Portland Statues Part II

Here’s part II in my series of Portland statue sketches.  These sketches are of Chinatown’s entrance gate, Sacagawea in Washington Park, and Paul Bunyan in the Kenton neighborhood.

My first statue post can be found here: Portland Statues Part I

 

Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Bridge

The Portland-Milwaukie light rail project is progressing and nowhere is it more evident than at the two towers which are growing out of the Willamette River.  When completed, this bridge will connect the west-side light rail to the new tracks on Grand Ave and the future Milwaukie track.  It will be the only bridge in Portland without auto access.  Two center lanes will be used for bus and light rail, with outer walkways for pedestrians.  Tri Met has a site for more information.  It has a ton of images about station layouts, track routes, etc (awesome!).  Check it out here: http://trimet.org/pm/

Here are my pictures and a notes:

Mt. Hood Part 2: Trillium Lake

I was surprised to find out that Trillium Lake is fairly young, having only been formed in 1960 by the damming of Mud Creek. The lake is deepest at the southwest corner where the dam is located (20+ feet deep) but the majority is less than 7′ deep. This is one of my favorite places on Mt. Hood not only because of its beauty but because it’s a very quiet place despite having lots of campground space.

There is a great trail around the perimeter of the lake. Because the land around the lake is very marshy, much of the trail is on elevated wood platforms. This is a well-built and maintained trail, but beware- there are a few places where the wooden path has been reclaimed by the lake, but nothing that can’t be jumped over.

These photos are from August 10th:

Mt. Hood Part 1: Barlow Road + Pioneer Graves

I stayed a week on Mt. Hood this summer, and while it’s not technically Portland, I have to share what I saw.

The Barlow Road is something every visitor to Mount Hood should walk on. It was the last section of the Oregon Trail. Much of the original road has been paved over by newer roads like Highway 26, but around Government camp and on the Western side of the mountain a lot of original road still exists. In fact, there are areas which still have deep ruts from wagon wheels. It was very exciting to be walking along such a historic path in such a remote place.

I walked from Government Camp where I connected with the Barlow trail on the South side of highway 26. This section of the trail is fairy short (only .5 miles) but it’s part of the original road.  After crossing Still Creek, I joined a paved road which ran through a campground. About a mile down the road are the Pioneer graves and Summit Meadows. This is a beautiful meadow in the middle of the forest where Oregon trail pioneers would rest before the last (and very dangerous) leg of their journey.
These photos are from August 9th: