Aww, La Quinta Inn. Free Breakfast (well all inclusive I guess.) Good thing, we have quite an agenda for the day and needed some carbs. If anybody was wondering Ashley just quit her job as a pharmacy tech at Walgreens. That’s a small fib she told so we could get a mucho discount with the company’s promo code. Shout out to Mr. B. Thank You. Filling up a Styrofoam cups full of coffee, wait a second, Oregon the greenest state? Shouldn’t Styrofoam be outlawed? We ran out to the car and grabbed our coffee mugs to be filled with Salem’s best coffee. Your welcome Oregon. We were exactly 60 miles over the oil change, and that’s priority number one. Salem had a Toyota dealership and they got us taken care right away. No major problems with the Roaring Glacier, just some heavy weight on his shoulders. Alright one car errand done. One to go. Not even a mile down the road Costco. Cha Ching! They checked the tire pressure and shot a little nitrogen into those bad boys. Good to Roll!
Alright off to Portland, OR. Wow!! Is that Mount Hood no no it must be Mount St Helens. Ah, at least we could agree it was a mountain. Portland is a structurally sound city and the highway system is impeccable. The traffic flow was so quick in the heart of rush hour it seemed the city was dead. A nice change compared to California’s apparently strapped for cash highway system. Off to Washington Park. Washington Park had a lot of attractions to it including an Aquarium, Zoo, Forest Research Park, Japanese garden, and oh yea the Rose Research Garden. All these places connected by over 50 miles of hiking trails and a shuttle system. We quickly were able to eliminate the Forest Research Park as we have done our own forest research over the past week. Zoo? hmm……… Really cool, but nothing beats the San Diego Zoo which we have both seen. The Aquarium? Ah no thanks the Japanese Garden is way cheaper and like California we are strapped for cash.
The Japanese Garden Irasshaimase (Welcomed) us after hiking about 1.5 miles to it through an amazing forest. The forest had many different species of trees. The trees not normally found in the United States but maintained by the grounds crew. However, the Japanese Garden outnumbered the exotic species found in the forest by the hundreds. A Japanese Garden is a very peaceful place. No Cell Phones. HA HA mom I was talking to you remember? It’s okay the plants weren’t disturbed just the parks personnel. The Garden was a large circle enclosure with settings tucked into every nook and cranny. Bamboo and stone fountains were multipurposely used as art, irrigation, and photogenic backgrounds. There were large and small Japanese trees, didn’t want to try and pronounce them and I’m defiantly not going to attempt to spell them. Later on we found out that this is the best Japanese Garden in the world excluding all of Japan. Next stop Japan. Oh, we can’t drive there. Hmm someday. The Japanese Garden left us feeling calm and peaceful especially after spending time in the meditation garden. As well as a great view of Mt Saint Helens, the mountain we saw coming into Portland. One of us was right.
Roses are Red, Roses are White, and Roses are not blue. Clayton really wanted to see a blue rose. Those don’t exist but we did find a blue Hydrangea Bush in the Rose Garden. The Roses were spectacular and spike-tactular. They defended themselves from the unlawful rose pickers. There were around 600 different types of roses in all different sizes, shapes and colors. The best way to describe the Rose Garden is in pictures, and we loaded them up on this blog so check em out.
Alright, hike back to the car and grab a bit to eat. Voodoo Donuts a place that’s proud to be politically incorrect. The names of the donuts are offense to some but hilarious to most. The line was 45 minutes to get a donut and it was 2:30 in the afternoon. Ashley picked out a donut with vanilla icing dipped in Captain Crunch Cereal. Clayton’s Donuts was a Maple Bar with two strips of bacon. Weird but delicious. This was honestly the best donuts we have ever had, and a very cool local spot to check out. Dessert before lunch. Headed off to a local pizza shop which is haunted. We didn’t see a ghost but the restaurant was creepy in its own right. It was very dark and gloomy. The basement was connected to the Shanghai Tunnels. They were used to kidnap unsuspecting laborers and sell them as slaves to the awaiting ships at the water front.
Next destination: Mount Rainier National Park. Mount Rainier is above 14,000 feet and an active volcano. Just a week ago the mountain experienced an impressive rock slide sending boulders tumbling down the mountain a little over two miles! Our Park Ranger assured us the camp ground was safe, but the signs clearly stated camp at your own risk. Y’all have a good morning, afternoon, night, or anything in between. Peace Out.
Total miles for the day: 177.7
Miles per gallon:18.44
Life is a gift.
The road/trail to the gardens wrapped us through Washington Park. A much needed mini hike! Our legs were happy.
Sweet bark!
The Portland Japanese Garden is proclaimed at the most authentic Japanese garden outside of Japan. The garden is a 5.5 acre haven of tranquil beauty.
It was so quiet and peaceful....no cell phones allowed.
This strolling pond garden is the home to tortoises and crane stone, common symbols of longevity.
Coi fish lined the ponds.
Waiting for an afternoon snack!
Standing meditation.
This sand and stone garden features weathered stones rising from a bed of sand. It is raked to suggest the sea. This garden style is typically found in Zen monasteries.
The International Rose Test Garden is the oldest official public rose test garden in the U.S.
There are over 600 different varieties of roses found with in the park's gardens!
From inside the Japaenese Garden, a peek at Mt. Saint Helens.
We followed the "yellow brick road"!
Every type of rose in the garden has a name.
Don't forget to take time to stop and smell the roses. YUM! This whole park smelled delicious.
Clayton's favorite, "double delight".
MMmmm you smell good, or is that the roses?
Ashley's favorite, "gift of life".
So many flowers, so little time.
Not a rose, but just as pretty.
The big poppy of all red roses...called the "beefhead".
Depending on the weather the roses usually last until mid-October.
Pruning and weeding the gardens is a non stop job through out the summer.
Clayton decided to use his own personal pruners.
oops!
The garden spans 4.5 acres.
The hybrid tea rose is the most popular, blooming from late spring until the first frost.
The Blue Rose (Hydrangea Bush)
We are doing our best...! Speaking of weird...
Voodoo Doughnuts! We heard this was the place to check out in Portland.
The near 45 minute wait at 2:30 in the afternoon was well worth it!
After scanning the weird menu we picked...
The Maple Bacon Doughnut --yep that's 2 strips of bacon!
and the Capitan My Captain Doughnut (dipped in Captain Crunch).
Both were delicious!
The big city with a small town feel, our favorite city so far!
We dined at Old Town Pizza for dinner, an apparently haunted eatery located in the heart of downtown Portland.
Drove into camp at Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington (camp at your own risk! it's still an active volcano).
Sleep tight!
Grandpa must be proud of the doughnut shop.
ReplyDeleteMmm, doughnuts.
Haunted pizza doesn't sound bad either.
Stay safe!