Part 1: Portland to Nampa (Boise) - Columbia River Gorge

PART 2:    • Part 2: Portland to Nampa (Boise)   This is Part 1: Portland, OR to La Grande, OR onboard the Union Pacific Z-BRG2 train. I knew the scenery would be spectacular in The Gorge so I wanted to grab a daytime train. Union Pacific operates a good schedule out of Portland so that was no problem at all. The Gorge was more beautiful than I had remembered. Hit a few rain showers along the way, and once out into the higher terrain temperatures climbed quickly into the upper 90s and even 100 for a couple of hours. I'm easily amused and I find even the "boring" parts of Oregon are very scenic. I hope you enjoy viewing this scenery from my perspective. It's a magical corner of the globe. Part 2 will be made public shortly after this airs. It will cover La Grande, Ore. to Boise (Nampa), Idaho. A good friend of mine, who I met when I lived in Oklahoma and ended up working with in Oregon -- Johnny -- helped me out a lot when I lived in the Northwest. He was a very reliable, good man. We would occasionally stop by this bar called the Stagecoach Saloon after work and grab a bite, shot, and a brew. He passed away shortly before I filmed this trip. It has been a long time since I have set foot in that bar. It only felt right to come by and have one last drink where Johnny and I used to sit. I made it a point to visit this bar and have one for Johnny before I skipped town. September Fifteenth is a song by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays, two of my favorite Jazz musicians. It's an old, sad song recognizing the death of jazz musician Bill Evans. Anytime I think of when I lived in Portland that song frequently plays in the background track of my mind. The time I spent in Oregon was probably the most fulfilling and exciting time of my life, and it is bittersweet to see it now. To me, this song describes how I feel about that part of my life, as I look back at it. Life moves on, I guess. The first minute of this video will have no context for anyone but myself really, just a brief trip down memory lane while I had a few extra days in Portland before I needed to head east. All the shots in the first minute of the video have some unique memory attached to them and it was nice to see some old stomping grounds. Poking around Portland for a few days was like walking through a time portal. Everything was the same as it was the day I left, but also everything had changed. I was the same as the day I left, but I had changed, too. A weird feeling I will never be able to accurately put down in words. Maybe someday I will be able to move back. Until then I will just hear that familiar, sad song in my head, and come by to visit when I have the chance. I named this video September Fifteenth because of all of that. Check the song out if you like. I can't include it in the video for copyright reasons.    • Video   Thanks for watching and for your support. -mb