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Tour of Untimely Departures at Lone Fir Cemetery 2011

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Tour of Untimely DeparturesThe Tour of Untimely Departures returns to Lone Fir Cemetery this Halloween night, October 31, 2011.

Meet some of Lone Fir’s “residents” at their graves and hear the unusual circumstances surrounding their untimely departures. Ghostly guides will also share some of the history on Lone Fir as they take you through the cemetery on a path lit with candles.

Two separate 45 minutes tours run throughout the evening, from 6pm to 9pm. No more than 2000 tickets will be sold, so buy your tickets now!

Visit the Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery website for more details.

October 26, 1970: Tryon Creek Park is Formed

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The Oregonian article on Tryon Creek Park's creation (29 October 1970)Southwest Portland’s Tryon Creek Park, a 670 acre natural area maintained by Oregon State Parks and Friends of Tryon Creek, was created on October 26, 1970.

The Oregonian reported on October 29, 1970:

All hurdles have been cleared to develop . . . the Tryon Creek area as the Tryon Creek State Park, Gov. McCall’s office announced . . .

The announcement climaxes work that was begun in the early 1960s by citizens who wanted to preserve wilderness areas in the proximity of urban communities. The Tryon Creek area was such a wilderness.

Tryon Creek State Natural Area is the official name of the park. The only Oregon state park within a major metropolitan area, it encompasses Tryon Creek canyon, a second growth forest made up of red alder, Douglas fir, big leaf maple, and western red cedar. Tryon Creek is one of the last unobstructed tributaries of the Willamette River in the Portland area. The park has a Nature Center, trails, and a shelter.

Read My Wife, Please!

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Mile73Heather at Mile73.com (aka my wife!) has been on a roll recently with a series of great posts on diverse topics. In just the past two weeks she has delivered these gems:

On writing: Virtuous Procrastination

A book review: Free Range Kids

A cheeky Twitter tutorial: Twitter: How You Do It: In 27 Easy Steps!

And a series of posts on minimalism and downsizing:

So in the tradition of the Best Portland Blogs You’re Not Reading posts (see the first two: Unexpectedly Bart and Cyclotram), I recommend you stop by Mile73 to read one of the best Portland blogs you may not already be reading. Seriously, even if we weren’t married I would still extoll her writing prowess. If you enjoy writing that is (seemingly) effortlessly funny and conversational, read her blog (not mine!). Her posts also elicit edifying (and generally non-trolly) discussions in the comments, so read and learn.

Oh, and she’s also a sweetheart!

Best Portland Blogs You’re Not Reading #2: Cyclotram

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This is the 2nd of an occasional series of posts on the Best Portland Blogs You’re Not Reading.

Periodically I visit each of the blogs on my blogroll (which you’ll find just below the ads on the right). Many are popular and well trafficked, others are infrequently updated, but contain some gems. And then there are the ones that are almost always well written or entertaining, and routinely updated, but don’t get the traffic, I think, they deserve (which sometimes I have to guess at because Sitemeter is set to private).

Cyclotram

CyclotramEclectic is an overused descriptor, but if it doesn’t apply to this blog, the term is meaningless. The subject matter of the eclectic Cyclotram demonstrates author -b-‘s quirky, broad and diverse range of interests.

If you’re looking for photographs of local parks, bridges, monuments, fountains, or neighborhoods – Cyclotram has you covered. Contrails and cute animals? Check. Flowers and benchmarks? Yup. How about food and artwork? Uh huh. Unfortunately the author, -b-, has a tendency to forget (or choose not to) to tag or categorize posts, so searching for said topics can be a challenge, but trust me – they’re all there!

And don’t forget to read the text. The often erudite, somewhat stream of consciousness comments describe the motivation, the thought process, or subject matter of the photographs. Read one of my favorite posts, How to walk the Ross Island Bridge and not die, if you’re lucky, to see what I mean.

The archives go back to 2005. (And on the very first blog post, on December 20 2005, the mysteries of the moniker Cyclotram are explained.)

Oh, and -b- is known as Atul666 on Twitter. He’s also got a Flickr account.