Portland Day 3

I needed some 'me' time so headed off solo for the Lan Su Chinese Garden. Their moto is 'Between Lake and Mountain Lies True Meaning. Beautiful!! It's described as a window into Chinese culture, history and way of thinking. It was built by Chinese artisans and is the most authentic Chinese garden outside of China. It's designed after a garden located in Portland's Chinese sister city, Suzhou. It features over 300 plan species found in traditional Chinese gardens.

The garden features an adorable little tea shop, which reminded me of the tea shop I went to in Seoul, South Korea. I got a white tea and some almond cookies for breakfast, and enjoyed the music.

I left and decided to explore a bit more. I walked past voodoo Doughnuts and an incredibly long line. it's a Portland thing, and I was told that I have to go by a Portland native. I didn't, but did snap a picture of some doughnuts.

I decided to try a cup of Stumptown Coffee and do some writing.









Some of the other fun things I saw on my trip.

Fabulous moss-covered tree I forgot to post from Multnomah Falls. And the peace sign is from Washington Park.

Portland day 2

The gal that I went to dinner with and I decided to head to Washington Park to visit the Japanese Garden, and the Rose Garden. Both were just stunning, and we spent several hours just walking around and taking in the gorgeous scenery.

Japanese Garden

Rose Garden

We walked over to the food carts (like food trucks, but they are fixed) and got some Thai food and walked around the city for a bit. People here are SO nice! Several times over the weekend, people stopped to ask if we needed help when they saw us looking at a map. Wow!

We stopped at a place called Cacao for mochas, and to charge our phones. Then we headed to the waterfront to enjoy fireworks. They shoot them over the Willamette River over a bridge, and were really impressive!!

Great day and I'm really enjoying this town. The weather has been glorious! Cool in the mornings and evenings, bright and sunny. I'm envisioning packing my bags..

s

Portland day one

Hi! I just noticed that my last post was quite a while ago, from my Yellowstone trip. I've been on several family trips since, though nothing new to post. I also went for a long weekend to Los Angeles to meet my friend Kim, whom I met in Italy on a wine-tasting tour. We had a great time and as a result, just booked a trip to Europe.

Today I flew to Portland for for my first visit. I came here to attend the World Domination Summit. I'm not going to write about that, but my couple of days exploring the city.

The conference had a mobile app, which features the Unconventional Race, a scavenger hunt of sorts.  We have to do a bunch of activities including taking a pic of a flight attendant and pilot on our trip to Portland. They were enthusiastic and in fact so much so, they invited me into the cockpit.

I got back to my seat and five minutes later, I saw two girls talking with the captain. I ran up and sure enough, they were also going to the conference.

Whe we got off the plane we talked a bit. Turns out that they had rented a car and were headed to visit
Multnomah falls. I had wanted to go but didn't feel like renting a car to go on my own, so figured I'd have to try to go another time. How serendipitous! I asked if I could join them and they agreed!

It took around 45 minutes and was worth it. Wow. The falls consist of an upper and lower falls. The upper falls is around 470 feet and the lower around 65. It was nice and cool from the mist coming off the falls, and everything was so lush and green. So different from Phoenix!

We walked up the path for a while taking in the views of the falls. It's very steep in parts but so beautiful. It was really worth it.

We headed back and got in just in time for my reservation at Andina, a Peruvian restaurant in the pearl district of Portland. A friend raved about it, so I knew I had to go. I dined with a gal from the conference that I had been trading messages with. What an amazing time! She is really great and I so enjoyed her, and the restaurant was spectacular! The ambience, food and service were all really great. Yum!

Then we went to a pre-conference gathering and met a couple of really great folks. One was from England, and she flew all the way here for a few days to attend the conference. One was from Boulder, but had moved to Amsterdam after last year's conference. I got to meet the guy who created the conference, and lots of other people.

I'm staying at a hostel, which is my first time. It seemed in keeping with the overall plan for the weekend of doing something different. And many of the people staying here are attending the conference. It was fun and different, but not for me. I don't sleep well as it is, and with people coming and going all night, it was a bunch of sleepless nights.

We have lots of great ideas for tomorrow so will see what motivates us. Portland is beautiful and very walkable. There's a lot of great little neighborhoods which gives it a Boston-like feel to me. There is a blues festival going on, and lots of parks to check out.
s

Yellowstone Pics

Yellowstone 9/12

Last Day in Yellowstone

It feels strange writing this last post as I'm home now. Internet was spotty through the trip, and though we were supposed to have it in the Billings hotel the night before we flew out, it wasn't working well. So, I enjoyed my evening, took some notes and promised to write when I arrived home!

We had breakfast at the Snow Lodge, and I learned that they had changed my friend's flight, but not mine! She had mentioned it, and I did receive a change so didn't give it any thought to double-check! I called the airline, and unfortunately the call was dropped right after I was told they would be right back with me to help. When I called again, I was told there was no availability! Of course, we had figured out transportation assuming we'd be together, so this posed a challenge!

We headed out, leaving Old Faithful and the extensive geyser basin surrounding her. On the way out of the park we headed towards Mammoth, the oldest established part. We missed the obsidian cliffs (though the sun wasn't shining enough to show the true beauty of these cliffs) and stopped at the 'Sheepeater's Cliffs' for a 'nature walk.' They were named after the Shoshone indians, who reportedly ate sheep.

We then stopped at the terraces overlooking Mammoth. These giant limestone terraces are made of travertine-despositing hot springs. They are white and look like rippling snow. I read that the Shoshone and Bannock people collected minerals from these terraces for their white paint. This area is pretty large and there's several sections to walk around. There is also a bacteria 'mat', a beautifully colorful area of orange, yellows and greens.

We drove down to Mammoth, which used to be a military installation. There are several really gorgeous places, and the inn was designed by Robert Reamer, the same designer of the Old Faithful inn. Inside the inn is a gorgeous map made of wood representing all 50 states. Driving through the town, we saw a large herd of elk, sleeping amongst the houses. It reminded me of Estes Park, CO, by Rocky Mountain National Park, where elk roam everywhere and it seemed a common occurrence to find elk in your front lawn!

We stopped at a small parking lot that didn't stand out in any way for a special surprise. This is the 45th parallel hot springs (at the 45th parallel, the halfway point between the equator and the north pole), pools set up in the boiling river, taking advantage of the hot springs cascading down the side of the river wall. You would never notice it if you didn't know it was here, so we were glad for our 'tour guide!' We walked a mile or so through a beautiful area along the river, and wound our way down. There were big rocks to navigate on, so we were glad for the suggestion of bringing water shoes!

What a fun time! It was funny as you hit hot spots that were almost scalding, then ice cold spots as you weave your way through the pools. We spoke with a guy from Kentucky who was taking his 14 year old son on a National Park adventure, and just enjoyed relaxing a bit in the soothing water.

But all good things come to an end! We picnicked in the parking lot and headed off to the north entrance of Yellowstone Park, flocked by an impressive stone archway. We passed Rescue Creek, where we heard a quote of the day: 'Why do you suppose they call it that?' Maybe you had to be there, but it was pretty funny!

As we left the park we saw lots of deer and antelope, but not the ever-elusive bear, unfortunately! The drive out was gorgeous, passing by lots of farms and ranches, through fields of gold grass looking up at the pine-covered mountains, all weaving around they Yellowstone River. It all is so huge and so beautiful, so I now know why they call Montana 'big sky country.'

We stopped at Chico, an old hotel in Pray, Montana known for it's hot spring pool (in a traditional pool this time!) The hotel was gorgeous and we went on a little tour through it and the gardens behind, ending at the pool. We were supposed to stay here, though when the airline changed flights on us, we were unable to unfortunately. The hotel boasts a five star restaurant, horseback riding, dogsledding, rafting, etc.

We got back into Billings and it was not so exciting after everything we had seen! I found myself looking around for buffalo still! The hotel was ok and in the downtown area, so convenient. Our 'tour guide' left to visit friends, since she used to live here, and the rest of us walked down the street to find a restaurant. We headed to where the hotel suggested, then saw a cute little wine bar/restaurant called Bin 112 and decided to go there instead. Yum! Excellent. And quite entertaining sitting outside listening to the clientelle. At one point when I was talking, I said that I'm not married... right then a guy walked by and was walking into the restaurant, stopped and said 'let's talk!' It was hilarious. Total small town and a fun night.

I called the morning of our flights and was able to book myself on the earlier flight, so no exploring Billings! But after all the majesty of Yellowstone National Park, I can't imagine that Billings would have had anything nearly as impressive to offer!

Until the next trip...
Sam

Yellowstone- Old Faithful

We went to the Old Faithful Lodge for breakfast since we can’t get dinner reservations there, even with cancellations. I had corn cakes with huckleberry butter. I’m hooked on huckleberry!

As we were leaving the restaurant, we saw a group gathering in front of the giant fireplace, and it was a tour starting. So we jumped in and what a great decision! Ruth Quinn was our guide. She’s been working in Yellowstone for close to 20 years in the summers, and five at Old Faithful. She was a wealth of knowledge and actually wrote a book about Robert Reamer, the architect of the Old Faithful Inn.

Robert Reamer was only 29 years old when he worked on this project. He was unknown, but in the right place at the right time and quite lucky! He built it in a rustic style, and was the first to do so in a national park. He apprenticed at the age of 13 as an architect. The Inn is built with a large central structure, and additional were added on in the 20 years after it was built to add extra rooms. It was constructed in a year by 50 very busy carpenters. The additions were built to not detract from the central structure and seem to fade into the background.

The inn is built of lodge pole pine, and all of the materials were found in the park, within 20 miles. There are really interesting curved and knotty pines cut from diseased pines that were damaged or bacteria were impacting the growth, and it makes for an incredible view. I think it was built and opened in 1904. For $50, people could take a five-day stagecoach tour of the park, and it included food and lodging at the five major inns. Each stop was within 40 miles of the others. It was billed as a ‘Tour of Wonderland.’ The train companies funded construction and offered loans to the building company.

We got to see one of the rooms in the old section. The walls are lodge pole pines, and the rooms are adorable. Some have an old copper-topped table, and there’s a sink that was updated to porcelain 20 years after the rooms were built. Extensions added over another 200 rooms, and they are almost always full. All additions to the inn were done by Reamer, though his lifetime.

In 1959 there was a major earthquake, measuring 7.2 on the Richter Scale. It rotated the chimney, so it was unusable until it was fixed in a major renovation in 2004-2006. It also pulled the upper staircases from the wall, so people can not go above the third floor onto the roof. It’s since been fixed, however, due to fire codes and the fact that there is only one staircase to the upper floors, the levels are still closed. The renovation including some refurbishing, and updates to the heat and plumbing.

The inside of the inn is all wood, and it’s gorgeous. There was a blacksmith as well who did a lot of work, and he worked on the front doors, which are the originals, and many pieces around the inn. There is also a large, 25 lb popcorn popper to use in the fireplace! He also created the radiators, which are still used today. Some were replaced, and molded in the same fashion so you can’t tell the difference!

There’s also beautiful antique furnishings, and chairs and sofas of wood and leather. One of the companies that furnished the hotel is still in business, and it’s a relationship that has spanned 100 years and continues today.

We then went to the visitor’s center, which has a really interesting exhibit and watched a video about the creation of the park and the geysers. There was no sound, but thankfully it was close captioned so we could read all about it!

We got to see Old Faithful go off twice, and it was much nicer walking the boardwalk late morning once the frost melted! We walked up in the geyser basin around Old Faithful, and walked over to see Grand Geyser, a fountain geyser. They are usually in a pool of water and multi-dimensional. Unfortunately, it was much earlier than predicted and we arrived as it was ending! We did get to see a small geyser erupt. Old Faithful is a cone geyser, which shoots off in one direction.

We went back to our cabin to get our car and drove to the other geyser basins in the area. We went to the Great Fountain Geyser, another fountain-type geyser and missed that by minutes as well! We got to see a great cone geyser, which looked like the beehive Geyser we saw earlier in the day. It was a large cone built of deposits from the geyser water. We walked through the other geyser basins: Biscuit Basin, Black Sand Basin, Fountain Paint Pots, and Midway Geyser Basin. We saw a lot of beautifully-colored geysers, fumerols (steaming pots), mud pits and bacteria mats with amazing colors of orange, green and gold.

One of the basins had several buffalo incredibly close to the road. And just like in the warning videos, a family with young kids walked right up to a buffalo, within 50 feet, to take a picture! The recommendation is no closer than 75 feet, however, with young kids, even that seems foolish.

We headed back to the cabin, and went to sit on the porch of one of the Inns overlooking Old Faithful to have a drink and enjoy the late afternoon here. We’ve been walking all day and we’re pooped! I’m now officially geysered out!!!

We went for dinner at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, the only Inn open through the winter. The others close in mid-October. This lodge does have internet, so I’ll likely post this after dinner! I’m not sure we’re doing anything else tonight, so probably won’t miss anything exciting!

Tomorrow we head to Mammoth, another part of the park towards the northwest. We’re going to soak in some hot springs, then head back to Billings to fly back home on Saturday. This week has flown by!

Grand Teton day 2

We headed to the cafeteria onsite at the Colter campground for breakfast. A girl from Bulgaria brought us coffee, so we talked to her for a little bit. She’s heading back home in two weeks. This place had gluten free bread, which was great, and scrambled tofu with curry. I’m tired of eggs and wanted protein, so it worked! And was very tasty, too.

We walked about the campground for a bit and over to the visitor’s center, which is also onsite, then over to the lake for a view. We decided to do a hike around Jenny Lake, as it’s so beautiful and we really enjoyed seeing it yesterday. It was such an amazing hike!! A surprising number of people for off-season. We kept stopping to take in the views and catch our breath. It was incredibly smoky today, and between that and the high altitude, it can be a little tough to breathe.

We circled the lake and every step offered a new glorious view. I forgot to mention that we saw a sign with a picture of a bear on it and a ‘beware of bears’ warning.

Quote of the day: ‘Is that an elephant?!’

We hiked for close to four hours, stopping for a fruit and nut snack. We met a wonderful ranger who told us a funny story about a bear that decided to visit the visitor’s center not long ago. He was hanging out around back, and climbed a tree. The rangers encouraged him to move on as there was a high volume of people, and when they did, the people followed him en masse! Then this tiny little ranger said she put her hands on her hips and yelled at the crowd ‘You are NOT following that bear!!!’ They stopped. Meanwhile, the bear went straight for the ranger’s station, and the head ranger was sitting there watching the bear walk right towards him. The bear detoured at the last minute and wandered off.

So far we haven’t had any bear sightings, but we’re optimistic! Hopefully it won’t be up close though. We also learning from this ranger that black bears can range in color from blonde to brown to black. The fox we saw last night was a red fox (as it’s the only kind in the park) but red foxes can also be blonde, brown or black. Interesting!

On the way back, there was a woman and her 7ish year old daughter, huffing and puffing and dragging her feet. It was so cute. ‘Must be hard to be so young and full of energy’ I said, and the mom laughed.

We went to Signal Mountain for a quick stop and to look for a picnic table for a late lunch. We drove around and found a boat dock with a table next to it and no one around. It was wonderful! We ate and enjoyed the views of Jackson Lake before heading back out. We headed north back to Yellowstone, and passed the Continental Divide again. We stopped at Isa Lake, which was covered by green and yellow lilly pads. Isa Lake is interesting as it flows in two directions: to the Pacific, and to the Atlantic!

We got to Old Faithful village at around 6:30 and stopped in the old lodge. It’s incredible, and made of different kinds of wood. We got there 15 minutes before Old Faithful was about to erupt, so we ran upstairs to a viewing place and sat down just in time! It was amazing to see, and the couple sitting next to me said that it was a big eruption, bigger than the other one they saw. I got some video and pictures, and was so excited to see it, I forgot to take a pic of it on my phone so I can text it to folks! Next time.

We went to another lodge (there are four in this area) for dinner. I got the trout almondine (sp?) again, and it was good, much better than the last time. Trout is one of the local foods, and I enjoy trying local cuisine when I travel. We checked in and found out that we were in cabins with a shared bath. It’s fine for a couple of nights. Even when we booked in February/March, everything was all sold out and we had a hard time finding places. So we took what we could get. So a tip for you when you come here: book early. Really, really early.

We did get to watch Old Faithful erupt again (it does every hour and a half or so) but it was really dark so we only saw a faint outline of it. The cabins weren’t easy to find in the dark, but it worked out ok. The rooms are cute. There is a sink in the room, which is nice, and our cabins are in the back (there’s two to a building.) I suspect we’ll have a ‘scenic visit’ should there be a need. :o)

Tomorrow we’ll explore this area, as there is a really large geyser basin. We’ll check out the other lodges, including the Snow Lodge, the only lodge open in the winter, and the one that offers internet.  Hopefully I’ll get to post this tomorrow! I can’t believe we only have two more days! This trip is really flying by..