Portland Walks: Mt. Tabor to the top

Last time we went over to Mt. Tabor Park we didn't actually make it to the top. This time we went up there and back down the other side. On our way down we saw a sign that said "Volcano" with an arrow, so we may have to go back (of course we're going back) to see if that leads to something interesting. But for now I'm satisfied that we've climbed Mt. Tabor, seen the sculpture and the view, and gone back down the other side.

 

The sculpture is Harvey W. Scott, and he is pointing toward the city. We disobeyed his directions and were headed the other direction for some mundane tasks involving a hardware store. 

This time I counted, 94 steps, and that was just one set. (I generally count stairs in any/all stair climbing situations) There was another set of 34, and lots of sloping for a total of about 450ft. I think our walk up to the Pittock Mansion a few weeks back was greater in elevation gain. The view looking toward the city was still pretty hazy; We will have to wait until later in spring for a really good one. The view in the picture above is looking East, toward Mt. Hood, but it wasn't visible either. Still, the snowcapped foothills made me happy.

 

We walked through the Montavilla neighborhood to get to our destination (and took transit back, I was tired, as evidenced by my unusual level of difficulty with my knitting on the train.) The highlight for me was the cat house pictured above on the left. A pair of lions on the driveway, and a pair of domestic cat sculptures! Plus more lions in the front yard. That was pretty good, but really I'm still enjoying the appearance of spring. I think the yellow flowering bush was a nice big forsythia plant, really lovely. Also saw all shades of heather, and this neatly hanging, purplish flower, which I have no idea what it is, but it looked great blowing in the wind!