Portland, Oregon, USA

Jane Jacobs tied the safety of cities to maximizing the number of "eyes on the street." The same could be said for the safety of parking lots. Fortunately, this one has a half dozen people watching over it. But wait! They don't seem to be paying much attention to the cars. [2011]

Lake Wallula, Oregon, USA

Look up-slope and you see well-weathered basalt cliffs. Look down-slope and you see the Columbia River itself. These are the basalt lava flows that built the Columbia Plateau only to be etched into by the river. Are you surprised to see basalt here? You should be. Basalt flows are usually associated with the ocean floor. [2019]

Portland, Oregon, USA

Feel free to be what you want to be, but you're not a bumble bee. Nor are you Bumblebee, unless you can prove otherwise by transforming yourself into a classic Lamborghini. That would surely show up your cousin B-127. And, it would so impress your queen, Queen Anne. [2011]

Florence, Oregon, USA

The Suislaw River provides for Florence a sheltered harbor with access to the ocean. The river used to serve as an outlet for wood and forest products, but it is increasingly a harbor for recreational craft, many owned by the retirees who have chosen to relocate to the coast. [2011]

Newport, Oregon, USA

The Yaquina Head Light Station, Oregon's oldest, uses a first-order Fresnel lens to concentrate the light from a 1000-watt bulb so it can be seen 19 miles out to sea. The bulb replaced an oil-burning wick, but the Fresnel lens is original. It was made in the 1860s and, like all Fresnel lenses, came from France. [1987]

Florence, Oregon, USA

It's afloat and seaworthy even though it's not the definition of picturesque. As Oregon's coastal harbors head toward post-modernity, being pretty is just as important as being functional. Tourist economies demand it. [2011]

Florence, Oregon, USA

There's money in the law. And historic preservation is richer for it. Attorneys often put their signature on local communities by rescuing signature architecture from destruction. Do you see the porch mural on this attorney's office? It's painted by the shadows, and in about an hour it will disappear. [2011]

Harrisburg, Oregon, USA

Here's a north-flowing river, the Willamette. So, let's put to bed the myth that it's impossible for rivers to flow north. Just ask anyone who lives along the Nile in Africa, the Ob in Russia, the Shenandoah in the Virginias, or the Red River of the North in Manitoba, North Dakota, and Minnesota. [2011]

Portland, Oregon, USA

Give the week-end a big Green Star, but only if you use it greenly. In Portland, this is what you see Friday afternoon as you leave downtown. Even the greenest building can't compare with Oregon's great outdoors. Oregonians are so ecotopian and you can be, too. Just remember: "3,000 minutes of week-end start now." [2011]

Portland, Oregon, USA

It's Constitution Week: Her roots are in Russia; her cause is in China; her protest is in the USA. What she says here on Pioneer Square in Portland could not be said on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Live organ harvesting has been made an issue by the Falun Gong. According to them, kidneys come from their imprisoned brethren. [2011]

Portland, Oregon, USA

It's noon on the bricks and the band is playing. Come evening? Flicks on the bricks. The people of Portland make use of their public spaces, especially on days like this. It is sunny and in the 80s, and has been for going on a week. Rare for Cascadia. [2011]