Portland, Oregon

In August, 2025, we visited our dear friends Sam and Brian in Portland, Oregon, before heading up to Vancouver, British Columbia, to celebrate our 20th Canadian Anniversary. We’ll post pictures from Vancouver in our next post.

During our stay in Portland, we visited the famous Portland Rose Test Garden and the Grotto.

The Grotto bills itself as “a place of peace, prayer, and natural beauty.” Indeed, it is. It’s primarily a Catholic-oriented place, so there were plenty of references to that faith. But it was clear that all were welcome, and it was beautiful and tranquil.

Most of the grounds are positioned on a cliff overlooking Portland. This meditation center offered a spectacular view across Portland.

There were several shrines representing countries from different parts of the world.