Looking Down- Part 2: Portland, OR Moss

If one were to start a conversation concerning Portland, and the Pacific Northwest in general, the abundance of rain and clouds throughout a sizable portion of the year will inevitably be a topic. With this oceanic climate and the basic knowledge that moss enjoys damp and shady locations, you can assume locating moss is an exceedingly easy task. Moss covers all types of surfaces, and this includes the ground; so, in continuing the series of looking down, I decided to keep an eye out for the moss under my feet in Portland.

Outside of locating moss, I quickly became interested in how much a part of the city's atmosphere moss seems to be. Portland has a very green look to it throughout the year, even in winter, and sometimes the role of moss in this is overlooked (at least it was by me for a good while). To be short about it, my eyes were opened to the beauty of moss.

Moss is all throughout the urban landscape of Portland, filling in the gaps of cracked roads and sidewalks, shady spots in parks, lawns of moss instead of grass, and anywhere that is a conducive nook or cranny.

Looking Down- Part 1: Portland, Oregon

Straightforward

I rarely look down very closely at what is on the ground as I walk this way and that each day. That is for good reason, I'm not making attempts to collide with the various sidewalk objects, people, cars, and trains I cross paths with. When safe, though, it can an interesting to take in the various manhole covers, grates, stones, bricks, and patterns that cover the city streets and sidewalks we traverse.

In this first exploration, of what will be a series (how exciting I am sure if the first thought everyone has), I wanted take some time to point out all the various manhole covers and related genre in Portland, Oregon. Access to much normal pieces of infrastructure quickly became obvious- street lights, sewers, gas lines, water, etc. In many cases it was only a simple indication of the purpose (sewer, water), other times it was an indication of a company (such as the electric company), and in a few rare instances it gave some insight into the past (such as the name of an old iron works).

TriMet needs Electric too

What was under my feet changed, of course, based on where I was. In downtown Portland, where most of these pictures originate, there was a whole wide range that might be more spread out elsewhere in the city or not present at all, as with the public transportation infrastructure for TriMet,

So with that, I end a short, simple, and ungroundbreaking first post. I plan to keep looking down- but I will also look up, straightforward, underneath, and in whatever direction seems best. The goal is simply to investigate cities, no matter how trivial the aspect may seem.

The Phoenix Iron Works was founded in 1901 and while no longer in operation,
they did a great deal of work around Portland and the surrounding area.

There's sewers down there