Dirt Therapy

I don't know where Portland ranks when it comes to public parks but they have to be near the top of the list. According to Wikipedia, there are at least 279 public parks covering more than 10,000 acres. Pier Park, located in the St. Johns neighborhood, covers around 87 acres. It is characterized by mature evergreen trees. Our friends - Todd, Rebecca and McKenzie, who moved to Portland from Florence, Alabama last year - live just a few blocks from this park. Rebecca walks her neighbor's dogs here every day. The park is popular for walkers, joggers and fans of frisbee golf. The NBC televison series "Grimm" also films scenes here. Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

We finally made it to Portland on October 23rd, the fifth day after we left home. We encountered the first rains as we drove across the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. It rained almost every day that we were in Portland but it usually cleared up and some days were even sunny. One of the wettest days was the day we visited The Grotto, The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother. I read about The Grotto on a traveler's website and thought it would be an interesting place to visit. Some of our friends from Alabama had arrived by then and they being Catholic, I thought they might enjoy it too. I am probably the LEAST religious person on earth but I thoroughly enjoyed this place and Michael says that he would list it as one of his favorite places in Portland. It was incredibly beautiful and peaceful. Of course, the entire time I was there I was thinking of Jennifer Jones in "The Song of Bernadette"! Giant fir trees line a pathway that lead to the shrine at the grott...

The Idaho Botanical Garden is right next door to the Old Idaho State Penitentiary. It was once the farm and nursery for the penitentiary. When the prison closed in 1973, the grounds were unused until the botanical garden was established. The garden comprises 50 acres (15 of which are in cultivation) in the Boise foothills and is divided into garden rooms and individual areas. There is an English Garden, xeric demonstration garden, alpine garden, children's garden, rose garden, meditation area, water garden, etc. Most of the plants in the garden are donated by industry and corporate partners  throughout Oregon and Idaho. Parts of the garden run along the stone walls of the prison, giving a castle-like background to the plantings.  The outer-lying areas of the garden are dedicated to native plants and wilderness trails. The Lewis & Clark Plant Native Plant Garden, opened in 2006,  commemorates the bicentennial of the Lewis & Clark Expedition (1804-1...

I don't know why but I have always had a fascination with prisons and prison-life. I have never visited one and most of my familiarity with them comes from movies and television. Oz, Cool Hand Luke and I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang are just a few of my favorites. Women's prison films? Count me in on those as well! Orange Is The New Black was a recent discovery and the 1950 camp classic Caged is probably my favorite of all. Michael found a brochure in the hotel lobby for the Old Idaho State Penitentiary and suggested that we stop by. He was probably tired of visiting gardens! It turns out that the prison is right next door to the Idaho Botanical Gardens! So we ended up visiting both.  The prison operated from 1872 to 1973. It consists of seven or eight buildings that served different purposes (in addition to the buildings that housed the cells, there is a laundry, library, etc.) The entire complex is surrounded by high sandstone walls. The prison was opened t...

After spending the first night in St. Joseph, Missouri, we trekked up through the rest of Missouri, barely skirted the southwest corner of Iowa and then drove across Nebraska (what a wide state that is!), with a brief stop for a visit to the Sunken Gardens in Lincoln . We entered Wyoming later that evening and stayed the second night in Laramie. On day 3, we drove across Wyoming, Utah and stopped for the 3rd night in Twin Falls, Idaho. A slight diversion to Salt Lake City for a visit to the Red Butte Gardens and Arboretum in Salt Lake City, Utah. A revelation on this trip - I did not know that Wyoming, Utah and Idaho were such beautiful states! The red-hued rock formations, cliffs, mountains, etc. were stunning.  The Red Butte Garden in Salt Lake City was one of my favorites. It is an absolutely beautiful and well-cared for garden. Red Butte is operated by the University of Utah, in the foothills of the Wasatch Range.We arrived in the afternoon on a brisk, cool day wit...