Portland, Oregon, USA Community

Portland, Oregon

Overview

Portland is home to half a million people and another 1.5 million living in its suburbs. Situated in the Willamette Valley next to the mighty Columbia River and split by the Willamette River, this city has no shortage of water, not least of which comes from the sky. All that water tends to leave everything green and makes for fantastic scenery year round.

City

Notice the clouds looming ominously over the city. Notice the crowd on the waterfront. We wouldn't get out much if we only stepped out when it was sunny, but don't let the precipitation worry you - it's mostly drizzle. Portland is not a very large city and most of its daytime population lives in the suburbs which may have something to do with the reason why it is so clean and green. As if there weren't enough trees blanketing most downtown streets, Portland boasts gigantic Washington Park on the west hills overlooking Portland that contains the Hoyt Arboretum - 214 acres of trees, 800+ species from all over the world. It's almost shocking to find species from much warmer and/or dryer climates that actually survive (somehow) in this park. Oh yea, the park also contains the International Rose Test Garden. This is, after all, the City of Roses.

Portland has a very good public transportation system, but what do we care - we've got bikes! But so do Portlanders, only theirs don't usually have motors. It's become a trend in recent years to bicycle everywhere, and when a Porlander becomes impassioned about something, it inevitably becomes a political statement. Now the "anti-establishment" event seems to be riding bicycles haphazardly in large groups while ignoring all traffic laws. DON'T HIT THEM! Filing lawsuits is our pastime! (we don't have a Major League Baseball team). No hard feelings.

OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science of Industry) located in Portland's east side and right on the Willamette River holds the USS Blueback submarine (which starred in The Hunt for Red October). Tour it if you've never been in a sub before. It's impressive.

Like to read? Try Powell's City of Books. It claims to be the largest bookstore in the world and I must admit that I've never seen any bigger. Its not just large, but the used books are mixed with the new books and the shelves are very nicely categorized.

Portland's Chinatown is interesting, though nowhere near as large as San Francisco's or Vancouver, BC's.

Still need more reasons to visit? Try this site www.travelportland.com