Christmas Family Fun on the Water

Everyone loves a parade, and considering the importance of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers to the origins of Portland, it's no wonder that for the past 60 years that we've celebrated those waterways with their own parades.

It began with one guy festooning his craft with ribbons and bows and sailing up and down both rivers in his boat, but pretty soon his mates joined him in the fun and it became a holiday tradition. With nearly 60 ships signed up this year between the two rivers it's bound to be quite a spectacle. Check Christmas Ships Parade for the full schedule, along with suggestions for prime viewing spots, or you can make a reservation at Salty's on the Columbia for a comfy seat overlooking the river and a heated deck from which to view the procession.

In true Portland fashion they've taken to social media to live tweet the parades, so you can follow the minute-by-minute excitement from @ChristmasShips. They've even got separate hashtags for each river, so you can search for #WillametteFleet or #ColumbiaFleet for updates and photos. Pretty 21st Century for a 60-year-old!

Off the Beaten Track: Wheatland Ferry

I was rushing to get to a shoot for Food Farmer Earth a couple of weeks ago and, as usual, I was a little behind schedule. Most of the farms featured are out in the boonies—meaning, to me, outside the city limits—and, as usual, I had no idea where I was going.

The two-lane road I was driving took a turn and ended…in a river. I could see that the road continued on the other side, and noticed a tiny ferry on the opposite bank. A couple of vehicles were driving onto its deck, and within a couple of minutes it was trundling over to my side.

Called the Wheatland Ferry, it's been carrying loads across the Willamette since the 1850s. The first ferry, named the Daniel Matheny after the man who began the service and was its first pilot, was a wooden raft powered by men with wooden poles. Every time a new ferry is commissioned (they've been motorized since the turn of the century) it is renamed the Daniel Matheny and is given a Roman numeral connoting the generation. The current ferry is the Daniel Matheny V, has a capacity of nine cars and makes almost 250,000 trips a year across the river.

For me, it was a chance to slow down, take a deep breath and experience the joy of a beautiful fall morning on the river. What a gift!