Pittock Mansion

On a nice springtime day I went to the 16,000 square-foot Pittock Mansion. It’s located on a 950-foot ridge top in Northwest Portland. The mansion was built over 100 years ago by The Oregonian editor Henry Pittock. He was also a mountain climber and one of the founding members of the Mazamas, a mountaineering club that I am a long time member of.

Now the mansion is a tourist attraction with daily tours. I didn’t do a tour, but did enjoy the views available from the splendid grounds. Although, there was a lot of haze over Downtown Portland.

Oregon Flag, Trillium and Iris

Oregon Vietnam Veterans Memorial 

After a while I headed south on the Wildwood Trail, dropping to Burnside Road. There was a fairly new 180-foot footbridge over the road, the Barbara Walker Crossing. Then it was time to continue on to the Oregon Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I always stop and pay my respects. I was one of the lucky veterans who returned.

On the backside of the Memorial the Marquam Trail was met. Continuing south, I was going to make the climb to 1,070-foot Council Crest. But, the trail was closed due to a landslide. I altered plans and returned to the Wildwood Trail. From there it was a mile or so down to the International Rose Test Garden.

Oregon Rose Garden

It is the oldest public garden of its kind in the United States. There are over 7,000 rose plants and about 550 varieties. To my surprise, few roses were in bloom. I suppose it was due to the cold and rainy start to spring. It almost seemed like there were more people enjoying the Garden and sunny day than there were roses in bloom. Nevertheless, I spent awhile wandering through the various sections of the Garden, taking photos of some early bloomers.