Hualien and Taroko Gorge

A group of American and Canadian graduate students and I visited Hualien on the east coast of Taiwan on July 23 and 24. During our stay we went to the Taroko Gorge National Park. Our group stayed in the Colorful Taiwan Hostel in Hualien. The staff of the Hostel and some of our new Taiwanese friends did a great job making plans for our activities in the area. We all went river trekking and hiking on Saturday and river rafting on Sunday. Enjoy the pictures!

-Roxanne

Our group and the Hostel staff at Colorful Taiwan Hostel.

Our group in our river trekking gear: wet suit, helmet, gloves, life vest and boots.

Me, Katie and Christina showing off our gloves. We swam/walked up the river through the waterfalls and pools.

Me on a bridge over Taroko Gorge. There are 100 lions on the bridge. They all look different and are made of marble from the gorge.

The Liwu River flows through Taroko Gorge.

Marble walls

Giant spiders kept me on the trail. Some of them looked like they were as big as my hand (legs included).

The trail along the gorge.

Boulders

More boulders.

There I am.

A really narrow and steep part of the gorge.

There are some other visitors for scale.

The marble walls are very pretty.

Our group again after a hike.

We stopped at this suspension bridge. It had an 8 person limit.

That is me standing on the bridge. It was very wobbly whenever anyone moved.

Views from the bridge.

Katie and me on our river rafting trip.

Taipei Zoo

Last weekend I visited the Taipei Zoo. It is the largest zoo in Asia.

The pandas were the main attraction and difficult to photograph.

I enjoyed seeing the primates.

A very pretty leopard.

This Asian Elephant seems to be saying "Hello" to the visitors.

In the afternoon it started to rain. It seemed like a good time to see a movie.

Portland Art Museum

Today Lauren and I headed downtown with Seann and Megan to go to the Portland Art Museum.  They had a lot of interesting and some not-so-interesting pieces on display at the museum.  They have large collections of Native American pieces and English silver, as well as contemporary art.  They also have a program going on over the summer called "The Allure of the Automobile", for which the museum has several restored vintage vehicles on display.

-Brandon

The entrance of the museum

One of the vehicles on display in the lobby

One of my favorite pieces at the museum.  It is made up of many small blocks.  Some blocks have a brick pattern, some have imprinted skulls, and some have number imprints like those on a die.

This pig is made of silver.

Carved wood.

 

This piece is called "Greed"

A very colorful art.

This thrilling piece is titled "Blue, Gray, Green, Red".  If only all artists were so creative.

This sculpture reminded me of the T-1000 from Terminator.

This was a Native American serving tray, used during feasts.

This is made of many small pieces of carved wood that have been attached together.

A painting of Mt. Hood

A large glass sculpture

Another sculpture made of wood and a few other materials.

Tainan

Over the weekend, I took the train down to Tainan which used to be Taiwan's capital.

Lanterns and birds for sale.

Roof of the God of War Temple

Chihkan Tower which used to be a Dutch fort built in 1653.

Koi pond

Confucious Temple established in 1666.

The high speed train pulling in. This is such an easy way to get around.

Emerald Peak Lake

During my first week at work, I went to sample sediments at Emerald Peak Lake.

Elevation at the lake was 1900 m, so it got a little cloudy at times.

The trail

No rivers feed or drain the lake.

Running around Portland

On Saturday we went with Christy, Seann, and Megan to different places around Portland.  The weather was beautiful and couldn't have been better.  First we went to the Portland International Rose Test Garden (Portland's nickname is the "City of Roses").  Here there are over 7,000 roses spread across 550 different varieties.  Many different colors (except blue) and many different fragrances.  Plenty of photos below.  After the garden, we went downtown to Kenny and Zuke's Delicatessen for lunch.  Their pastrami and potato salad were absolutely delicious!

Then we went a couple blocks down the street to Powell's City of Books.  I had heard it was big but had never been to it before - you know you are in for quite an experience when there is a stand offering maps of the store when you walk in.  Powell's occupies an entire city block of downtown Portland and offers more than 1 million books.  They also have a rare book collection, which contains hard-to-find, autographed, old, and other collectible books.  The oldest book they have in the collection was printed in 1480.  Their most expensive book is from the Lewis & Clark expedition and is valued at $350,000.

After getting lost in the bookstore a few times we headed across the river to Voodoo Doughnuts, a popular Portland destination, for some of their amazing doughnuts.  Their selection of doughnuts is quite interesting, to say the least.  There's always a long line, but I've never been disappointed by their doughnuts.

To end the day we went to see the Pittock Mansion, another Portland landmark.  The Pittocks were known for their pioneering spirit and for their community service and involvement in the Portland area.  Henry Pittock was not only heavily involved with the Oregonian newspaper and several other local businesses, he was also a member of the first group to climb Mt. Hood.  The mansion was built in 1914 and was nearly demolished in the early 60's before the City of Portland purchased it in 1964 and restored it.  Not only was the mansion itself beautiful, but the views were incredible as well.  The mansion is on top of a hill 1000 feet above Portland and provides stunning views of downtown Portland, Mt. Hood, Mt. Saint Helens, and even Mt. Rainier on a really clear day.

-Brandon

Pictures of the Rose Garden:

Lauren standing by an archway of roses

The yellow roses had a nice lemony scent.  It was one of my favorites

This is the blackest rose in the garden, a type known as "Black Magic" 

These are the oldest roses in the garden, planted in 1943 by Grand Duchess Armstrong.

These roses are in memorial of the firefighters from the 9/11 attacks.

Pittock Mansion pictures:

Lauren, Seann, and Christy approaching the mansion.

The view of the north side of Portland from the mansion.  The views from the master bedrooms were even better, offering views of downtown Portland, Mt. Hood, and Mt. St. Helens.

The main staircase, made of marble and eucalyptus wood.  It provides access to the upper floors for when you don't feel like taking the elevator.

The rear of the masion.  We weren't allow to go out on the balconies due to "safety reasons".  Apparently OSHA thinks the railings are too short.

The back yard of the mansion.  Around the side there are flowers and a nice little garden.

The Gay Bar, from Voodoo Doughnuts.  A raised yeast doughnut filled with cream, topped with vanilla frosting and Froot Loops.