We saw mile after mile of wheat-sown fields, with the very occasional farmer’s house-and-barn dotting the “empty quarter” of the map. There were the very occasional, very small towns trying to survive the isolation, such as Athena, Helix, and Holdman, abandoned shacks and old school houses, and gullies and washes where hawks sought partridges and mice.
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Calmly and majestically draining the NorthWestern Zone, lending its hydroelectric power and grain-barging to the Portland Ports and city area, is the Mighty Columbia River, wide and powerful and blue against the brownish hills of the Eastern Sectors of the NorthWestern States. The Washington State hills are topped by exotic, space-age designed windmills (wind turbines) which seem to move very slowly in the constant Columbia Gorge wind. They make one wonder why they redesigned the already-proven middle-age models of Europe!
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The Oregon Trail is such a distant memory that “Oregon City” has to fight to keep the legend of the Settlers alive with a very interesting museum. The view of Willamette Falls from the “Oregon City Heights” is one of the Portland Area favorites and well-worth a visit to this historic Pioneer town.
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The Tilikum Crossing built by TriMet, the Portland metropolitan area’s transit authority: the “Californication” of Portland
While the Eastern towns are pining away, businesses closing left, right and center, the Metropolitan Area is booming, spreading out into the surrounding farmlands. Some Old Oregonians feel that the area has become “Californicated” to the point where it’s hardly recognizable. Now, ahem, the definition of “Californication” is an old Oregon snide remark about our neighbors to the south. It refers to the proliferation of strip malls and cubicle, and condominium living quarters, and suburban housing developments for the influx of out-of-staters, mostly moving up from California in search of “the grass is always greener” on the other side of the border! Oregonians of any stripe feel that California itself has been ruined by rampant construction, over-population, and conversely, the trend towards “yuppification” which makes EVERYTHING more expensive. “Yuppy’s” are the nouveau-riche or “wannabes” who tend to join wine-and-cheese clubs and shop at exclusive stores.
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