Portland E

Eastbank Esplanade
Sunday, January 8
Now that this site is up on the web for anyone in the world to see, I sometimes get asked how I choose the subject of the day. Sometimes it just comes to me when I wake up, other times (like yesterday) I've decided ahead of time. Sometimes I'll get an idea and then change so as not to go with the first thing (like beer on Thursday) that comes to mind.

Today was a new experience because I didn't have a single idea--a total blank. So I turn to a travel book and look for promising E's in the Portland section and almost immediately find the East Bank Esplanade. Finding how to get there takes a little more time.

Looking at the map I can't tell how to easily access it. The internet is no help. The map there shows a green line for the trail with Interstate 5 practically on top of it. There is supposed to be an entrance near the Steel Bridge, so I set off in my car, cross the Willamette, somehow get turned around and then I am crossing the bridge back again. I turn around, mistakenly go north for awhile, try again, and this time go farther south through the gritty industrial district: old warehouses, graffiti, furniture liquidators, abandoned railroad tracks, streets underneath bridges in perpetual shade.

I find an entrance near Salmon Av. and Water St. and walk under the Interstate and along the paved path. It's a little chilly and now raining. The path winds through a narrow corridor with the river on one side and the Interstate with its constant whizzing traffic on the other. There is some greenery but little animal life that I can see. A sign warns of raw sewage in the river after rain. It's not exactly pleasant, still I'm happy to be so close to the river for once and I feel grateful when I read that this area was reclaimed after being covered over for many years. It is named after former mayor Vera Katz.

There is public art along the trail and wonderful views of several bridges including the aforementioned Steel. I climb the stairs of the Burnside Bridge to get a ariel view. The rain makes taking photos difficult and I find myself not wanting to linger at the interpretive plaques, but I enjoy the walk and the cool spray of rain with the new umbrella I bought yesterday providing some protection. (Note: There appear to be no bathroom facilities along the way.) When it's time to go. I get back to my car and drive up Grand Avenue. Crossing the Steel Bridge for the fourth time now, the west hills looked lovely, enshrouded in fog. Barring any wrong turns I will be home for lunch in a few minutes.

Postscript: While browsing the Metro section of the The Oregonian later in the day, I see a photo of the Esplanade from earlier in the week--another happy case of serendipity.