Stop 25 – Milo McIver State Park, Portland Area, Oregon

5 nights at Milo McIver State Park with water and electric hookup.  Campsite was private and large.  Moss covered trees draped over our camper adding to the overall beauty.  We stopped at this campground due to its proximity to Portland. We went to explore the city and visit old friends on several days.

Portland is a great city.  Diverse, bike friendly and with a hopping food scene.  One evening we went to a permanent food truck event space.  It seems like every nation’s food was represented here; Japanese, Thai, Mongolian, Peruvian, you name it, it was here.  From here, we went to a nearby school, Chapman Elementary, to witness a natural phenomena of swift birds circling and funneling in perfect harmony into the school smoke stack to roost for the night. Pictures do not do this event justice. It was like an well orchestrated event that can only be flawlessly perfected by nature herself.  We all camped out on the hillside, and the kids slid down the hill on their makeshift cardboard slides. What a blast!

The following day we went back into Portland.  On this day we went to a farmer’s market, followed by a trip up the OHSU tram to get some amazing views of the city.

OHSU has an modern, clean campus and caters to its bike friendly employees that work here.  They have a bike valet where you drop your bike in the morning and pick it up in the evening when you’re ready to head home.  Such a great idea to promote healthy lifestyles and decrease our carbon footprint.

On Friday, we took the day off from school to explore the areas surrounding Portland.  We drove up the Historic Columbia River Highway, through the gorge, stopping at Vista House,

 Latourelle Falls,

Bonneville Fish Hatchery,

 and Gorge White House Farm & Winery.   

The weekend was pretty rainy, so we relaxed back at the camp the majority of the time. 

In general, we loved the Portland Area.  The city is large, but not too large. Accessibility to nearby parks, rivers and mountains make it possible to escape the congestion at a blink of the eye.