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Activity

A Tradition: Blackberry Picking

By Leslie Parks - Thursday, August 16, 2018
We pulled up to the abandoned lot that was mostly surrounded by  shrubs and blackberry bushes like a castle with a moat. There was one small area that allowed us entry into this secret spot that is overlooked daily by commuters. The spidery cracks in the asphalt were being widened and elongated by the same loopy prickly blackberry vines and the dry brittle...

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Exploring

Exploring: Oswald State Park

By Leslie Parks - Friday, August 03, 2018
I had yhis need to find a beautiful rugged mostly empty beach.  Sand was optional but it did need rocks jutting out of the water hinting at tide pools. It needed a soft forested path with ferns, maybe a creek, lots of trees with views that play peek-a-boo. I wanted to explore something that was close to being wild. The kids each had...

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Exploring

An Outing: Crescent Beach

By Leslie Parks - Thursday, August 02, 2018
About 4 or so years ago a family told us about a "secret" beach near Ecola and so we checked it out. Then it became a thing for us. It has sand, rocky cliffs, beautiful views, and was mostly private. There were times when we would be there with only two or three other families while other beaches were crowded with people. This...

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An Outing: The Portland Zoo

By Leslie Parks - Wednesday, August 01, 2018
We've taken the kids to the Portland Zoo a few times and the Seattle Zoo a couple of times yet they were younger then.  Taking teens and young adults to the zoo is a whole different story. It is still fun to watch their reactions to the animals but they laugh and joke about way different things than when they were younger. Going...

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