How to build a bridge

Too much construction

There is construction everywhere.  It is causing traffic problems and many livability issues.  Noise complaints are way up.  Our already crumbling streets are suffering from the weight.  Too many trees are being taken down.  Nice houses are being destroyed.  Construction debris is filling up our landfill.  And what they put up is just cheap and ugly.

Demolished house.  No, we are NOT green in Portland.

Around the neighborhood

Just a livability issue

Source:

Chuck Lawrence said two of his eight units at Bel-Air Court will soon be vacated after longtime tenants announced area homeless are making them feel too unsafe to remain in their apartments. Lawrence said he doesn’t blame them, , rattling off a list of recent crimes: stealing bikes and water, and frequent cases of trespassing.  “The homeless have been looking in the windows,” Lawrence said.   “Several [of the tenants] are single women.  Lawrence said he’s recently put padlocks on outdoor water faucets and installed several motion-detector lights.

There’s a four foot chain-linked fence around the side and back of the property, but he's hoping the city will allow him to make it taller.  “I've tried to take care of the place,” Lawrence added. "I’ve tried to take care of all of them, and it’s hard for somebody whose trying to make a living off their small rentals." Lawrence has owned the complex in southeast Portland for 30 years.

He said homeless in the area have been an issue for about two years and the biggest problems have come in the last few months. Tenants must cross the Springwater Corridor path to get to their homes, and some of the tents are just feet from the apartments.

“It’s scary,” said tenant Maddie Ingraham, pointing to a homeless camp about 30 feet from her bedroom window. “They’re everywhere, and they just kind of stare you down when you’re driving through your driveway. You just feel uncomfortable going to your own house.” “These people yell and scream all the time, like at three in the morning,” Ingraham added. "It’s just really inconsiderate. When they do move on they leave all their trash everywhere.”

Not ANOTHER stand off...

You might remember the Malheur Refuge standoff not so many months ago.  Now some of the Springwater Trail campers are saying they are having a standoff.  And the mayor is saying the campers are supposed to disperse in small groups into the neighborhoods.

This is the Springwater Trail and the "campers"

source

The mayor says these 500 people (or more)  should camp in the neighborhoods of Portland.  These "campers" have destroyed the land they have been camping on,  have made the lives of the people with houses near them miserable and have made they area they camp in dangerous to be in.

This is the trash "campers" piled up behind a home on the Springwater Trail.

Source

This is insane.  Our police are severely understaffed and can only respond to emergencies in a timely manner.  They can't respond to livability issues and that is how they classify problems with homeless people in most cases, including open drug use, needles left strewn around, noise, fires, trash, threatening behavior, urinating/defecating in public.  Perhaps Charlie Hales, the mayor, has become passive aggressive at the end of his tenure.

Still want to move to Portland?

Front garden in July

We are having wonderful summer weather.  It's been mostly in the 70's.  This is the first normal summer we have had in several years.

For a small yard, we have a lot of bee balm (for the hummingbirds and bees).  This is the patch on the left of the stairs.

 And this is to the right of the stairs

South side of house

Dream Date Hike Triple Falls

Today we went out the gorge and hiked up a little past Triple Falls, about 4.5 miles altogether.  We got an early enough start that it wasn't too busy on the way up but the crowds were pretty bad on the way down.  Lots of tourists without any trail etiquette.

Horsetail Falls from the parking lot

Coming up on Ponytail Falls.  You can see theRock of Ages trail start on the left there.  It's not one I have ever taken.  Too steep for me.

Behind Ponytail Falls

Oneonta Falls

A large section of the trail went out winter before last.  The new part is quite steep and not as stable as I would like.

I didn't even take a photo of Triple Falls.  We walked past it to a spot on the creek and hung out for a while.

John hardly ever takes a picture of me and these came out pretty well.

There were several big trees down along the trail.  We had some heavy rains the last few falls.  That plus the trail usage probably did them in.

Dream Date Hike Ecola State Park

Last week we drove to Ecola State Park just north of Cannon Beach.  John needed some sea air.

Those are surfers in wet suits at Indian Beach.  Surfing is pretty good in Oregon but the water is cold.

 Our hike took us along Tillamook head with a view of the old Tillamook lighthouse known as Terrible Tillie.  It was very treachorous to build and take care of.  In storms the waves often go over the top of the lighthouse and sometimes the water would extinguish the light.

Source

But we were there on a pretty calm day.

 This is the road inside Ecola State Park.

The traffic was pretty bad when we got close to Portland even on a Tuesday.  The traffic is getting worse and worse in Portland.