A Time For Exploration

Anyone who has traveled with me knows that my favorite thing to do in a new town is walk.  And walk. Aaand walk. True to form, I took the bus downtown today and spent about 7 hours walking (thanks for those new hiking shoes, Papa!).  My original plan was to go up to the Japanese Gardens in Washington Park, then circle around and wander through old town and chinatown before heading over to REI to pick up a helmet.  Then I got to Washington Park.

Mt. Hood from Rose Garden

For full pictorial documentation of the day, please see the facebook album that is sure to accompany this post.  However, it should be noted that the roses were in bloom,

the skies were clear,

Mt. St. Helens from Hoyt Arboretum

and the trails were wonderful.

Mac trail

I also met a chatty Hawaiian touring the continent for the first time, who graciously took this picture of me with Mickey, the floutist-in-the-woods who wowed us with his rendition of Irish Washer Woman.

It was an interesting day. 

Although the original touring plans were slightly altered and I did not, in fact, end up entering the Japanese Gardens (though I did get quite a nice glimpse of it from above), I would highly recommend Washington Park for day hikes of the most leisurely kind, as it contains plenty of commodious benches and grassy knolls for your reading and picnicking pleasure.  The rose garden is spectacular and beatifully arranged, the trails are well-groomed, varied in foliage, and intriguingly curvy, and the many monuments lend an air of cultural edification to the park (I especially recommend the Holocaust memorial).  In short, a lovely way to spend a day of sunshine! 

P.S. I would not especially recommend walking up Salmon Street to get there... it is a little like being a salmon flopping up a fish ladder.  Quite steep.