Walk 39: Mississippi & Overlook (2.5 miles)

Subtitled: "I crossed the Failing Bridge and lived to tell about it!"

This walk started at Overlook Park, notable for a soft track to walk dogs, a picturesque view of the Albina rail yards and river, and another sighting of the elusive “pukatron.”




I left the park, headed toward Kaiser Permanente, turned up N. Interstate, took a right on Failing Street, and crossed the dreaded Failing Street Pedestrian Bridge over I-5. The bridge, along with the street and a former school, were named after Portland mayor (1853-1854) Josiah Failing.



An interesting bit of trivia: Mayor Failing was a Republican delegate to the 1864 National Convention, and helped nominate Abraham Lincoln for a second term. Yay, Republicans of the 1800's!

Before leaving Failing Street, I passed another "Hummel-figurine-filled window - it sure looked like an antique store from the outside but there was no sign posted. Another mysterious quirk of Portland. Note the can of "vandal mark remover" spray on the right.



Turning down Mississippi, here's where the walk got REALLY GOOD for me. In sequence, I passed a comic book store, a CD/Game Exchange, and an ice cream shop. I haven't read many comic books since my childhood, but looking around I found a "new era begins" Legion of Super-Heroes from 2010 and had to check it out. That was my favorite series when I was a kid and spent many rainy days reading them with my sister.



The ice cream at Ruby Jewel Scoops was interesting: Thai peanut curry, which was the only really odd flavor on the menu that day. Had a nice kick to it, and tasted great! Next time I think I'll have the caramel & chocolate, though.



Carrying my goods, I passed by the ReBuilding Center, which according to the Walk There book is the "largest nonprofit used building materials resource in North America." It's fun to step inside and see sections like "Appliance Alley" and "Tub Town."




This place is BIG. Just up the street from the toilet-laden entrance is an impressive "enchanted forest" type entrance to the place:



Turning a corner and heading back up Albina Avenue, I spotted my first pink dogwood tree of the spring. I love how these just explode and brighten the street.



I passed some modern-looking apartments before reconnecting with Mississippi.



Joy of joys, a second music store, this one a records-only small and funky one. They didn't have any rock music, but they did have a nice selection R&B, funk and soul. I picked up a 1976 Kool & The Gang, which has never been issued on CD, called Open Sesame.



Two landmarks of note: First, the John Palmer House, an 1898 Queen Anne home:



And on Interstate Ave, the St. Stanislaus Church, "the heart of Portland's Polish Community," which turns out tens of thousands of pierogies at the annual Polish Festival.



While much of this area is undergoing a renaissance, with new food places, shops and buildings, as I walked past The Palms Motor Hotel sign, I was reminded that there's still a way to go. But hey, they've got "phones, hottub room, microfridges and king beds," so it can't be all bad, and I'm sure things aren't as run down on the inside as out here!



Finally, back to Overlook Park for one final spin on the pukatron:

Walk 38: 4T – Trail, Tram, Trolley & Train (4.5 miles)

I gotta admit, this alliterative walk surprised me. Looking at the book, I thought, "Four mile walk, then ride back to the start? Easy!" But this four mile walk is a bit more challenging than a flat, city street four mile walk. It's a 600 foot elevation gain from the Oregon Zoo to the OHSU tram, made much more difficult by the nearly nonstop muddy spots on the trail. This hike will be a LOT easier in the summer!

I started by parking at the zoo, behind the Max station, conveniently ignoring the sign that said "NO PARK AND RIDE." Hey, I was parking and walking (then riding)! Here's the map that shows the four sections of the four T's: (Marquam) Trail, (OHSU) Tram, (Portland Street Car) Trolley, and (MAX) Train.



I walked downhill past the Children's Museum, where I saw my first well-marked 4T Trail sign, then crossed Highway 26 (aka "Sunset Hwy"), and just before entering the freeway on the right side, headed uphill on a never-before-noticed-by-me side trail.






I soon saw a quite muddy spot, the first of many, many sections that I would have to step around, or hop over, which eventually built up enough momentum that I started running along the trail just to make it easier to keep hopping over these (more on that later).



After the first major elevation gain, approximately 2 miles into the walk/hike, the trail opened out onto Patton Road near the intersection with Talbot. I've driven by this intersection hundreds of times but never knew there was a trail lurking here!



Turning up Talbot, I soon rejoined the trail and continued on up to Council Crest, where I was treated to my first good view of the city (albeit slightly foggy/cloudy, which is the norm for this time of year).



On the other side of Council Crest I headed downhill on the Marquam Trail, breaking into a run, partly because I was leaping over so many muddy spots it encouraged me to do so, and partly because it was just fun to run on the soft soil (easy on the knees!).



Eventually I reached the Marquam Shelter, with a small amphitheater setting for a potential picnic spot.



Turning again uphill and heading toward OHSU, this is where the climb started to get to me. I had been jumping over mud, slipping in the wet, and stepping on or around washed away rocks for several miles now, and I was starting to feel some serious fatigue in my legs. Just as I was in need of a long break, I arrived at the OHSU campus, anticipating a relaxing ride down to the bottom of the hill.



But as I walked through the campus, I realized I didn't know where the tram entrance was. As I turned a corner, I saw that I had walked to the road below the tram, looked up and mouthed "Oh CRAP!" One more trudge up three flights of stairs to the much desired restful journey downtown. What an impressive structure though; glad I got to see this view at least once.



As I got inside the tram, I was treated to a beautiful view, and a slightly exhilarating ride:



Once at the bottom, I hurriedly made my way to the streetcar ("trolley"), which soon pulled away toward my MAX Train destination. I gotta say, though, this trolley takes its sweet time! I think I could've gotten there sooner just walking the route, if my legs weren't so burnt out from the trail walk/run.



I hopped off the trolley at 10th and Alder and waited just a few minutes before the MAX train arrived, which took us through the tunnel to the Oregon Zoo stop. This is a cool spot, as it's 260 feet below the surface. A quick elevator ride up and I was back at my car.



This adventure turned out to be a lot more interesting than expected. The trail is quite a workout and there are plenty of places downtown to stop when I return (hopefully with family) when the weather gets drier, grab a bite to eat and enjoy the fruits of the trip. Maybe then my shoes won't get quite so muddy!

Walk 37: Peninsula Park & 4 Neighborhoods (3 miles)

Four neighborhoods and a large park in just three miles? Yep. This walk passed through Humboldt, Piedmont, Arbor Lodge and Overlook.

Starting at PSU's Cascade campus near Jefferson High School, after a few blocks I soon came to the Peninsula Park and rose garden. This place is big! A bit bare looking, but I could appreciate the stone and brickwork and envision what this will look like when the fountain is flowing and the summer sun works its magic:



Walking through the center of the garden I approached an octagonal bandstand/gazebo, which on the opposite side faces a large field. Seems like everywhere I go I can picture making music somewhere. Must be "tuned in" to the idea!





At the other end of the field is the city's oldest community center (which includes an open air pool in the back).



Another interesting sight along the way is the Villa St. Rose, a former Catholic convent and girls school, now renovated senior housing.



As I made my way toward this pedestrian I-5 overpass, I stopped and had a short chat with a resident of the Villa St. Rose. She told me that she knows man there who "remembers the bad old days. He would point to a row of houses and say 'That was a crack house, and that one, and over there...' Fortunately that's mostly gone now." While it's really great to hear about neighborhoods improving and drugs and gang problems disappearing, I have to wonder: Where does it go? Declining neighborhoods? Other cities?



Speaking of interesting houses, I thought this was a yard sale, until I looked a little closer, and realized that the stair-stepper, bench-and-weight set, fire pit and lawn chairs were all part of a permanent setup. Not something you normally see in late winter.



Toward the end of my walk, at Ockley Middle School I came across three totems featuring poetry by its students.



This was my favorite. Text re-typed below:



The sky is light blue, and the sun is out;
birds are flying; it’s a beautiful day as I shout.
I hear the half way wonderful sounds of Oregon –
Shouts coming from the car,
sounds of people smacking food
or being rude; as my day ends,
I leave on my 18 speed bike.
The world is a Beautiful place.
Don’t miss out.
Sean Lacy, Age 13

Walk 36: Alameda Ridge & Stairs (5 miles)

This walk started at Gustav's Pub & Grill, at NE 50th & Sandy, and headed immediately for a dead end. But of course, as always, the dead end wasn't...for walkers. Just had to make sure to stay to the left so as not to walk into somebody's yard...





This walk was all about stairs, up 75, up another 123, down 80, etc. In other words, I loved it. Several times I would be walking along and wouldn't even see it till I almost walked past them, then there they were immediately to my right or left.






This was great fun and a good workout. The last one down gave me an adrenaline rush, because a scary looking dog barked through a wire mesh fence right next to me the whole way down. Wish I'd taken a video! I was tempted to go back and do it again but I honestly didn't want to stress the dog too much.

Other than that, the outstanding feature of this neighborhood-on-a-ridge is the "enchanted forest houses without the forest" feel of the place. I would love to live in one of these! (And almost every house has its own set of stairs as well.)








Great sledding hill here, for those rare snowy days, provided they clear the cars out when that happens:



Here I go...



(Sorry about the little graphic in the middle - the drawbacks of free shareware.)

Side Trip: Shamrock Run/Walk 2011

First ever Shamrock "Run" and second major event in one year. Only walked 5K this time, but had a chance to get a good feel for how the thing works so maybe next year I'll see if I can run the same distance.

I arrived with plenty of time to spare this morning and stood in the rain watching the 15K, 8K and 5K runners take off before my "Stride" portion's turn. As I took in all the "Irish for a day" clothes, I spotted a bagpiper. A bit Scottish for this event perhaps...




Loved the large Guinness can running by. Don't blink or you'll miss it!



Soon enough, the start came and we took off en masse.



Passed this cute girl along the way. She just kept chugging along and wouldn't quit!



After passing a marching band playing Metallica's "Enter Sandman" followed by Foo Fighters' "Monkey Wrench" (excellent choices!), I saw another shirt that made me chuckle:



Heading toward the finish we got a nice view of downtown with the KOIN Building to the left:



All in all, a fun side trip to the usual Sunday walk. A little soggy and more than a little crowded but a nice way to celebrate the coming of spring. Thanks to Kimmy for loaning me the leprechaun button!