A Visit to Adam's Mission in Portland, Oregon

When Adam got home from his mission back at the end of August 2024, less than two weeks before BYU started back up again,  we promised him a trip back to visit his mission the following summer.   

A couple months ago, we finally made good on that promise and I am just now finally blogging about it.    

We waited until the craziness of his full-time FSY office job wound down, then, in mid-August, Adam and I took off for a week and a day to spend in the beautiful Portland area!  

It's a pretty short flight from Utah to Portland, so we hit the ground running when we got there.   WE started with a visit to The Grotto, which is a serene woodland sanctuary in the city--not far from the airport.   It's home to the outdoor National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother, beautiful botanical gardens, meandering paths, peaceful forestland, and many statues and artworks of Jesus Christ .   It was a lovely place to begin our journey exploring the place Adam grew to love so much over the two years he spent there testifying of Christ! 

The Grotto 

After The Grotto, we headed out to one of the areas he spent the most time in--Damascus/Boring/Gresham, where we were spending the first few days.  Right next to one of the chapels he served in was the North American Bigfoot Center, which was about as weird as it sounds!   It was hard to tell if the creators of this quirky exhibit dedicated to proving the existence of Bigfoot were serious, but it was highly entertaining.   We enjoyed examining the supposed "buttprint" of Bigfoot and looking at all the "evidence" of why Bigfoot could be real, as well as all the reasons why we shouldn't dismiss his existence due to lack of hard evidence.   This museum postulates that Bigfoots are likely a yet undiscovered species of elusive mammals.    We laughed a lot and spent the rest of the trip looking for Bigfoot in the wilds of the lush Oregon forests.  😂

Bigfoot Museum

 We planned the trip to cover two Sundays,  and Adam picked areas where he'd served in multiple wards serving in the same building, so we could maximize the number of wards we visited.    Damascus and Powell Valley Wards were literally the first and last areas of his mission, so that's where we visited the first Sunday.   It had been almost three whole years since the few transfers he served in Damascus, but he was clearly remembered and very well loved there.  He got lots of hugs and even got invited to a BBQ later that day.   He only served one transfer in Powell Valley, so the reception there wasn't quite as grand, but those that did remember him were excited to see him.  The BBQ turned out to be a super fun, laid-back way to visit with lots of people.  I felt a little like a fish out of water there, but it was great to see Adam in his element reconnecting with the people he'd served and loved!  

Damascus and Powell Valley Wards

After Sunday, we spent a couple days exploring the beautiful Columbia River Gorge!    We spent a lot of time driving, hiking, and exploring!  It was unusually hot  for Oregon--about 100*--but we thoroughly enjoyed soaking in that rugged green beauty!  

Exploring the Columbia River Gorge

Next on our list was heading to the shore!   The Oregon Coast is a popular weekend destination for Oregonians, so he heard a lot about it on his mission, but never got the chance to go.  The weather was much cooler on the shore, but it was also pretty foggy. 

 Most of our hikes' destinations were to cool lookout points, which proved to be a little disappointing when shrouded in heavy fog...

 but dipping our feet in the {cold} Pacific Ocean was quite rejuvenating.  We loved our laid-back time here on the shore, although Adam was thwarted in his attempt to find an intact sand dollar.  

Oregon Coast

One of our can't miss places to visit while we were on the coast, was the Tillamook Creamery...

Tillamook Creamery

We enjoyed learning  all about how they make cheese...then got to sample a bunch tasty (and old) varieties!  

After Tillamook we headed  to Cape Meares Lighthouse, which was our last stop on the way back to the Portland area.  We were surprised, after a few days of fog and clouds all along the shore (even in Tillamook),  that the skies, just a few miles away, were clear as can be!  

Cape Meares Lighthouse

After we got back to Portland from the shore, we picked up Glen from the airport, so he could participate in the rest of our adventures!    

Some of those adventures included...

 Visiting the End of the Oregon Trail 

Trying the Famous Voodoo Doughnuts 
(alas, they did not offer any gluten free options, so I did not partake)

Attending the Portland Temple

Taking a Very Muddy Hike 
after which I threw my shoes away

Hiking To "Witches Castle" and Pittock Mansion
and visiting Cathedral Park/Saint John's Bridge

 Tonga Festival
after being invited by a local member

Trying Out Different Food Trucks
Portland is quite well-known for its active food truck culinary scene, so we tried out a few different food truck locations while we were there

Rose Gardens/Dahlia Festival
I did not know before our visit that Portland is famous for its many flowers and gardens.  In fact, it even has the nickname of "Rose City", though we enjoyed many more flowers than just roses

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm
It was long past tulip season, so we enjoyed the fields of sunflowers and other flowers, the fun colorful tractors, and the bucolic surroundings.

Lan Su Chinese Gardens 
This was a peaceful little haven right in the city

We definitely enjoyed much of Oregon's natural beauty while we were there, but one of our very favorite parts about our visit was getting to meet the people--some  people that he taught, as well as many members that he interacted with during his time there.    It's hard sending a kid off into the world to serve a mission without seeing them for 18-24 months and it was very meaningful to us hearing about how Adam had impacted their journeys for good.

The People

 Over the last few days there, we also visited the mission office, drove by several of his apartments, and got to meet his beloved mission leaders--the Botchways!     
 

Mission Leaders, Mission Office, and his Mission Apartments

The Botchways are faith filled people sacrificing much to serve the missionaries  in the Portland mission.

On the second Sunday, we visited the two wards he served in in Tualatin.  Once again, people were quite excited to see him, though I didn't take any pics there! 

All in all, it was a good trip...

and I think we did a good job keeping Portland plenty weird.