Visiting Oregon: Tualatin Hills Nature Park

My family moved from California to Oregon in 1977, just after I turned nine years old. We always called these woods "Saint Mary's Woods" but now the area is called "Tualatin Hills Nature Park". When I was young we rarely ventured into the woods, as there were no paths.  I do remember walking in the wools twice  with my fifth and sixth grade classes. The woods are very near to the grade school I attended. When I go and visit my parents in Oregon, I try to go for walks in the woods first thing in the morning. So beautiful and so peaceful and so vastly different than the high mountain desert landscape here in Southern Colorado. I had a bad case of "Kodak Fever" but I so wanted to capture this scenic beauty. 

Walking in the woods in Oregon..

Took this photo of a slug for my mom because I know how much she likes slugs... NOT!!!

I am thinking this is some serious fungus. 

You can see the fungus growing on the side of the stump (above). It's on the side of the stump on the right. 

The photo above is my favorite. 

Dog tired

Sandy went for three walks today and then played in the sprinklers before she had a bath. Poor thing. She's all tuckered out.  She's been sleeping on my lap for a really long time.  Guess I have no choice... I'll just have to keep in knitting. 

Visiting Portland: The Japanese Garden

 

 

On my recent trip to Oregon to visit my mom and dad, we drove not too far from their home to visit the Rose Garden which over looks the city of Portland.  The next day we decided to go back to the same area to visit the Japanese Garden.  The gardens are side by side; you can park in one parking lot and visit both parks in one day.   These parks are in the hills to the west of Portland.  The Japanese Garden is very hilly terrain and is absolutely gorgeous.  I did my best to take some photos to capture the beauty but it was tricky, as it's very shady in parts.  Here are some of my favorite pictures in no particular order. 

 

I lived in Oregon for quite a long time, visiting the Rose Garden many, many times.  The Japanese Garden seemed totally unfamiliar to me. I would have sworn I had been there before!  It's well worth seeing if you visit Portland. There is also a Chinese Garden in downtown Portland.  I went there several years ago with my mom and dad.  The Chinese Garden is also a great place to visit and is vastly different from the Japanese Garden.

Visiting Portland: the Rose Garden

Visited Portland, Oregon, this past week and visited the Rose Garden, the Japanese Garden, and the World Forestry Center. The roses were in full bloom and it was a beautiful day. I thought I would share some photos here, all of which were taken with my iPhone at the Rose Garden.

Portland. The city of roses. 

If you ever visit OREGON, you will not want to miss the Rose Garden.