The Grand Old Dame of Saint Johns

22The Saint Johns Bridge; Portland's very own.

Built before the Golden Gate, so it was the longest suspension bridge in existence for a short while. Originally slated to be painted red and white, so as to be easier to see by planes lifting off from Portland Airport, which was on Swan Island at at that time; they painted it green anyway, but Portland Airport outgrew Swan Island so fast it never really was that much of an issue.

Picture taken July, 2018.

Hood Over Powell: May, 2021

21A photo from 2021, taken looking east on Powell Blvd from the Ross Island Bridge end.

The mountain, they say, is out. And when it comes to Hood, no matter where you go ... there it is. 

The Forest At Leach Garden

20The entry to Leach Botanical Garden is just south of the intersection of 122nd and SE Foster Road in Portland. Johnson Creek runs through a gully parallel to and just south of this. 

The pictures I've shared so far were at the entry which is at the upper level. At the back of this there is a grove of evergreens, thick and primeval, clothing the slope down to the creek.

You can see SE 122nd Avenue going downslope to the bottom of the Johnson Creek gulch.

There is a 'tree walk' that allows you to be up amongst the trees. We'll view this presently.

Going into the woods is accessible to all here. 

Sunlight on the Garden

19To keep the vibe going, here's a single picture from the entrance of Leach Botanical Garden, the lawn adjacent to the pollinator garden, and the sun that drenched it that day.

The plants did as they should, playing with the light and giving it up in gorgeous green luminosity.

Sparkling Johnson Creek

18Just a picture of the sun sparkling off the rushing waters of Johnson Creek at Leach Botanical Garden.

Nothing more ... and certainly nothing less. It's a vibe. A PDX vibe.

Pollinator Plants at Leach Botanical Garden

17Here begins a series of scenes at that hidden east side Portland gem, the Leach Botanical Garden.

There's an upper area and a lower area. The geography places it along the brow of the gully that Johnson Creek cascades down before adopting a more leisurely course going west from the Lents area of Southeast Portland. This part was on the upper area and was in deliciously bright sunlight.

Click on each photo to embiggen.

Along the start of the pollinator walk.

Closeup on some pollinator blossoms

Lovely light blue blossoms. The scent was wonderful.

Even More!

One of the things I adore about plants is the way some take the light an multiply it. They don't become brighter, though, but more luminous. More vivid.

Watercolor works the same way. 

Portland Air Disaster, December, 1978

16It so happens that, on 23 December 1978, United Air Lines Flight 173 was on approach into PDX from JFK and they had a problem with the landing gear.

It took them over an hour to address the problem, during which time they ran out of fuel (there are a bunch of reasons why that happened, and I'm not going to relitigate them in a little-read blog post. Wikipedia discusses it nicely for the laity)

It crashed to earth at about 157th and E. Burnside, in an area that was, at the time, in unincorporated Multnomah County. 

What you may not know, dear Reader, is that there is a little memorial to it. Go to 164th and E. Burn, get in the westbound lane, and about 500 feet west of 164th, in front of a rather ordinary-looking deep-eastside apt complex, you'll see a crescent-shaped bit of landscaping centering a rather understated plaque:

Eight passengers and two crew died that day. And cockpit-culture reform happened; when they tell you that safety regulations are written in blood, this is what they kinda mean.

What is Leach Botanical Garden?

15What is Leach Botanical Garden?

A place with a bit more history than I knew. 

It's a most lovely arboretum. This place, located on SE 122nd Avenue just south of Foster Road, is a curated collection of native plants and native trees, arrayed on an upper level which has pollinator gardens and places for people to be and a section going down into the gully of Johnson Creek where historic structures and a very restful riparian section along the creek itself.

It is Portland's hidden garden.

Wayfinding at Leach Botanical Garden, 2026.

Stretching behind that sign are the pollinators. I'll share a few of those pictures, as well as the history that I learned, in subsequent blog entries. 

A Single Trillium

14There is a flower called Trillium. This is what one looks like:

This was taken at a lovely and unique place, the Leach Botanical Garden, in deep Southeast Portland. I will elaborate a bit on this in the next entry. 

The Way They Mark Your Order at Burger 101

13Burger 101 is a charming little dive on the corner of SW 51st St and Hwy 101 in downtown Taft in Lincoln City. They have a simple but clever menu (the Burger 101 is a single patty, Burger 202 is a double-burger, up to Burger 404 and I have the impression that the secret menu is just how many patties they'll pile on for you), the burgers are right in the sweet spot as to serving size (not too small, not to large, exactly satisfying), and great char. Fries are superb.

And here's how they mark your order:

I drug a fry through that sauce before taking the pic. Sorry about that. But so charming!

15/10 would burger again. 

The L.C. Restaurant With The Problematic Name (1957-2022)

12For those of you adore long time traditions and landmark businesses, I have some news for you.

There has been, since 1957 a family restaurant with a name that has become difficult over the years. It opened originally as "Little Black Sambo's" and has sit in the same spot in the Wecoma Beach area Lincoln City for just a s'kosh over six decades. A family restaurant, it served American diner fare: breafasts, pancakes (appropriately, if you've ever known the story), sandwiches and burgers, and sit-down dinners. 

As time passed and attitudes changed, the word "Black" was eventually dropped from the name. Known as simply "Lil' Sambo's", as of 2021, the sign outside looked like this:

While the restaurant was not quite willing to give up the brand, the name had been demoted to the bottom of the sign. The bullying tiger, who stole Sambo's shorts and parasol, was still proudly atop. Questions about whether this was a leftover of the Sambo's diner chain, to which it was never related, still were asked betimes.

When we visited in 2021 it was still going strong, rather popular. The interior was comfortable, the breakfasts good, and memorabilia of the long history of the place as well as motifs based on the Bannerman tale on full display.

Lil' Sambo's is no longer a thing. Seems the owners retired and the business has been converted to some sort of arcade and adventure zone for kids. A tarp-style sign obscures the restaurant's sign ... but the tiger still struts proud on the top.

That's all they wrote.