 "The Berry Harvest" murals near Main Ave & Powell Blvd, Gresham OR; note Mt Hood Gresham is the 4th largest city in Oregon by population, and it melds into its neighbors so that it's hard to know where the fringes are. In fact, Gresham's boundaries might remind one of fringes, rather than a straight edge or selvage. It has an interesting history, and a lot of inviting things to see and do. Over the years I've trapsed here and there, and following are some of what I've seen.
Historic Downtown--so walkable, with lots of eating options For more about Feather Your Nest Quilt Shop--Corner of 2nd &, 130 N Main Ave, Gresham OR; scroll down at
Heroes Memorial--corner of Powell Blvd & Roberts Ave. Gresham OR Main City Park--219 S Main Ave, Gresham, OR 97080 A family and community friendly park with plenty of amenities. More parking & skate park south of Powell Blvd on Roberts Ave. There's a nice little Japanese garden, but some of its trails are a problem for disabled. Gresham Center for the Arts--NE 2nd St between NE Kelly Ave and NE Hood Ave, Gresham OR I went to the first ever lighting of the Menorah in Gresham OR, the first night of Chanukah in 2021, the year of the opening of Chabad Jewish Center of Gresham / East County. The event was at the Gresham Center for the Arts, a nice plaza on 2nd St between NE Kelly Ave and NE Hood Ave where they have a Farmers Market, restrooms, and a splash pad in summer, a drop box for letters to Santa during the season. More info and photos of that at Gresham Town Fair--300 NW Eastman Pkwy, Gresham OR 97030 Photos below from April 2024. Gresham Shopping Square--390 NW Burnside Rd, Gresham, OR 97030
Gresham Civic Center, City Hall, Police, & Fire--1333 NW Eastman Pkwy, Gresham, OR 97030 Gresham Station--649 NW 12th St, Gresham, OR 97030 Driving along Division Gresham Toyota-- 950 NE Hogan Dr, Gresham, OR 97030 Oregon Trail Shopping Center--2101 NE Burnside Rd, Gresham OR 97030 Washman Car Wash--24161 SE Stark St, Gresham OR 97030, kitty corner from College Square College Square--2800 NE Hogan Dr (Stark St & Hogan Dr), Gresham OR 97030; + Quality Inn & Public Storage  NE Hogan Dr & Red Sunset Dr left, NE 23rd St right; Deep Creek Garden Center, fun lighthouse at storage center beyond; Gresham OR Red Sunset Park--2403 NE Red Sunset Dr, Gresham OR 97030 Such a pretty, family/kid friendly park with fun play equipment, pond with a fountain, Canada Geese, picnic tables with grills, group picnic shelters, restrooms, basketball, soccer & softball fields, rec programs, paved trail Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center--24800 SE Stark St, Gresham OR 97030 Regal Stark Street--2929 NE Kane Dr, Gresham, OR 97030 Right across from Mt Hood Community College, Tues discount prices are great. Mt Hood Community College--26000 SE Stark St, Gresham OR 97030 (official address) Beside the entrance off Stark St, there's more than one entrance off NE Kane Dr.
Hogan Butte Nature Park--757 SE Gabbert Road, Gresham OR What a wonderful find! It was difficult to see & get a photo of Mt Jefferson from a wheelchair, but a guy there helped me out. Nice wide paved walks, though I recommend some form of power for a wheelchair. Picnic tables, group picnic shelter, flushing restrooms, interesting interpretive signs, views of Mt St Helens, Mt Adams, Mt Hood, Mt Jefferson (possibly Mt Rainier & Larch Mtn, if you can recognize). Binoculars a good idea. Powell Butte Nature Park--16160 SE Powell Blvd, Portland, OR 97236 Hogan Butte was a great find, Powell Butte even more spectacular! Seems I couldn't get enough . . . At or near the Visitor Center What at first just appeared to be art or play structures were actually the sizes and purposes of the pipes in the water system. Grasslands exhibit near intersection of Park Center Trail & Mtn Finder Trail Oak Savanna exhibit near trail marker no 6 Forest info--along the Park Center Trail Photos from along the trail up to the Mountain Finder at the top of the hill . . . there were SO many great views of Mt St Helens and Mt Adams I won't include every shot I took . . . The Mountain Finder circle at top of the accessible trail has plaques & pointers. Some views blocked by trees. In the vicinity of 181st-182nd In 2022 I was working on "Savor the Latin Flavors" when a couple of churches as well as Vance Park caught my eye while I was traveling to investigate the little restaurant Sabor Catracho (742 NE 18125 Ave, Portland/Gresham) and Supermercados Mexico (17420 SE Division St, Portland on the fringe of Gresham--see next section below). More info & captioned photos of Sabor Catracho at Supermercados Mexico--17420 SE Division St, Portland OR; right on the fringe of Gresham This was such a wonderful supermarket, with imports from various Latin American countries beside Mexico. Gresham Food Carts--2280 NW Burnside Rd, Gresham, OR 97030 When I was gathering content for my "Buddha . . . & Cultural Connections" post, I was excited to find a food cart offering selections from Singapore at Gresham Food Carts. I found a great variety of cuisines at Gresham Food Carts, and very pleasant dining outdoors and in. I was truly disappointed, however, that the Singapore food cart was not open as scheduled, they didn't answer my calls, and it was too hot to wait for them (in case some unexpected emergency had come up). While there are great advantages to food cart places, one of the disadvantages is that some of the carts may be poorly manned, or have a high turnover rate, though since COVID in particular, small businesses have struggled. Perhaps more reason to support them. Getting to Gresham Wood Village & Fairview Exit 16 off I-84 leads to the geographical puzzle of Wood Village, Fairview, and Troutdale. Wood Village straddles the freeway, with Walmart & other shopping, gas, food, and accommodations on the north, and more of the town south of it. At the intersection of 238th & Halsey (south of the freeway), go east to Donald L Robertson City Park (24300 NE Halsey St, Wood Village). Wood Village Town Center is at 223rd & Glisan.  Welcome & Thanks for Coming sign for Wood Village OR; exit 16 off I-84 puts you on 238th. Wood Village straddles I-84 on the north and south of it. Fairview At the intersection of 238th & Halsey (south of I-84), go west to get to Fairview Woods Wetlands City Park (460 Bridge St, Fairview), Marilyn City Park (Halsey & 223rd), Heslin House Museum & historic jail (223rd north off Halsey), and Cleone City Park (NE 213th Ave north off Halsey). The bus serves Fairview & more: TriMet Bus #77 Broadway/Halsey from NW Portland to Troutdale Chinook Landing Marine Park . . . Blue Lake Regional Park . . . and Salish Ponds Photos taken Feb-Mar 2020. I was particularly impressed with the family and community friendly amenities at Blue Lake Regional Park, as well as lots of room to run, and events. As part of Metro system of parks, it has free parking days every month. Salish Ponds have two access points: one by The Lodges at Lake Salish Apts--20699 NE Glisan St, Fairview, OR 97024, and the other behind Salish Ponds Elementary--1210 NE 201st Ave, Fairview, OR 97024. For more info & photos about Salish Ponds & Blue Lake Regional Park, scroll down at Troutdale I went through Troutdale on my way to Oxbow Regional Park in 2020, and as part of checking out every exit along I-84 in 2020 as well. There have been other reasons for visiting various places in Troutdale, but at last I found opportunity to explore more. Not that I have seen it all, but, here’s a start. I’ve linked the I-84 post later, but here’s a link to the Oxbow trip:A map with some interesting physical features depicted: Columbia Gorge Outlets—exit 17 off I-84, NW Graham Rd, Troutdale OR From the freeway, this is what one sees of Troutdale. Historic Downtown Troutdale OR The Gateway to the Gorge arch is a memorable, defining entry to the historic section of Troutdale. Just past it is Kendall Rd, where the Municipal Court and Multnomah County Sherriff have offices (234 SW Kendall Ct, Troutdale OR 97060). Next is Buxton Rd (just east of Bandit's Bar & Grill), which curves into Troutdale Rd further south. The main street of downtown Troutdale is the Historic Columbia River Hwy. It's a delectable walk, but parking is at a premium. Watch for signs pointing out parking just off to the north, or south a block from the main street (unfortunately, it's rather steep hills up or down to reach them). One of my trips to Troutdale was part of a Quilt Shop Hop in Sept 2024. My Quilting Loft--253 E Historic Columbia River Hwy, Troutdale, OR 97060; scroll down at The Troutdale House by the Sandy River (wedding venue)--411 E Historic Columbia River Hwy, Troutdale OR Depot Rail Museum/Visitor Center--473 E Historic Columbia River Hwy, Troutdale, OR 97060; & Depot City Park Continuing south & east on the Historic Columbia River Hwy Fred E. Harlow House Museum--726 E Historic Columbia River Hwy, Troutdale OR 97060 Visionary Park--601 SE Jackson Park Rd (just at the bend of the Columbia River Hwy), Troutdale OR 97060 Bronze Pond--902 E Historic Columbia River Hwy, Troutdale OR 97060; not sure how to access Troutdale Art Center--903 E Historic Columbia River Hwy, Troutdale OR 97060Bridge over Beaver Creek Glenn Otto Park--1102 E Historic Columbia River Hwy, Troutdale OR 97060 Glenn Otto Park adopted by NW Steelheaders. No alcohol, no pets, no glass containers, no dogs at the beach. Sugarpine Drive-In--1208 E Historic Columbia River Hwy, Troutdale OR 97060, next to Glenn Otto Park Sandy River Bridge--1225 E Historic Columbia River Hwy, Troutdale OR 97060 Lewis & Clark State Recreation Site--go north after crossing the Sandy River Bridge . . . The Historic Columbia Hwy makes an L with Crown Point Hwy Or, take exit 18 south off I-84, the east side of the Sandy River has access to the river & the Rec Site. A Troutdale Loop What looks like an interesting way to lasso in a lot of Troutdale could begin back at Buxton Rd (the west side of Bandit’s Bar & Grill in historic downtown), heading south on Buxton. It curves into Troutdale Rd, which meets Stark St. I haven't yet seen the following parks, but the link below tells about them, as well as those I've seen. Helen Althous City Park--248 SW 7th St, Troutdale OR 97060, west off Buxton Weeden City Park—1323 SE Beaver Creek Lane, Troutdale OR 97060, east of Troutdale Rd, must walk in Kiku Park--1800 SE Beaver Creek Ln, Troutdale OR 97060, east of Troutdale Rd Troutdale City--Parks & Greenways Stark Street from Troutdale Rd west to NE Hogan Drive Stark Street seems to be the cutting edge that divides Troutdale and Gresham. What looks like a worthwhile detour from Stark Street is north on 257th to get to Sunrise City Park. Sunrise City Park--600 SW Hensley Rd, Troutdale OR 97060 (see Troutdale parks link above) Safeway shopping center--25691 SE Stark St, Troutdale OR 97060; with a Walgreens etc. CP City Park (north behind Safeway)--1212 SW 28th St, Troutdale OR 97060 Cannery Park north on McGinnis--2664 SW McGinnis Ave, Troutdale OR 97060 Home Depot--25101 SE Stark St, Troutdale OR 97060 TacoBell/Long John Silver’s etc. in the same place Tonkin Gresham Honda--24999 SE Stark St, Troutdale OR 97060 Troutdale water tower--24451 SE Stark St, Gresham, OR 97030 North on Hogan Dr/242nd Dr from Stark St to Cherry Park Rd, N on 257th Dr eventually becomes Graham Rd Woodale City Park--2326 SW 22nd St, Troutdale OR 97060 (east of 242nd, see Troutdale parks link above) Cherry Park Market Center--2457 SW Cherry Park Rd, Troutdale OR 97060 Safeway gas was a dime or more less than anything else at the time. Imagination Station (Columbia Park)--1900 SW Cherry Park Rd, Troutdale OR 97060 Next to Reynolds HS Helen Althaus City Park—west entrance off 257th Dr (see Troutdale parks link above) Until next time, the next adventure . . . enjoy today, look forward to the future.
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Wheelchair WomanI've been in a wheelchair for 30+ years. It poses some challenges for traveling. Maybe others can benefit from my experiences. Archives
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