9th Leg: Troutdale to Gresham Library

Date of run: March 1, 2014
Time of run: 4:25 pm
Temp: 34 degrees F (feels like 21)
Conditions: Cloudy, light rain, gusty winds 24 mph
Distance: 2.8 miles out, 3.1 miles back (5.9 miles total)

Nice little run, about 3 miles each way and most flat, but oh! What cold and wind in my face! The "feels like 21" was brutal for awhile, until I got going and warmed up a bit. The view out of the Troutdale Library wasn't quite as nice as last week, either. Gray and dreary.





And so I headed for Gresham (pretty darn close by foot, it turns out), passing through side streets of what could be Anytown, USA.



I came across across this "repurposing" of an old McDonald's play structure. Here's what it looks like from over the fence, and then what it looks like when the rickety fence gives way and you fall forward into the yard while taking a picture:





A bit of trivia: Did you know that Ted Cassidy, who played Lurch on the original TV show The Addams Family, was also the voice of Officer Big Mac in TV commercials of the 80s? (I didn't). My favorite scene of his though has to be as Logan, in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Approaching Gresham I saw this storefront for a travel agency. Didn't know they still existed? Good for them.



And into Historic Downtown Gresham. Not to get too cynical, but I couldn't help but notice that immediately behind the nice sign was a small strip mall of laundromats and such. Not exactly quaint, but hey it's just the edge of town...



Another funny thing was this church...wait, not a church...a Music Venue. Well, in my world, music can act as a spiritual place, so why not? If I find myself in Gresham some night without a run to do, I might just go in there and enjoy some music and food:



As I came to the Gresham Library, I thought momentarily that I was seeing double. Two identical entrances on two sides:



I picked one and went inside, and found a large inviting space, similar to the Midland floor plan. Only one floor, but very spacious, with lots of desks and tables for sitting, either in the open or privately, like the college study desks I remember.





I perused the CD section, and made a funny discovery: Six (!) copies of Wilco's The Whole Love. That's a record (so to speak) for me, for copies in one location. And I didn't check out one of them (sorry Wilco). I did however find two intriguing releases, again noting that the first reason I picked them up was due to the distinctive cover art. It may be smaller than on old LPs, but cover art still performs one of its functions very well: It grabs my attention and gets me to listen further. And so I checked out: Musiq Soulchild's MusiqInTheMagic (neo-soul) and Wooden Shjips Dos (neo-psych/acid rock). OK, some diversity in my listening this week!





And so, CDs in back pockets, I headed back out toward Troutdale. Some sights along the way: An industrial building with an address that I swear is "bob" upside down, not 909, and a deserted Chinese restaurant that must have been quite majestic in its heyday. What can be made of it now? Anyone for Thai?





As the skies cleared somewhat, I made my way back, and arrived at the Troutdale edge-of-town sign. More humble than Gresham's, but perhaps more fitting:



And back to the Troutdale Library, now just past closing hours. As I was sweaty, and yet quickly freezing as I cooled off, I ducked into the shelter of a nearby Safeway, and treated myself to a guilt-free chocolate croissant and decaf coffee. Ahhh, the payoff of a challenging run completed...


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Last week's CDs from Troutdale Library:

Those Dancing Days, Daydreams And Nightmares
At first listen I thought this was typical big label American product. I thought, "Surely this is a vocalist with some hot-shot session musicians from L.A." But I was WAY off. They are Swedes who play high quality pop/rock. This track is great, propulsive rock, a touch of Devo synths & keyboards (nice!), with truly insane drumming, very fun:



A little more YouTube searching confirms that this band is not only talented; they are adorable. (Want more proof? Here you go.)

Matthias Hellberg, High In The Lowlands
A solo album by a former member of Swedish rockers Hellacopters, this guy is the very definition of world weary. A very Neil Young-ish, Bob Dylan-ish vibe. (Will somebody please tell me what's going on with the lobster in this video?)



Pavement, Quarantine The Past: The Best of Pavement
In the mid-90's I tried to dig these guys, and did, a little bit. Very clever, sloppy by design, anti-corporate rock. I'd heard all their albums back in the day but hadn't listened to them for quite a while, so this 'best of' compilation CD was something new to me. Nice to revisit. I wonder if I'll ever see singer/guitarist Stephen Malkmus around, now that he lives in Portland? (I picked this song/video, because it's random and fun, but also because they name-check Rush's Geddy Lee in the lyrics.)

8th Leg: Fairview-Columbia to Troutdale Library

Date of run: February 21, 2014
Time of run: 5:30 pm
Temp: 50 degrees F (feels like 50)
Conditions: Slightly overcast, winds 0 mph
Distance: 2.3 miles out, 1.6 miles back (3.9 miles total)

Just what I needed: MUCH shorter run than last week's 12 miler, warm (for February), and absolutely NO wind. And this run was critically different in another pleasing way: Sidewalks almost the whole way, whereas last week had me running a a long stretch of Halsey with just a narrow dirt shoulder to manage in the rain.

Starting at the Fairview-Columbia Branch, I headed north and east on Halsey, accidentally passing my turn down to Arata, making the run just slightly longer. The last mile was a pretty steep climb up some side roads, but I made it OK, and soon came to the cute little Troutdale branch located in a cute little mall area.





I went to the small CD section and soon found three albums that caught my attention due to their cover art: Swedish pop group Those Dancing Days, folk/psych solo artist Matthias Hellberg, also from Sweden (and former member of hard rocking Hellacopters), and a compilation by alt-rock 90s indie faves Pavement:



On the way out I noted some cool looking chairs for the patrons to sit in and read, and as I stepped outside, I was treated to a beautiful orange-blue sunset:





As I headed down Glisan St into the Wood Village neighborhood, there were more treats in store: A gradual downhill decline for easy running, a nice sidewalk, some impressive new houses, and more picturesque views to the west and north:









As I approached the neighborhood of the Fairview-Columbia Branch, there were some cool street lights to brighten my entrance. Nice little area here, new development but with a retro feel (sorry, no pics of the houses as it was too dark).



There's a distinct point where east Portland ends and Fairview begins (about 201st Avenue) and the scenery abruptly shifts from run-down, nearly abandoned, to shiny new and safer feeling (though I did note several police cars buzzing about at several points during the run). As gentrification spreads east from downtown Portland, it feels like just a matter of time before these two forces meet in the middle. Where will the cheap apartments be found then? (Yeah, I'm fully aware of my civic ignorance. I'm running a narrow strip of main roads between two library points at a time. Not exactly a "big picture" view. But still, sometimes the transitions on foot are pretty stark.)

Hey, I've reached the easternmost point of the Multnomah County Library system! Time to turn around and head back toward downtown.


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As for last week's CDs: The One eskimO was an interesting one...a bit James Blunt in the vocals but very smooth and nice. Quiet but intense. Wouldn't you know it, the song that caught my ear the most was a cover, of Candi Staton's soulful rendition of a Patsy Cline original. All three have their merits.



As for the Nick Moss CD, Here I Am, well, it's really good blues rock (and I love the labyrinth cover art). Nothing really revolutionary, but the title track was pretty raucous, combining blues with more straight-up rocking, which was very nice. I would've loved to put a video/song link to it, but couldn't find one on the 'net. Here's a live track from the same year of the album (2011) which shows what he's all about though: