Prime Pacific Northwest Destinations

After thirty years in the Pacific Northwest--three in Pullman, Washington and thirty in Eugene and Portland, Oregon, I moved to central Mexico. Here's my eight-years-later list of Northwest delights that keep tempting me to go back for a visit:

The Columbia River from Astoria, Oregon to Lewiston, Idaho

Whether from a train when I was fifteen, by car many times, during a steamboat excursion or looking down from the air, this river has my heart and soul. Wheat-laden barges float down from the Port of Lewiston, Indians retain fishing sites near the Dalles, the Gifford Pinchot National Forest reminds me of a tinder-dry summer when I spent three weeks camping, and crossing the long bridge at Astoria in the late afternoon light offers up sky and the river mouth at its best.

Mount Hood & Mount St. Helens

I had an unforgettable close-up from a low-flying plane of Mt. St. Helens a few years after it lost its top After that, walking its slopes was second-best. Mt. Hood, within an hour of Portland, is not only the mountain but also Timberline Lodge, built during the Depression to reflect the heritage of the Northwest and with first-class artwork from the same period.

The Pacific Coast: Bandon and elsewhere

Californians have caught on big-time to this town with its view of sea stacks on the Pacific coast. In fact, Bandon is about the same drive for them as for Portlanders. Close to Eugene, I like the dunes and lake at Honeyman Park, the round-pebble beach at Devil's Elbow and the Yachats-Waldport area. But then there's Coos Bay too . . .

The "Big Pink" building in Portland

The name of the bank that built it has escaped me but this slab dominating the skyline west of the Burnside Bridge with its patterning of windows changes appearance in the course of the day..

Willamette Valley near Brownsville

The Willamette Valley near Brownsville

Traveling Interstate 5 south from Portland, the valley, its flanking hills and the light always gave me a feeling of being near my longtime adopted hometown, Eugene.

Berries & Vietnamese Food

Picking or eating them or both, Willamette Valley strawberries can't be beat, to say nothing of marionberries, loganberries, and raspberries. Blueberries come from higher up. As for the chicken sandwiches and noodle dishes at the Vietnamese restaurants, they were just a handy walk away from my Northeast Portland apartment.

The Hawthorne Boulevard Bridge, Portland

Portland has, I think, nine bridges crossing the Willamette River, a fine sight in itself and a necessity for anyone going from the east side to the west side. The first truss bridge in America, opened nearly a hundred years ago, the HB bridge serves buses and bike riders nowadays.

Klamath Lake

Amazing, this expanse of water that enabled the civilization of the Klamath Indians as they used the reeds to fashion much of what they needed, hunted the waterfowl flying over, and fished.

Powell's City of Books in Portland / Seattle's Pike Street Market

Yes, Powell's. Portland's mammoth cultural-commercial enterprise is almost a city unto itself for booklovers and I was one of them, whether I was buying, selling, or just sipping coffee in the cafe. I was equally happy having a cuppa by a Pike Street Market window overlooking Puget Sound.

Berries and Vietnamese food

Whether strawberries freshly picked in the Willamette Valley or blueberries higher up, the results were delicious. And of course there are the loganberries, marionberries and raspberries too. I used to go frequently to one of the southeast Asian restaurants near my Sandy Boulevard apartment. Imagine my surprise when I ate an almost identical chicken sandwich in New York City.

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Ashland, the sister city of my adopted Mexican hometown, Guanajuato

I knew the Shakespeare Festival and Lithia Park but now I have a deeper curiosity about the city with strong links to Mexico.