But for all its reputation as a challenging mountain, Willamette caters to families by providing long, wide, gently sloped, tree-lined runs. With the exception of the occasional racer-head, the atmosphere at Willamette is relaxed and easy-going. Willamette has several programs catering to kids and race programs that encourage family members to ski, ride, and race together.
December 27, 1969
PORTLAND — My first impression of North Mississippi Avenue, the latest off-the-beaten path business district to undergo an extreme makeover here, was that its combination of refurbished storefronts, turn-of-the-century wood homes and good-looking young hipsters slumming at streetside tables resembled a movie set.
As I would soon discover, the makers of a new film starring Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear thought so, too.
By Tyrone Beason | October 26, 2006
Short Trips
PORTLAND, Ore. -- OK, when I was in elementary school I don't remember ever having a television in my classroom. I vaguely remember chalkboards, nagging teachers and very high ceilings in the aging Tacoma building -- but no TV.
Just for authenticity sake, the McMenamin brothers decided not to put televisions in their historic Kennedy School classroom lodgings in Portland. The intrusion, they figured, would ruin the experience they were after.
By Jeff Larsen | March 23, 2006
Short Trips
All that Fort Clatsop Park ranger Sean Johnson could do was point at a large white tarp propped up in the woods with poles and tell visitors, "Yep, that's where Fort Clatsop used to be." The tarp covered the ground where only a few charred pieces of the historic fort replica remained after it burned to the ground Oct. 3.
By Jeff Larsen | December 29, 2005
Short Trips
EUGENE, Ore. -- One of the first things to remember when you're in downtown Eugene: bicyclists have the right away.
Eugene, combined with Lane County, has the second-highest population density in the state but is still considered one of the most bicycle-friendly towns in the country. Miles of bicycle paths crisscross downtown streets and local parks, as well as local wetlands and along the Willamette River.
By Jeff Larsen | September 22, 2005
Short Trips
The effect on your senses is more vivid than a hearty glass of pinot noir with dinner.
First you weave your way along a jammed Interstate 5 through Portland, travel west at Highway 99W toward Oregon coast beaches and McMinnville, survive stop-and-go traffic through Tigard, then break out into the fragrant, lush and rural Willamette Valley near Newberg.
The 20-minute transformation from urban to rural is one of the most abrupt I've run into in all travels.
By Jeff Larsen | June 2, 2005
Short Trips
PENDLETON, Ore. -- My thinking is that underground tours must have officially started with the discovery of King Tut's tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings in 1922.
Howard Carter's discovery of the boy king's tomb, after all, had to be the ultimate underground tour -- at least for select workers and dignitaries at the time.
In America the allure and interest in what happened underground in various cities at the turn of the 19th century and on into the 20th century has spawned a viable tourist trade of its own -- sometimes in the most unlikely of towns.
By Jeff Larsen | May 12, 2005
TROUTDALE, Ore. — There's a "new" motoring adventure for visitors to Oregon.
It is the Mount Hood Scenic Byway — a 105-mile-long route from Troutdale, just east of Portland, past Mount Hood to the Columbia River Gorge and the orchards of the Hood River Valley.
The byway's network of highways and country roads has been in place for years, although now it's being pieced together — officially — as a collection of scenic and historic treasures.
By Stanton H. Patty | April 28, 2005
Short Trips
As I wrap up my third year writing and photographing the Short Trips column, it's interesting to reflect on where I've been and where I'm headed in 2005.
The pleasant surprises during my travels seem to get better every year. My "wildlife" memories from 2004 are especially fond -- a tarantula-petting experience at the Victoria Bug Zoo, bobbing in a small boat surrounded by gray whales off the west coast of Vancouver Island, photographing bald eagles fighting over a fish carcass at Cape Disappointment State Park on the Washington coast.
By Jeff Larsen | January 6, 2005
ASTORIA, Ore. Visiting New Yorker Stephanie Baer took in the city sights. From Riverfront Trolley Old No. 300, she spied the ships floating on the Columbia and eyed the steep hillsides spotted with old Victorian houses. The views were phenomenal, the people friendly just as Baer expected.
"But I didn't expect it to be so prosperous," Baer said. "And what really surprises me is how sophisticated it is."
By Lori Tobias | September 20, 2004
