so i've been to some incredible places in the past week or so - we left seattle for portland and breezed through our second west coast city, since we had a couple days to catch up on. we arrived at my friend michelle's house early evening and got a quick tour of her adorable house where she moved for her year at lewis and clark law school, and then headed out for dinner. we went to an awesome bar/restaurant that had a full vegan menu in addition to a regular menu. they had delicious veggie burgers and sweet potato fries, mmm mmm. the picture of us with michelle and her roommate diane is to the right. after that we went to powell's bookstore which is hugely famous in portland - the store is an entire city block and has 4 stories! it was insane. we didn't spend a long time there, but i did pick up short stories of barbara kingsolver. i've been reading a lot of her work lately - currently reading the poisonwood bible, which is fantastic so far. what did happen in the bookstore was my coffee mug (full of hot coffee from a cafe next to the restaurant) was stolen! this is not just a regular mug - it's an awesome thermos/mug that keeps your beverage hot for HOURS and has been wonderful while traveling especially in the car and camping. what's crazy is one of the staff actually saw the woman that walked out with my mug - and i got it back while in the store! so bizarre. after that minor fiasco i met up with a friend who did some of orlando training for my first job with pirg who happened to be in the city at the same time, visiting her friends. so we had a beer at a local brewery which was good!
i don't know if i really have the best idea of what portland was like - although we did learn that portland is huge for strip clubs and human trafficking. awesome! there were also communities of "transients" if you will, that set up chairs and sleeping areas along the sidewalks. there were people from all walks of life, and many people that were homeless. it's definitely been interesting to see homeless populations all over the country, and realize that it is an incredibly pervasive problem in our society. and it isn't getting better. we've been trying to give people that we run into food, or whatever spare change that we have. but that won't solve their situation, and in some cases giving money isn't always the best. when we went to another famous portland local - voodoo doughnuts - they had a sign asking to refrain from giving change on the sidewalk to "transients" as they have had staff members harassed by people, and is hurting their business. they suggested donating to the various homeless shelters or charities in the city in order to help. which is pretty smart.
so portland was a quick visit but really great. i went for an amazing jog/hike in the morning before we left near the lewis and clark law school, and was amazed at the dense forests and winding paths through the woods, all i believe part of the school's campus or at least surrounding grounds. it was really great to catch up with michelle and hear about what she's been up to, and reminisce about studying abroad in costa rica. it feels like so long ago - but i carry with me all the memories from that experience and it really has been a major part in my life. so grateful for that :)
we left portland after our voodoo doughnut breakfast (i tried some vegan doughnuts that were delicious!) and headed southeast to crater lake national park. i didn't realize that oregon really is a huge state- and it was a decent drive. however, it was an absolutely breathtaking park - the lake is insane. crater lake was formed when a volcano collapsed into itself thousands of years ago, and gradually rain and snow filled the resulting crater to create the lake we now see today. there are cliffs and mountains surrounding the lake, and one small island called wizard island that you can take a boat to and reach the summit. we did a couple shorter hikes around the rim, but they were certainly not easy. going up you change elevation so quickly it's hard to adjust your breathing. we gained something like 1,300 ft in just 20 minutes or so. the view was spectacular from one panoramic hike we did - and so worth the climb.
the picture of me is at the top of garfield peak, and you can't even get the entire lake in the picture. it's gigantic, and also the deepest lake in the country. it was insane to turn 360 degrees and see the mind-blowing crater lake, and then the cascade mountains in the distance. there are also thousands of pine trees, and the landscape is just incredible. i love that place- and we had a pretty cool campsite while we were there for 2 nights. it did get really cold however- we were sleeping at 6 or 7,000 feet of elevation. but we did make it through- and my sleeping bag has proved to be quite warm!
after crater lake we headed into the beautiful state of california- and i'll have to post about our trip so far in CA another time! i've posted pictures up until we crossed the california border on my facebook page- so check those our or let me know if you can't see them! we're leaving san francisco tomorrow for yosemite before doing more of the pacific coastal highway :) we will be traveling with our friend sean, who flew into san fran to meet us last night. he'll be with us for about a week or so - and flies out of LA. i can't wait to see more of the pacific ocean, and soak in as much as i can while i'm here. i love the west coast!
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