Story by Nicole

I decided to take some of my free time between jobs to go to Portland, Oregon, to visit my grandparents and an old friend. I adore Portalnd, and I wanted to share some of the visual highlights. Jason didn’t come with me this time, which means I took all the photos with an iPhone camera, so they may not be quite up to usual quality.

For me, every trip to Portland includes a trip to the International Rose Test Garden. We went the first evening around sunset. It wasn’t quite as crowded as earlier in the day, but there were still dozens of people wandering around taking photos and strolling through the roses. The majority of the bushes were blooming, so there were many layers of color variation.

Roses with Portland in the background (Photo/Nicole Harrison)

Multicolored roses (Photo/Nicole Harrison)

On Wednesday, I went with my grandfather to hike Dog Mountain in Washington. It’s a fairly long and rather steep hike to the top of the mountain, but the views are well worth it. Unlike the forested hillsides in the area, Dog Mountain has a large area of hillside that has few trees and supports the growth of countless wildflowers. We were there slightly after the peak of the wildflower season, but the flowers were everywhere. There was an amazing view of the Columbia River Gorge and the surrounding area. It was beautiful.Light through the trees near the bottom of the trail (Photo/Nicole Harrison)The view near the top of Dog Mountain (Photo/Nicole Harrison)Rock penstemon alongside the trail (Photo/Nicole Harrison)

We stopped for lunch in Hood River before heading back to Portland. While there, we stood for a while and watched the people windsurfing on the river. It looked a fun activity, but I’m not sure I’d have the coordination. It also looked a little cold, with all the water and the wind.

Windsurfers (Photo/Nicole Harrison)

Thursday was periodically rainy. After some delicious ramen, we took the Portland Aerial Tram, which some locals call the Twinkie, up to OHSU and back down to the city. It’s a pretty unique way to get to the hospital.

The view from the Twinkie (Photo/Nicole Harrison)

The Twinkie going back down the hill (Photo/Nicole Harrison)

I won’t go through my whole trip, but here are a few more pictures. I hope to be able to return soon.

My favorite fountain, Ira Keller Fountain(Photo/Nicole Harrison)

Vegetables for sale in Alberta (Photo/Nicole Harrison)

Washington Park (Photo/Nicole Harrison)