Discovering Portland: Neighborhood Parks

Wow, the parks in Portland sure are different from parks in AZ (and CA for that matter).  First of all, I love that they aren't all sandy.  Most parks here have "mulch" or rubber mats, which I prefer over the sand that gets in the kids' shoes (yes, I am one of "those" moms that doesn't let her kids take off their shoes at parks). Secondly, and this is obvious, the park settings are so different--all the trees!  Even the playground equipment is different since most of Portland parks have kept some of the "old school" equipment along with the newer stuff.  Finally, the parks are always full of kids to play with!  A lot of the time, we would go to parks in AZ, and hardly anyone would be there, even during the 4 months of nice weather.  Strange.  Here are some photos from our park adventures (we've been to four parks so far).

Mt.Tabor

Laurelhurst

Washington

(I didn't take this one.  It's from the internet.)