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Exploring Southwest Idaho, Part 4: Boise

By Alan K. Lee

During our exploration of southwest Idaho, my wife and I used Boise as our base and did day trips to Thousand Springs, Balanced Rock, Bruneau Dunes, and the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, as I’ve documented in the past few posts.

Boise is Idaho’s capital and largest city, with a metropolitan area population of around 750,000. It’s large enough to have many of the amenities of a big city, but small enough to still retain something of a small town feel. And it’s a surprisingly modern and cosmopolitan city, blending elements of both West Coast and Rocky Mountain cultures.

My wife and I are both art lovers, and Boise has a vibrant arts community featuring both visual and performing arts. The Velma V. Morrison Performing Arts Center on the Boise State University campus is home to the Boise Philharmonic, Ballet Idaho, the Trey McIntyre Project (modern dance company), and the Boise Shakespeare Festival. The Gene Harris Jazz Festival is held each spring, also on the Boise State campus.

The Boise Art Museum in Julia Davis Park, just south of the downtown center, features permanent American, Northwest, Native American, and Asian Art collections, and rotating temporary exhibits. In addition to the Boise Art Museum, there are a number of notable art galleries in the downtown area, including the Art Source Gallery, Capitol Contemporary Gallery, the Delia Dante Gallery and FireFusion Studio, and MING Studios.

There is also an interesting street art scene in Boise, featured prominently in the building murals of the outdoor gallery known as Freak Alley in the downtown center.

Many fine Victorian houses and architecturally interesting buildings can also be found in the downtown area.

Other points of interest in the downtown area include the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial and the Wassmuth Center For Human Rights, the Idaho Black History Museum, the Idaho State Museum, the Basque Museum and Cultural Center, and the Idaho Discovery Center, a hands-on, interactive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational center.

If you want to take a break, grab a bite to eat, and have a glass of wine or a pint of beer, there are plenty of places in downtown Boise to do just that. Moon’s Kitchen Cafe, Wild Root Cafe, and the vegan High Note Cafe are all within a few blocks of the capitol building. Goldy’s Corner is a small cafe and bakery that features a take-a-book/leave-a-book free library. Also near the capitol are Ten Barrel Brewing Boise, Prost German Pub, Edge Brewing, and Bavarian Brewing. Near Julia Davis Park you’ll find Boise Brewing, White Dog Brewing, and the Double Tap Pub. Downtown wine bars include Coiled Wine Bar and Bodovino. I’m sure Boise has an interesting night life scene, but we didn’t explore that aspect of the city on this trip.

We did explore a number of Boise’s many parks and natural areas. The nearly 25-mile long Boise River Greenbelt has many miles of trails along both banks of the river.

Anne Morrison Memorial Park on the south bank of the river, and the Julia Davis Park, just south of the downtown area on the north bank, are large urban parks with a variety of open spaces and tree lined paths along the river.

Julia Davis Park is also home to the Boise Rose Garden and Zoo Boise. Idaho Botanical Garden, a mile or so southeast of downtown, is also definitely worth a visit.

Kathryn Albertson Park , across Americana Blvd from Anne Morrison Park, is a nature park with several large ponds that is home to a variety of wildlife and provides the visitor with more intimate natural areas to explore.

I hadn’t been in Boise for quite a few years. The last time had been for an environmental conference and I didn’t see much of the city on that trip. And, honestly, we didn’t come to Idaho to explore Boise on this trip. But I found it surprisingly beautiful and interesting on a number of different levels. It’s definitely not the cowboy town I remember visiting in my younger days. Boise has grown up a lot (and maybe it was never as much of a cow town as I remember it being).

We had a great time exploring Boise, but there is far too much there to experience it all in in the short time we had on this trip. We’ll almost certainly be visiting Idaho again in the near future, and I’m sure we’ll spend another few days exploring more of what Boise has to offer. We may even see what Boise nightlife is like on our next visit.

Boise is definitely worth visiting, and southwest Idaho has many truly unique, beautiful, and enjoyable places to visit, all within a short drive of each other. For more on those, check out my other Exploring Southwest Idaho posts:

Thousand Springs

Balanced Rock and Bruneau Dunes

The Snake River Canyon and Birds of Prey

Posted January 17, 2022

All photos © Alan K. Lee

Juneau, Alaska

by Alan K. Lee

I’ve been to Juneau a couple of times, the latest being a few years ago. While it’s not my favorite destination in Alaska (that would be Sitka) or the culturally richest (Anchorage), it is a unique and very interesting place, and a well worth a visit.

Looking north across Auke Bay from Mount Roberts

Getting to Juneau can be a bit difficult. No roads lead to Juneau, so it’s either fly in or come by boat. On both of my trips to southeast Alaska I traveled to Juneau by way of Sitka. On the first trip, my wife and I traveled via the Alaska Ferry system from Ketchikan to Skagway and back, except for the segment from Sitka to Juneau. The ferry schedule and our itinerary didn’t match up, so we flew from Sitka to Juneau and resumed our journey by ferry from there. The ferry schedule didn’t work for us on our more recent visit, either, so we made the short flight from Sitka this time, also.

The Juneau airport is about 10 miles north of the city. You can get to the city by taxi, the municipal bus system, or rental car. Once downtown, you don’t really need a car to explore the city. The downtown is compact and easily walkable. The bus system is also free in the downtown area. But having a car makes getting to Mendenhall Glacier and other outlying areas much easier.

Mendenhall Glacier is a must see when visiting Juneau. It’s located near the airport and the ferry terminal dock. The Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center is a good place to start, but if you’re getting around by bus, the closest stop is a mile and a half away. You also have to buy a five dollar (per person) pass to enter. The pass is also required to access some of the area hiking trails. Check the visitor center website for more information. You can park and hike some of the trails, including the popular Nugget Falls Trail that takes you close to the glacier, without buying the pass, so many people skip the visitor center.

Nugget Falls is a short walk (less than a mile) from the parking area and visitor center. It’s more of a cascade down the steep slope of the mountain than a free fall, but the sheer volume and velocity of water crashing down into Mendenhall Lake is awesome. It’s one of my favorite waterfalls anywhere. It would be a great destination in itself, but being so close to the face of Mendenhall Glacier actually draws your attention away from the falls. There are a couple of other short interpretive trails starting from or near the visitor center, and the East Glacier Trail (3.5 mile loop rated moderate) offers great views of the glacier. Across the lake, the West Glacier Trail gets you closer to the glacier than the trails around the visitor center. It’s a four mile out and back hike rated moderate.

Another must see in the Juneau area is the view from Mount Roberts, just southeast of downtown Juneau. You can hike to the 3819 foot summit via a 4.5 mile trail, but a more practical alternative is to take the Mount Roberts Tramway to the 1800 foot level. The tram only takes you halfway to the summit, but the view from the top of the tram is still pretty spectacular. You’re looking down on the city directly below, the town of Douglas across Gastineau Channel, and across to the mountains of Douglas Island. You can also see for miles up and down Gastineau Channel.

But if that’s not good enough for you, you can access the Mount Roberts Trail from the top of the tram to get higher up the mountain. The top of the tramway is at about timberline, so the views from above are unimpeded. The tram is operated by a Native American corporation, and The Mountain House at the top of the tram features a 120 seat theater that shows a free 18 minute film depicting Tlingit history and culture. There is also a restaurant and gift store in the Mountain House. And Gastineau Guiding operates the Nature Store at the top of the tram where you can get information on area hiking trails and the mountain ecosystem. The tram costs $45 per person ($25 for kids), but it’s money well spent.

View across Fritz Cove from Douglas Island

Whale watching is another popular tourist activity in Juneau. A number of companies offer half and full day cruises in the waters around Juneau. Half day (3-4 hour) cruises run about $125 per person. Full day (6 hour) cruises with a salmon bake afterwards can be had for around $175. Humpback Whales are common and sightings are generally guaranteed. Orcas also frequent the area. Sea kayaking tours are also popular. Half day tours in Auke Bay run a little over $100 per person. Experienced kayakers can rent single kayaks for about $60 per day. Double kayaks run slightly higher. Canoe and kayak tours of Mendenhall Lake are also available and are a great way to see both the glacier and Nugget Falls.

On our first trip to southeast Alaska back in 1995 we took a day-long small boat cruise up Tracy Arm, a glacial fjord about 45 miles south of Juneau. It’s stunningly beautiful, with dozens of waterfalls, some as high as 1000 feet, cascading down the sometimes vertical walls of the fjord. You’ll almost certainly see seals, porpoises, bald eagles, and many other marine birds. Orcas and humpback whales frequent the area. You may see black bears along the shore and mountain goats on the cliffs. You’ll navigate between small icebergs.

Seals often haul out on the bergs to rest and sleep. At the head of the inlet you’ll get a close up view of South Sawyer Glacier. How close you get will depend on the boat that you’re on and the amount of ice in the water, but you will get a spectacular look at the face of the glacier and there’s a chance that you’ll witness large blocks of ice calving off the face and crashing into the water below. The cruise was one of the highlights of our trip. We didn’t have time to repeat the cruise on latest visit, but if you can fit it into your itinerary, I highly recommend that you do so. You won’t regret it, and the cost is reasonable (less than $200 per person) for what you get.

Another highly rated outing is a helicopter tour of the Juneau Icefield. I haven’t done this one, but several of the reviews I read called it “the adventure of a lifetime,” and the photos I’ve seen are pretty awesome. A 2-3 hour tour of the 1500 square mile icefield that lands and lets you set foot on the ice starts at around $325 per person. Salmon and halibut fishing charters are another popular activity in Juneau (although Ketchikan is probably a more popular fishing destination). Costs vary by operator, but figure roughly $175-$300 per person for a four hour trip and $250-$450 for an eight hour trip.

The area around Juneau is so wild, unspoiled, and spectacularly beautiful that it is the main draw, but the city has plenty of appeal in itself. The downtown area is compact and easily walkable, and most attractions are close by each other.

If you’re interested in local history, you’ll find the Alaska State Museum of interest. It houses an extensive collection of Native Alaskan artifacts, including fragments of three baskets that are more than 5000 years old. The museum also has a collection of artifacts from the Russian colonial period and early American presence, as well as works by contemporary Native artists. The Juneau-Douglas City Museum, might also be of interest. It’s located across the street from the State Capitol, in the Veteran’s Memorial Building, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Sealaska Heritage Institute, dedicated to the “study and sharing of Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures” is another place that you can learn more about the history and culture of the area. The St. Nicholas Orthodox Church will also be of interest. All four are within easy walking distance of each other in downtown Juneau.

Juneau also has a number of outstanding art galleries, including the Juneau Artists Gallery, the Louise Miller Fine Art Studio, and Annie Kaill’s Fine Crafts Gallery.

Juneau has no shortage of places to get top notch seafood. You won’t find fresher fish anywhere. Try Tracy’s King Crab Shack, Twisted Fish Company, The Hangar On the Wharf, or Deckhand Dave’s Fish Tacos. There are other good places to eat (and drink), as well. We found a cool local hangout, The Island Pub, in Douglas where our B&B was located, that had both good food and good beer. We also stumbled onto a little hole-in-the-wall brewery (more like a home brew operation than a commercial brewery) in downtown Juneau, and visited the Alaskan Brewing Company brewery tasting room (definitely not a hobby scale brewery) in Lemon Creek, near the airport.

There are a number of quality hotels in the downtown area. The Juneau Hotel has 72 suites, all with full kitchens and a washer and dryer. Summer rates start at around $200 per night. Off season rates begin at around $130/night. Silverbow Hotel and Suites and Four Points by Sheraton Juneau both get good reviews, but are significantly more expensive (north of $400/night on summer weekends). There are also many B&Bs and vacation rentals that are much more affordable. Our Airbnb rental in Douglas was more than adequate and was reasonably priced.

A note on the weather. Be prepared for rain and cold any time of the year. We were in Juneau the first week in June and saw the sun only briefly in the four days we spent there. High temperatures were in the mid 50s with some light rain. After leaving Juneau we spent three days in Ketchikan and it rained sideways for a good two days straight. Prior to arriving in Juneau, though, our stay in Sitka had been sunny and beautiful. On our 1995 trip, it was sunny in Ketchikan both on our arrival and our departure two weeks later, but those were the only times we saw the sun. The moral of the story is the weather you get is the weather you get. But regardless, Juneau and all of southeast Alaska is such an incredible place that experiencing bad weather there is almost inconsequential. Come prepared, but don’t worry about the weather. It’ll be worth it.

Posted Nov. 6, 2021

All photos © Alan K. Lee

High Desert Museum, Bend, Oregon

By Alan K. Lee

The High Desert Museum, located about five miles south of Bend, Oregon, offers visitors a chance to see native wildlife up close and learn about both the pioneering history of the area and the culture and lifestyles of the Native American tribes that lived in the area for thousands of years prior to the arrival of white settlers. All told, the museum has 100,000 square feet of exhibit space on its 135 acre campus.

The High Desert Museum consistently rates as one of the top attractions of the Bend area, and it recently won the 2021 National Medal from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. My most recent trip to the museum came as part of a family vacation to the nearby Sunriver Resort, and everyone, especially the kids, thoroughly enjoyed the visit. It’s one of the most interesting museums that I’ve ever visited. There is something for everyone there.

“High desert” can be a bit of a misnomer, as the term is often generically applied to all of central and eastern Oregon. The Bend area actually straddles the boundary between the ponderosa and lodgepole pine forest of the eastern slope of the Cascade Range and the sagerush and juniper lands to the east that are more typical of true desert habitat. The High Desert Museum is located in an area of pine forest, so the museum has no true desert habitat. But that does not detract from its appeal.

There is a small stream that runs through the museum grounds and several small ponds, giving the museum riparian as well as forest habitats. You can explore the pine forest and riparian areas on the trails that wander through the 135 acres of the museum grounds.

The Miller Family Ranch, one of the museum’s permanent outdoor exhibits, is a historically accurate recreation of an early 20th century homestead. The exhibit includes a cabin, barn, bunkhouse, root cellar, woodshop, and sawmill. Volunteers give visitors hands-on experience of what life on the homestead was like. Mrs. Miller and her son James will put your kids to work doing chores – and the kids will like it! The kids can also play some of the games that the children of the pioneers played.

The Lazinka Sawmill is a working mill, originally located in Pilot Rock, Oregon. Originally driven by steam power, the mill is now powered by electricity. The lumber used to build the barn at the Miller homestead exhibit was cut at the Lazinka Mill. Museum staff fire up the mill once a month during the summer months, so check the museum’s schedule if you are interested in seeing it in operation.

Get an up close look at some of the raptors of the high desert and learn about desert carnivores, otters, and other desert dwellers at the Donald M. Kerr Birds of Prey Center. Check the museum website for current programs and schedule.

Three river otters live at the Autzen Otter Exhibit, although all three were apparently napping when we were there. I have seen them in the past visits, though, and when they’re out and about they are playful, funny, and very entertaining to watch. The exhibit includes both outdoor and indoor viewing areas, including viewing windows below the water level of their pool where you can watch them in their underwater habitat.

Tumbleweed (photo from the museum website)

The museum also is home to two porcupines, siblings Tumbleweed and Juniper. Tumbleweed stars in the museum’s summer Desert Dwellers program. Both were born in captivity, and like all of the animals at the High Desert Museum, cannot live in the wild. The museum also recently added a resident gray fox, Gert, to their family.

Throughout the grounds, you will find sculptures and other works of art. I particularly like the wire sculptured mare and foal, the bronze beavers, and the frozen-in-time bronze of a salmon in mid-leap.

Other features of the museum include a Forest Service ranger office built in 1933, vintage logging equipment, a forest service fire truck from the 1930s, and a WWII army motorcycle made by Harley-Davidson.

Inside the main building, the Desertarium Exhibit showcases some of the animals that make the High Desert home, including snakes, lizards, and desert tortoises. Other permanent indoor exhibits include Spirit of the West, which documents the history of the people of the region, and By Hand Through Memory, a look at the history and culture of the Plateau Indian Nations.

The museum also hosts changing exhibits. Current exhibits are Art in the West (ending October 16, 2021), Rethinking Fire (October 16, 2021 through January 9, 2022), and X-Ray Vision: Fish Inside Out (through May 8, 2022). And the museum offers a variety of virtual experiences, including Stories From the Desert, depicting an early 20th century Chinese mercantile, and Virtual Field Trip: Spring in the High Desert, a virtual trip to Fort Rock and the surrounding desert in southeastern Oregon.

In addition to enjoying all the museum’s exhibits, you can get made-to-order sandwiches and wraps, and a variety of beverages at the newly remodeled Rimrock Cafe inside the main building. The cafe features locally made food and drink from Big Ed’s Artisan Bread, Humm Kombucha, and Strictly Organic Coffee. And souvenirs of your visit and books and other educational materials are available at Silver Sage Trading, the museum store.

Plan on spending at least several hours at the museum, especially if you have kids in tow. There’s too much worth seeing to experience it all in less time. Check the museum website for hours and admission fees. Tickets are available for purchase on the website, but advance purchase is not required. Face masks are currently required both indoors and outdoors due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and some hands-on experiences may not be available.

Originally posted Sept. 9, 2019. Updated and re-posted October 6, 2021

All photos © Alan K. Lee, except as noted

Seattle Center and the Space Needle

by Alan K. Lee

I remember going to the Seattle World’s Fair as a ten year old kid and seeing the Space Needle for the first time. That was pretty cool. At that age I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up (never happened), so the U.S. Science Pavilion was also a highlight for me. I remember seeing the Mercury space capsule that Alan Shepherd rode into space. That was pretty cool, too. So was riding the Monorail. But what I remember most vividly was putting a few coins into a vending machine and having a ready to eat hamburger pop out. A hamburger vending machine. That was the coolest thing ever.

Today, the Seattle Center occupies the site of the 1962 World’s Fair. While most of the buildings constructed for the Fair were torn down after it closed, some of the buildings were re-purposed and remain today. The United States Science Pavilion became the Pacific Science Center, and the Washington State Coliseum that housed the World of Century 21 exhibit became Key Arena, one-time home of the Seattle Super Sonics NBA team. The Monorail and the International Fountain are still in operation, and, of course, the Space Needle remains Seattle’s most iconic landmark and draws people from all over the world to the Seattle Center.

The 605 foot tall Space Needle underwent a major renovation a few years ago. There is now an open air, glass walled observation deck, and a revolving glass floored interior space (The Loupe) where you can look straight down to the ground more than 500 feet below your feet. If those are too vertigo inducing for your pleasure, the 360 degree view from inside is still offers an awesome view of Seattle, Elliott Bay, and Puget Sound.

There’s also much more to the Seattle Center than just the Space Needle. The Pacific Science Center has two IMAX theaters, a laser planetarium (the Laser Dome), and a variety of permanent and traveling exhibits for kids, families, and school groups. Chihuly Garden and Glass features hundreds of glass art sculptures by Tacoma native Dale Chihuly. The Museum of Pop Culture (formerly the EMP Museum and, before that, the Experience Music Project) has a variety of exhibits featuring music, film and video, gaming, and science fiction and fantasy themes. The Seattle Opera and the Seattle Repertory Theater are also located at the Seattle Center, as are the Seattle Children’s Museum and the Seattle Children’s Theater.

Space Needle viewed from the International Fountain Gallery

The Space Needle is open daily from 9:00 am to 11:00 pm. Adult ticket prices are $37.50, with discounts for early entry (before 11:00 am), seniors, and children.

Chihuly Garden and Glass is is open from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm Sunday through Thursday and 9:00 am to 7:00 pm Friday and Saturday. Adult admission is $35, with discounts for seniors, children, King County residents, and early entry (before 11:00 am).

The Museum of Pop Culture is open daily (10:00-6:00 weekdays and 9:00-6:00 weekends). Adult admission ranges from $27.00 to $32.50 depending on day of week and time of day.

A combination ticket for both the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass is available for $62.50 (adult admission). And the Seattle CityPass Card includes admission to the Space Needle, Seattle Aquarium, the Museum of Pop Culture, and Chihuly Garden and Glass, as well as several other attractions ($109 adults, $85 youths).

Unfortunately, the Pacific Science Center is currently closed for renovation, and the Seattle Children’s Museum is closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Both are scheduled to reopen in 2022.

When it’s time to grab something to eat, you have your choice of any number of restaurants and cafes in the area surrounding the Center. My wife and I usually gravitate to McMennamin’s Queen Anne Pub just to the north, but there are many other options. Toulouse Petit, just northwest of the Center at the corner of Queen Anne and Mercer, brings a bit of the Big Easy to Seattle with their Cajun and Creole menu. A block south on Queen Anne, Dick’s Drive-In is a classic 1950s style drive-in (currently open for take out or delivery only). Just southeast of the Center on Cedar St, the 5 Point Cafe and Bar is a classic American diner that has been in operation since 1929. Across the street, Wa’z Seattle serves modern Japanese cuisine. And next door, Tillicum Place Cafe is a popular and highly rated Euro-style bistro. They’re currently (as of August 2021) operating on limited hours for dine in, so check their website. Many more restaurants, cafes, and pubs dot the areas around the Center. You can probably find whatever cuisine you’re looking for somewhere not too far away.

Downtown Seattle viewed from the Space Needle

If you’re planning to stay in the area, the Maxwell Hotel, Mediterranean Inn, and Hotel Five all get very good reviews. Kimpton Palladian Hotel, Ace Hotel Seattle, Pan Pacific Seattle, and Fairfield Inn and Suites also get good reviews.

Museum of History and Industry and Lake Union

It would not be hard to spend a whole day at the Seattle Center. Or you can make a weekend of it and spend another day at other downtown Seattle attractions. The Olympic Sculpture Garden and Myrtle Edwards Park on Elliott Bay are a short walk to the west of the Center. It’s not much farther to the Museum of History and Industry and Lake Union Park to the east. (Timed entry tickets are available online and are recommended, but not required). And Pike Place Market, the Seattle Aquarium, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Seattle Great Wheel are all about a mile to the south, along the Elliot Bay waterfront.

There’s far more to do in downtown Seattle than I can list here, so go explore. Seattle’s a great place to visit and you’ll have a great time. Or ride the ferry across the Sound and explore Bainbridge Island. Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Bainbridge Island Historical Museum, the Kids Discovery Museum, Steven Fey Photography Gallery, Mora Iced Creamery, Eleven Winery, Blackbird Bakery, Doc’s Marina Grill, and the Harbour Public House are all within walking distance of the ferry terminal.

Gallery Without Walls 2021

The following is an edited and updated version of a post originally published May 20, 2019. Most of the photos shown here are from the spring of 2019. The rest are from another visit that I made in October 2020. Some of the Gallery Without Walls sculptures shown here were part of the 2019 and 2020 rotating collection and are no longer on display, and “Clackamas” has been moved to George Rogers Park. But there are plenty of new additions for 2021. The featured image shown above is a detail of “Fortress” by Vicki Lynn Wilson.

‘Frog On Fruit” by Heather Soderberg-Greene, bronze

The Gallery Without Walls outdoor sculpture exhibit is a program of the Arts Council of Lake Oswego, Oregon. I’m a fan of all forms of art, but I particularly like sculpture. I like the 3D aspect of it, being able to walk around it, see it from different angles. Sculptures often invoke different emotions or convey different ideas when viewed from different angles. And I really like that these sculptures are displayed outdoors. The changing light as the day progresses can lead to the sculptures looking very different from hour to hour. I’ve revisited some of these sculptures and seen things on a second visit that I completely missed on the first, just because the light was different.

“First Footsteps” by Jim Demetro, cast bronze, 2005 People’s Choice Award winner

Currently, there are eighty sculptures on display in public spaces throughout the city. More than 40 of the sculptures are part of the Arts Council’s permanent collection. The remainder, the rotating collection, are on loan from the artists and are on display for a two year period. Each year, one sculpture from the rotating collection is added to the permanent collection by a vote of the public.

“Wormy Apple #2” by Ed Humphreys, cast aluminum

“Angle of Response” by Lee Hunt, modified alpha gypsum

Forty-six of the sculptures are in the downtown area, making for an easy walking tour. Others are scattered across the city in parks and other public spaces. Click here to view the 2021 tour brochure.

“Sunflower” by Patricia Vader, stainless steel and aluminum

A couple of years ago, my wife and I spent a nice spring day checking out the sculptures on display. We didn’t come to downtown Lake Oswego that day with the intention of doing the walking tour, but we while we were there we stopped at Lower Millennium Park where some of the sculptures are displayed. Then we took a short walk on the trail along the lake shore where there are a couple of more sculptures on display. We ended up spending most of the afternoon wandering around the downtown area, admiring and taking photos of the sculptures and the many flowers that were in full bloom at the time.

“Pouffe” by Hilary Pfeifer, stained cedar

A week later I came back one morning to take photos of some of the sculptures we had seen the previous week that I hadn’t been able to get good pics of because the sun had been at the wrong angle or they had been in deep shade (or I just wasn’t satisfied with the photos I had taken). I wound up spending a couple of hours wandering around downtown, taking photos and admiring a lot of the sculptures that we had missed the previous week. And I still didn’t see all of them.

“Anillos” by Maria Wickwire, high fired ceramic clay, 2007 People’s Choice Award winner

Downtown Lake Oswego is a great place to spend a lazy summer afternoon. Even if you’re not interested in the sculptures, the downtown area has many coffee shops, cafes, pubs, galleries and interesting shops. And Millenium Plaza and George Rogers Park are nice spots to relax and just soak up the sunshine.

“Sprout” by Mike Suri, People’s Choice winner 2010

I’ve got to give a plug here to one of my favorite pubs, Stickmen Brewing. It’s a great place to spend an hour or two on a sunny day – good beer and a nice outdoor deck right on the shore of Oswego Lake with a great view of Lakewood Bay. It’s also a great place to begin or end a walking tour of the Gallery Without Walls.

“Amyas and Soleil” by Amyas Maestas, bronze

“Clackamas” by Mike Suri, Cor-Ten steel, People’s Choice winner 2016

If you’re an art lover and find yourself in the Portland area, make your way to Lake Oswego and check out the sculptures in the Gallery Without Walls. I think you’ll find it worth your while.

“Zephyr” by Devin Laurence Field, stainless steel

“Bread Upon the Water” by Jerry Joslin (1942-2005), bronze

Posted January 22, 2021 by Alan K. Lee

All photos by and the property of the author

Building Murals

My wife, Joan, and I are both art lovers as well as enthusiastic travelers. Finding local artworks is always on our agenda. We tour local museums, of course, but we also seek out street art wherever we go. Street art is alive, connected to the community, always interesting, and often surprising. The photos below are a sampling of the building murals that we’ve found on some of our more recent trips around the Pacific Northwest (and beyond), starting with Freak Alley in Boise, Idaho.

Another large collection of building murals can be found in the small town of Nelson, British Columbia, home of the Nelson International Mural Festival.

The town of Leavenworth, Washington offers a more traditional, sponsored set of building murals that highlight the Bavarian village theme of the town.

Other Northwest towns with significant collections of building murals include Chemainus, British Columbia (aka Muraltown), and Estacada, Oregon.

Farther afield, we recently traveled to Arizona where we spent an afternoon exploring the back streets and alleys of the former copper mining town of Bisbee.

Downtown Phoenix also offered up a large collection of building murals and other street art, as well as abundant sunshine and 85 degree October afternoons.

Art enriches everyone’s life. And public art does so in a much more direct and immediate way than art that is hidden away in a museum. And yes, art saves lives.

Posted by Alan K. Lee, November 11, 2019

All photos by the author

Rhine River Cruise: Freiburg, Colmar, and Basel

The final leg of our Rhine River cruise took us to Freiburg, Germany, Colmar, France, and Basel, Switzerland.

On the next to last day of our cruise, we docked at Breisach, Germany, after an overnight sail from Kehl. After breakfast a number of us boarded a bus that took us to Freiburg im Breisau. Others opted for a day long bus tour of the Black Forest.

Freiburg

Freiburg is a city of about a quarter of a million people, located on the western edge of the Black Forest, about 15 miles east of the Rhine River. It is another ancient city, founded in 1120 at the intersection of trading routes from the Mediterranean to northern Europe and from the Rhine River to the Danube.

“Freiburg” translates to “free town” and the city has a long history of independent minded and educated citizens. Freiburg has long been an academic and research center, and today is home to the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg and several other universities. The city has an interesting mix of old and new, provided by the city’s long and valued history and the youthful energy generated by the large university student population.

Freiburg residents have a strong environmental commitment, and Freiburg is known as an “eco city.” In 1995 the city council passed an ordinance allowing only “low energy” buildings to be constructed, and Freiburg has become home to a growing solar power industry and is a leading center of green energy research and development.

Much of Freiburg was destroyed in WWII by Allied bombing raids (and one, mistakenly, by the German Luftwaffe in 1940). The city’s cathedral, though, was spared, and the city was rebuilt along its medieval plan, so its city center retains the look and feel of a medieval town. Most of the historical center is a car-free pedestrian zone, which also adds to its medieval feel.

The city has an unusual network of street gutters with flowing water diverted from the Dreisam River. These “bachle” were originally built to provide water for livestock and for fighting fires. They are at least partly responsible for Freiburg never having had a major fire, unlike almost every other medieval town.

To the east of the historic center, Schlossberg hill rises almost 900 feet above the city. A funicular railway takes visitors part way up the hill to a restaurant with a good view of the city below. Hiking trails lead higher, to a park near the summit with an observation tower. While we didn’t have time to take the funicular and hike to the summit, we did have enough time after our guided tour to hike part way up the hill to get a good view of the city.

Freiburg is a beautiful and very interesting place, and I wish we had been able to spend more time there. But we had to return to the boat with the rest of the tour group. After lunch, we once again boarded a bus for a second excursion, this time across the Rhine to Colmar, France.

Colmar

Like Strasbourg, Colmar has changed hands between France and Germany several times over the centuries and its local culture is a mix of French and German. It’s also similar to Strasbourg in look and feel, with its half-timbered buildings and cobble stone streets. And Colmar is even older than Strasbourg, dating back to at least the early ninth century.

One of the first things we saw upon arriving in Colmar was a scaled down replica of the Statue of Liberty. It’s there because the creator of the statue, Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, hailed from Colmar. In addition to the Statue of Liberty, Bertholdi created many other large-scale sculptures and fountains, including the Lion of Belfort. The Bartholdi Museum, located in what was once the Bartholdi family home, contains scale models of the Statue of Liberty and the Lion of Belfort used in creation of those works, as well as many of Bartholdi’s other works. Other Colmar museums include the Unterlinden Museum, the Musee du Jouet (Toy Museum), and the Hansi Museum, dedicated to the works of Jean-Jacques Waltz, a native of Colmar known for his satirical works and his opposition to German control of the region.

Colmar is known for its white wines, and one of the optional tours that many of our fellow passengers took advantage of was a tour of the areas wineries and vineyards. A variety of grapes are grown in the region, including reisling, gewurtztraminer, pinot gris, and pinot blanc. Colmar and the Alsace region have been producing these wines since the early middle ages.

After our organized tour of the city, we had time to wander around the town for awhile on our own. The old town of Colmar is interesting, historic, and one of the prettier towns we visited on our cruise. Part of the old city along the Lauch River is known as Petite Venise (Little Venice). That comparison might be a little off the mark, but it is certainly picturesque. I took many photos of Little Venice and we would have lingered there longer, but, alas, once again we had to return to the ship with our fellow passengers or get left behind. One of the downsides to river cruising, I guess.

Basel

Our cruise ended the following morning in Basel, Switzerland. We rather reluctantly said goodbye to our Viking Longship and the friends we had made on the trip.

After disembarking the ship and taking a taxi to our hotel, we had the rest of the day to explore the city. Since Rick Steves’ Switzerland guide book had not a single mention of Basel, I didn’t have high expectations. But we discovered, on our way to Museum of Contemporary Art, an old section of the city (the St. Alban District) that is as picturesque and has all of the charm of the other old city centers we’ve visited, but with few tourists and no crowds.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the city center, including Basel Cathedral (Basel Munster), and the Basel Town Hall, and sampling Swiss cuisine. All in all, Basel was a delightful surprise, and a fitting end to our Rhine River cruise.

The end of our cruise wasn’t the end of our vacation, though, as we continued on to the Lauterbrunnen Valley in the Berner Oberland section of Switzerland. Look for a future post on that delightful extension of our trip.

Posted by Alan K. Lee, May 2, 2019

All photos by the author

Rhine River Cruise: Heidelberg to Strasbourg

The fourth full day of our Rhine River cruise took us to Heidelberg, Germany. Day five found us in Strasbourg, France.

After docking for the evening in Rudesheim (see my previous posts on Amsterdam and Kinderdijk, and Cologne and the Middle Rhine), our cruise ship sailed overnight to Manheim, Germany. After breakfast on board we ventured to Heidelberg by bus. First stop was Heidelberg Castle.

The road to the castle is steep and narrow and there are several hairpin turns that were definitely not built with tour busses in mind. It took a good bit of maneuvering and a bit of time, but the driver had obviously done this before and we made it up the hill without incident.

Heidelberg Castle overlooks the old city, and is largely in ruins. The first structure was built on the present site around 1300. Shortly after the first castle was built, a second was built higher up the mountainside. The second castle was destroyed by a lightning strike in 1537 and nothing remains of it today. The remaining lower castle was heavily damaged in the early 1600s during the Thirty Years War, and almost completely destroyed by the French in the late 1600s. A portion of it was restored in the late nineteenth century and the ruins of the rest of the castle were stabilized and remain in the condition they were in at the time.

Our tour guide was a graduate student working on his doctorate in history at Heidelberg University, so we got a wealth of local history during our tour, told in an entertaining and often humorous manner. The castle ruins are a treasure trove of photo opportunities, as well. I could easily have spent a full day, or more, at the castle, but had to move on with the group.

After touring the castle, we made the short trip back down to the old city. We opted for an abbreviated tour by our guide, giving us ample time to wander the city on our own. Like many of the old medieval centers in European cities, the historical center of Heidelberg is quaint, picturesque, and thoroughly charming.

We spent an hour or so exploring the old city, then stopped at a sidewalk cafe at one of the hotels for lunch. While there, another of the couples on the cruise joined us. Fran and Victor, from Santiago, Chile, were one of the few non-American couples on the cruise. Coincidentally, Victor, who is a surgeon, had been sent to Heidelberg some time previously by the university hospital where he practiced (they had some sort of reciprocal relationship with Heidelberg University), and had stayed in the same hotel at which we were dining.

While we were touring Hedielberg, our cruise ship had sailed upstream to Speyer, where we rejoined the ship. The historical center of Speyer was only a short walk from where our ship was docked, so we had plenty of time to explore it that evening.

Speyer has a long history, dating back to its founding by the Romans in 10 BC. The Speyer Cathedral, begun in 1030, was the site of the 1526 Diet of Speyer that temporarily suspended the Edict of Worms that had banned Martin Luther in 1521. In 1529 a second Diet of Speyer essentially reinstated the Edict of Worms. Supporters of Luther then issued a Letter of Protest, and henceforth became known as Protestants.

The Altpoertel (Old Gate), one of the other major sights in Speyer, was built in the 13th century. One of the 68 original towers of the old city’s wall, the Altpoertel is one of the largest medieval city gates and towers in Germany.

That night the ship took us to Kehl, Germany while we slept. There the Rhine forms the boundary between Germany and France, and the next morning we bused across the river to the city of Strasbourg, France . Neither my wife nor I had been to France before, so this was an interesting excursion for us.

Strasbourg today is home to the European Parliament and a number of other European Union institutions. In the past, it has been part of German territory, so its culture is a mix of French and German. In fact, it has changed hands between France and Germany four times in the last 150 years. Our tour guide’s grandparents lived under both French and German rule, and had to make the transition from one to the other three separate times. France and Germany have very different legal and political structures, as well as languages, so it must have been very difficult to adapt each time the city changed from one to the other.

The historic city center of Strasbourg, the Grand Ile, is an island in the Ill River, which flows through Strasbourg before joining the Rhine. The Grand Ile has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988. The Ile is full of magnificently preserved and very beautiful examples of medieval architecture, particularly the Strasbourg Cathedral, which was constructed between 1176 and 1439. Its 466 foot high north spire made the cathedral the tallest building in the world from 1647 until 1874. The cathedral is also noted for its massive (18 meter tall) and intricate astronomical clock, completed in 1843. The current clock replaced an earlier one built in the 16th century, the remains of which are preserved in the Museum of Decorative Arts.

We had a wonderful time wandering around Grand Ile on our own after the end of the organized tour, taking lots of photos, and having a leisurely lunch, dining outside at one of the many local cafes. After returning to the ship, we walked into the town of Kehl and did some further exploring.

From Kehl, the ship sailed that evening to Breisach, Germany. Our excursions on the following day took us to Freiburg, Germany and Colmar, France. Look for an upcoming post on those outings.

Posted by Alan K. Lee, April 12, 2019

All photos by and property of the author