Portland, OR
We pay homage to the world’s largest spruce at Lake Quinault before heading south. After sandwiches at the Little Crane Cafe in Vader, Washington, we continue to the Rose City to visit the Portland Art Museum and the International Rose Test Garden.
World's Largest Spruce
At the eastern edge of Lake Quinault, next to a patch of land reserved for RV parking, there is a short path leading to the world's largest spruce tree. Before beginning our drive down to Portland, we had to take a look. A full 191 feet tall with a diameter of 18 feet, 9 inches and circumference of just under 59 feet, this massive Sitka spruce -- by far the largest type of spruce tree -- is estimated to be about 1,000 years old.
Vader, WA
We left Quinault and sped south toward Portland. We paused for good sandwiches at the Little Crane Cafe in Vader, Washington. The town's name matched nicely with my Empire shirt -- donned for Star Wars Night with the Hillsboro Hops later on.Portland Art Museum
We arrived in Portland and cruised the downtown greenbelt toward the Portland Art Museum. The museum showcases an eclectic collection covering America, Asian, Native American, European, Northwest, and contemporary art.Soon after we entered, we came upon two huge, striking murals of artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, part of the Mexican Modernism movement honored by the museum. The works had been created collaboratively by a collection of local Latinx artists.
Mural of Freda Kahlo
Mural of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera
We continued on to the remainder of the galleries, spanning two buildings and hundreds of years.
Fulfillment of Emptiness II, Jang Jin-ik, 2016
Dzunuk̓wa Feast Dish
Clay Figure from Tourniquet Series, Virgil Ortiz, 2009
To Be Pueblo II, Rose B. Simpson, 2011
Rock of Ages, Isaka Shamsud-Din, 1976
Sky Reunion, Isaka Shamsud-Din, 2000
Nymphéas (Water Lilies), Claude Monet, 1914-1915
La Defense (a.k.a. The Call to Arms), Auguste Rodin, ca. 1910
Varengeville, The Manor Inn, Afternoon, Camille Pissarro, 1899
The Seine at Argenteuil, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1874
Factories at Night, Joseph Stella, ca. 1936/1943
Dual Form, Barbara Hepworth, 1965
End of Day Nightscape II, Louise Nevelson, 1973
Green, Blue, White Cliché, Neil Williams, 1964
Saqqarah, Dorothea Rockburne, 1979
International Rose Test Garden
Next we headed over to the International Rose Test Garden, located in Washington Park alongside the Portland Japanese Garden, Oregon Zoo, and Hoyt Arboretum. The rose garden is a multi-layered complex that contains about 10,000 rose bushes in approximately 650 varieties. They bloom from April through October, peaking in June. And it was June.The absolute peak of this wet spring would likely be another two weeks away, but we got an excellent show nonetheless.
Intel Outside
The town of Hillsboro is about 30 minutes west of Portland, and its main street is a good 15 minutes from Ron Tonkin Field, home of the Hillsboro Hops. I wanted to see something specific to Hillsboro, so we made a quick stop outside the offices of Intel, which has had a major semiconductor design and production facility in the city since 1974. Four campuses there now employ about 22,000 people.
Hillsboro box checked. On to the next game.