Forest Park

[growyourwings]

    

So more on my work place in a way.

My office is located in a small building nested near Forest Park in NW Portland.   mrsr58 you remember where we went window shopping and saw Aldis roaming the streets when you visited?   It's not too far away from there.  It's a very bohemian part of town.  Which I love.  Lots of quirky shops and great restaurants within walking distance.  

When I saw the building the first time as I drove up for my interview, I thought I was in the wrong place.  It's a well kept building.  But it does not look like an office building.  In fact the building is labeled as a "service center."  It's located amongst a bunch of warehouses.  I really re-checked my interview information as I thought I was in the wrong place.   

Just a 5-minute walk away is one of the many entrances to Forest Park, one of the country's largest urban parks.   

Stretching for more than 8 miles (13 km) on hillsides overlooking the Willamette River, it is one of the country's largest urban forest reserves. The park, a major component of a regional system of parks and trails, covers more than 5,100 acres (2,064 ha) of mostly second-growth forest with a few patches of old growth. About 70 miles (110 km) of recreational trails, including the Wildwood Trail segment of the city's40 Mile Loop system, crisscross the park.

A lot of scenes in the TV series Grimm is filmed in Forest Park.  And Leverage films a lot around the NW Portland area as well.   I've lived in Portland for 40 years and the NW Portland area was one of the areas I'd spent the least amount of time in because it is a bit unaccessible via car.   The streets are smaller and have a lot of foot traffic.   There are little to no parking lots.  Everything is street parking.   It wasn't until I started working in the area a couple of years ago that I've really been able to explore it properly.

I knew there was a Forest Park entrance near the building, but it wasn't until earlier this week that I decided to walk over to check it out.  The name of the park is Lower Mcleary Park.   I was amazed at how close it was.  It was practically in our back yard.    And it leads to miles and miles of trails.   I was only there for about 20ish minutes, but here are the photos I took.  





(click any to enlarge)












above :: I'm experimenting with black and white exposures of photos I've taken.
















above :: There were a few sets of lunchtime joggers on the trail.




above :: plus some walkers as well, such as this grandmother(?) and her granddaughter(?) and dog walking the trail.








































above :: seriously?  This is a 5-minute walk from my desk.  Sheesh.










above :: I love the composition of this shot and the sun shining though the mist above the trees (which can be seen if you click to enlarge.)













above :: Same here - love the shot and the sun coming through the trees.



















above :: I could not do the stream justice in close up.   My lens was not fast enough, nor was the focal length long enough.






















above ::  This was a street crossing over the entrance to the park.  






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