When our identity expands to include everything, we find a peace with the dance of the world.
Crater Lake, OR –> Portland, OR (270 miles)
My ride from Crater Lake to Portland wasn’t too eventful or enjoyable. It started off with a slight scare that I may run out of gas. There’s a gas station at Crater Lake, but the processing system was down and they were taking cash only. I went to three different ATMs before I finally found one that would dispense money.
Other than the ride around the rim of Crater Lake, it was a miserable trip to Portland. I somehow chose the few days an abnormally early heat wave was hitting the area. For most of my ride it was about 90° and peaked at 108° driving through Warm Springs. It was unfortunate because I would’ve liked to have stopped at Mt. Hood but the temperature was too unbearable and I was exhausted from the long ride.
Mt. Hood
In Portland, I stayed with my high school friend Franklin Smith. His friend Dawson from William & Mary was in town as well. It had been at least eight years since Franklin and I last talked so we spent the good part of an hour reminiscing about high school, wondering what our old friends were up to, and talking about what we had been up to since college.
After teaching English in Spain and getting a Masters in International Studies, Franklin now works at Guayaki Yerba Mate in a sort of marketing capacity. During his studies he traveled to South America and learned about all the health benefits of Yerba Mate. According to him, Yerba Mate has the “strength of coffee, the health benefits of tea, and the euphoria of chocolate” all in one beverage. It didn’t take more than a few sips before he converted me to the drink.
Traditionally, Yerba Mate is prepared in a hollowed our gourd and you drink it from a metal straw that has a filter at the end. You’re supposed to pour hot water over the mate, but it was so hot that we used cold water with some pomegranate juice.
After catching up on life we heading out for drinks and food at Rontoms. Apparently, every bar in Portland has to serve food, which is pretty convenient. I had been told to try the craft brews but settled for a Rainer, the PBR of Portland. Later in the night we headed to Roadside Attraction for some more Rainier. The venue was like an old coal mine with outdoor seating. It was definitely a hipster hotspot.
The next morning, Dawson headed out early for San Francisco. I feel bad saying this, but I was lucky he had really bad allergies because he ended up sleeping on the balcony and I got the pull out couch bed. Franklin changed to veg only about a year go so we grabbed a vegetarian breakfast at Harlow. I got the huevos rancheros and breakfast smoothie which were both delicious, despite the lack of meat.
After walking through some vintage stores, we headed to the Saturday Market near Tom McCall Waterfront Park. There was a ton of food, weird crafts, and live music. I highly recommend it if you’re ever in Portland on a weekend. There’s a fun and festive atmosphere all around.
We spent at least an hour looking at all the shops and merchandise before heading over for an underground tour, which turned out to be more above ground than under it. Portland is known now for hipsters, coffee shops, and weirdness. However, in the 19th century it was a shipping town and there are stories about how men were captured and put into the tunnels underneath the city and force to work on ships headed for shanghai. This is where the term “getting shanghai’d” comes from.
Unfortunately, our underground tour guide killed any kind of imagination or magic about the stories and let us know they weren’t true, or most likely not true. Any of the “tunnels” or “underground cells” were more likely just basements. He did say crimping was wildly rampant during the time. Crimping is when a person came to a boarding house and start a tab if they couldn’t pay for the room. Then the manager of the boarding house would sell the debt to a shipping company and force the person to work to pay it off. It was pretty much indentured servitude.
“Shanghai tunnel”
Some may say I was (un)lucky enough to be in Portland the one day they were holding the World Naked Bike Ride. It’s exactly what it sounds like, a bunch of people riding bikes naked through the streets of Portland. It started off to promote awareness for biker safety and now has expanded to promote healthy body image, self-sufficiency, and free speech.
I didn’t really know what to expect before heading to the start point at Colonel Summers Park, but when I got there I still didn’t know what to think. There was literally thousands of naked people hanging out, putting body paint on, having drinks, and partying in the park. After only a few minutes I felt self conscious wearing clothes and felt the need to at least take my shirt off.
We hung out with some of Franklin’s friends for about an hour and then it got really weird. Everything seemed perfectly normal as if everyone should be naked and putting body paint on each other in the middle of a public park. Then we saw some religious zealots holding their signs and telling everyone that they were going to hell. I’ll give these guys credit. They were doing this right on the heels of the SCOTUS decisions, but love always wins. People were naked twerking, cheering, and making out in front of these guys.
We stayed around for a while to watch the start of the ride. It had to have been one of the weirdest experiences of my life. The pictures don’t do it justice. You just had to be there.
Visiting Franklin was just the type of experience I was looking for on this road trip. I got to meet new people, experience some weird things, and most importantly, talk about life. I got some great perspective from Franklin and his experiences traveling the world. It’s great to know that after eight years of not talking to someone they can welcome you into their home and host you for a weekend.
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