Portland, Oregon in the Fall

Portland, Oregon (the home of Powell's Books) is one of the prettiest places in the Pacific Northwest. Of course we tell people it rains all the time - to keep them from moving here ;-)

Actually, it rains in Seattle a whole lot more. Plus, Seattle seems to always have gray clouds hanging over head. And, I love Seattle.

But Portland is only an hour from the Mountains and some amazing winter sports. Mt. Hood is about 50 minutes away and offers so many ski resorts I couldn't name them all. But a few of the best known are Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood Meadows and Ski Bowl.

Then travel an hour and a half the other direction and you'll be at the ocean.

Still, it's about two hours to the high desert, and we live smack dab in the middle of the valley.

Oh, and the Gorge, is right down the road, (hwy 84), which offers some of the best windsurfing in the world.

And Portland is the home to Forest Park, which covers over 5000 acres and is the largest city park in the country.

Only about 5 minutes from downtown Portland, Forest Park offers a 40-mile loop trail system.

And then there is still Washington Park and the Rose Gardens to see and the Japanese Gardens, and . . . there is just too much to cover it all in one blog post.

With all this to offer, it couldn't be any prettier. Plus, a river runs through it.

But you don't have to take my word for it. Just look at these photos, which I took from inside my office.