2011 Events:
January 6, 2011, Thursday.
Urban Tour Group talk, for members, "The Forensic Pedestrian," a talk and slide show.
January 23, 2011, Sunday, 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Multnomah County Library, Hollywood Branch. Talk and slide show about
The Portland Stairs Book and exploring some of Portland's best kept paths, stairways and quiet streets.
February 3, 2011. Thursday, 6:30 p.m. book signing/chat; 7 p.m. presentation:
Exploring Portland Step by Step. Multnomah Athletic Club. I'll show slides of some of my favorite, offbeat places around town, and tell stories of the history that we walk over, around and through every day.
February 13, 2011. Sunday, 1 p.m.
Family Urban Walk. Start at the Multnomah Athletic Club's Turnaround. For members and their guests. Geared to kids ages 6 to 13.
February 15, 2011. Tuesday, 11:15 a.m.
History by the Foot: A Talk and Slide Show. For the winter luncheon of the
OHSU Medicine Alliance.
February 24, 2011. Thursday evening. 7:30 p.m.
The Portland Stairs Book at
Powell's Books on Hawthorne. I'll read a bit, show images of choice stairs, and tell tales about them.
February 26, 2011, Saturday.
Nob Hill to Skyline Climb. For the Forest Park Conservancy. This walk starts in century-old neighborhoods then passes through Forest Park and Audubon sanctuaries on the way up to Willamette Stone State Park. Many stairs; about 1000 feet of elevation. $10 or free if you're a member of the Conservancy. Meet 8:45 a.m. at Chapman Elementary School's front steps (just north of NW Pettygrove and 26th). About 3 hours.
March 12, 2011. Saturday morning. 9 a.m. to noon. As a fundraiser for
Audubon Society of Portland, I'll lead
one of my favorite walks--We'll start at the Audubon Center on NW Cornell Road, then climb on forested trails in the Collins and Uhtoff sanctuaries, then up a many-splendored staircase and to the top of Skyline Ridge where views (and the Willamette Stone State Park) are one of the rewards of this hike. Fee charged. Meet at Audubon. $15 payable to Portland Audubon.
March 13, 2011, Sunday, p.m.
Family urban exploration walk. Start at the Turnaround at the
Multnomah Athletic Club. For members and guests. Geared to kids ages 6 to 13. Thursday, March 17, 2011.
Private tour of author Beverly Cleary's neighborhood and the fictional streets of her characters, Ramona, Beezus, Henry and others. For Good Samaritan School, Corvallis.
March 26, 2011, Saturday.
Above and Beyond Linnton. For the
Forest Park Conservancy. In Forest Park, climb along Linnton Creek to Firelane 10 and the Wildwood Trail. This hike, along firelanes, the Wildwood, Leif Erikson and the Linnton Trail, alternates sections of steep climbs and descents with long level stretches. About 750 feet net elevation gain. $10 or free if you're a member of the Conservancy. Meet at 8:45 at Linnton Community Center, 10614 NW St. Helens Road. About 5.25 miles. Strenuous; bring snacks and water.
April 2, 2011, Saturday.
A North End Adventure. For the Forest Park Conservancy. In Forest Park's less-visited north end, this steep hike climbs along a creek in Newton Canyon to the Wildwood Trail, where old growth can be found. Firelanes 12 and 15 connect to a downhill descent of a ridgeline (with great views of Sauvie Island, the rivers and Cascade Peaks) on the BPA Road. $10 or free if you're a member of the Conservancy. Meet at 8:45 a.m. on NW Marina Way, just north of Linnton on St. Helens Road. We'll cross Hwy 30 together and begin the hike. About 5 miles. Strenuous. Bring snacks and water.
April 8, 2011. Friday.
Walking with Ramona. Tour of author Beverly Cleary's neighborhood for Skyline Elementary School.
April 9, 2011, 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday.
Walking with Ramona. Walk the same sidewalks and streets once trod by beloved author Beverly Cleary. Her fictionalized Klickitat Street (it's really NE Hancock!), the library site where she spent hours, schools she attended, parks she played in and other sites she writes of in her autobiographies and in her beloved works of fiction. Free. Sponsored by the
Multnomah County Library. Meet 15 minutes prior to the tour time at the Hollywood Library, 4040 NE Hancock, in Portland. Limit 50 attendees.
April 10, 2011. Sunday, 1 p.m.
Family urban exploration walk.
Multnomah Athletic Club. For members and guests. Geared to kids ages 6 to 13 and their parents.
April 10, 2011. Sunday, 4 p.m.
Walking with Ramona. Walk the same sidewalks and streets once trod by beloved author Beverly Cleary. Her fictionalized Klickitat Street (it's really NE Hancock!), the library site where she spent hours, schools she attended, parks she played in and other sites she writes of in her autobiographies and in her beloved works of fiction. Free. Sponsored by the
Multnomah County Library. Meet 15 minutes prior to the tour time at the Hollywood Library, 4040 NE Hancock, in Portland. Limit 50 attendees.
April 16, 2011. Saturday 9 a.m. I'm leading a walk,
Portland's Secret Stairs, for Lincoln High School's Theater Department, as it raises money for a trip to Scotland's Fringe Festival in 2011. Visit
Lincoln's website for more info. Cost: $25. For more information or to reserve a space, contact
jsdowsett@comcast.net
June 1, 2011, Wednesday, 5:30-7:00.
Annual meeting of the
Friends of the Library. A talk and slide show about my favorite escapes in town. $10 gets you in the door and a yearlong membership to the Friends, which advocates for the library and provides funds for programs of the Multnomah County Library, one of the most used public library systems in the United States.
June 12, 2011. Sunday, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Explore
Portland’s Secret Stairs and Hidden Streets, as part of the
Portland Rose Festival’s “Stroll through Time” celebration of all things Portland. Meet at 3:45 p.m. at the front (east) door of Chapman Elementary School, just north of NW Pettygrove and 26th Avenue. $10, cash or check, in advance or at the start of the walk. The walk is steep, covers over 500 stair steps and offers fascinating looks into tucked-away streets and little known Portland stories. Afterwards, extend your urban adventure with dinner along NW 23rd Avenue or Thurman Street. Email
Laura Foster for more info.
June 18, 2011, Saturday.
Explore Marquam Nature Park in this walk to benefit the Friends of Marquam Nature Park, citizens who work on trails and invasive species removal in one of Portland's most beautiful urban oases. For more information on time, cost, and terrain, contact the
Friends of Marquam Nature Park.
June 19, 2011, Sunday. 1 p.m.
Family urban exploration walk.
Multnomah Athletic Club. For members and guests. Geared to kids ages 6 to 13 and their parents. July 10, 2011. Sunday, 1 p.m.
Family urban exploration walk.
Multnomah Athletic Club. For members and guests. Geared to kids ages 6 to 13 and their parents.
July 21, 2011, Thursday, 6 p.m.
Evening ramble through Piedmont, King, Boise neighborhoods with MAX connections. Mississippi Avenue, lower Russell Street--lots of great old homes and commercial districts, plus Portland's first Rose Garden at Peninsula Park. This walk is one of the Ten Toe Express Walks, an annual series sponsored by the
City of Portland's Bureau of Transportation. FREE
September 1, 2011, Thursday, 6 p.m. Explore
Sullivan's Gulch--the neighborhood and its namesake gulch--an artifact of the Missoula Floods. Come for this ramble along both sides of the gulch and learn how Mother Nature created an ideal transit corridor; great homes along the way in this classic inner city neighborhood. Part of the
Ten Toe Express Walk series sponsored by the City of Portland's Bureau of Transportation. FREE
September 11, 2011, Sunday, 1 to 3 p.m. Family urban exploration of the MAC Trail in Washington Park.
Multnomah Athletic Club. For members and guests.
September 17, 2011, Saturday, 9 to 11 a.m.
Climb for Cats, a benefit for the
Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon. We'll climb up and down the many hidden and beautiful stairs of Northwest Portland. See the link for full details.
September 24, 2011, Saturday, 9 to 11:30 a.m.
Thurman Creek Watershed Hike for the
Forest Park Conservancy. Free to members; $10 nonmembers. Register at the link above.
Saturday, October 1, 2011, 9 a.m. to noon.
Exploring Philip Marquam's Gulch and Hill, a benefit for the
Friends of Marquam Nature Park. Creeks, abandoned homesteads, stairs, a historic parkway and views. Discover Marquam Nature Park and the campus next door, OHSU. This blend of wilderness and meticulously engineered technology offers a rich mix of geology, human history, native plant botany and architecture. Meet at the Marquam Shelter, SW Marquam Street off SW Sam Jackson Park Rd. Drinks and snacks will be provided. Fee: $20
Space limited to 30 people. Register in advance: fmnp@comcast.net. Send check, payable to Friends of Marquam Nature Park, PMB 125 6327-C SW Capitol Hwy, Portland OR 97239-1937
October 8, 2011, Saturday. 9 to noon.
Wildwood and Arboretum Trails Ramble, for the Forest Park Conservancy. See what Milepost Zero looks like and the trails we can access from there. Free to members; $10 nonmembers. Register online at the link above.
November 19, 2011, Saturday, 1-5 p.m.
Wild Arts Festival booksigning. One of my favorite author/artist shows, sponsored by the
Audubon Society of Portland. Hope to see you there. Great books, fabulous art in a great Northwest setting, the old Montgomery Wards store (now Montgomery Park) near Forest Park.
