the front door. That put a bit of a dampener on our stay in Portland.
Saturday
We cruised into downtown and checked out the Portland Farmers Market. Produce and such looked fantastic, but like all markets, on the expensive side. So we skipped buying any. A bit sad really, but it was nice to walk around amongst all the yoga lesbians and old hippies.
It was good to see Project Chanology in action outside the Church of Scientology in Portland. Whoever is making those V for for Vendetta masks must be loving it even more than the disciples of Hubbard.
I'd been looking at campgrounds for Yosemite/Yellowstone/Grand Canyon before we left and was in a bit of a panic about not being able to find anywhere, so we spent the after noon organising stuff. I'm happy to report that we've got places to stay for the major places, and will fill in the gaps as we go.
Sunday
Today we're off to Silver Falls State Park for some... waterfall action. This is going to be the first time we've stayed at a place that's not a full hookup campsite so wish us luck!
We'll be off the air until the 13th our time (so the 14th for you).
Happy Mother's Day to all mums out there!
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