Road Warrior Report: Iron Mountain, MI

The newest addition to the Oculus Inc. staff, Rob Forney, just arrived home from his first site visit as a member of our team. His mission was to travel to Iron Mountain, MI to conduct a facility conditions assessment for the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center for the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Construction and Facilities Management. While he spent the majority of his time working with our client, he also brought back a couple of factual tidbits from this small town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula:

-There is not an actual “Mountain” in Iron Mountain. The name is derived from the Iron Mountain Iron Mine where people come to watch actual miners practice their craft while riding on trains that take them 400 feet underground.

-It is also home to the Pine Mountain Ski Jump/Resort, one of the highest artificially created ski jumps on earth. Elite athletes from around the world come to visit Iron Mountain to compete in a tournament held every February. 

A Vintage Photo of the Pine Mountain Ski Jump (Not Taken w/ Instagram)

 -While the temperatures can be extreme in the dead of winter and the black bear population thrives within the forest, one of the biggest natural threats to humans is deer. The Iron Mountain Daily News reports close to 1,500 people are injured in deer/vehicle crashes every year with the riskiest months being October and November.

-One of the biggest tourist attractions is the Millie Hill Bat Cave which usually takes out-of-towners by surprise. While Rob did not get a chance to visit , he did encounter a bat inside of the local Wal-Mart. 

Metal Cage Surrounding the "Bat Cave" Entrance courtesy of Things to Do in the U.P.

Portland Part 4: Fostering a Creative Culture

For any design-oriented professionals living in or visiting the US, Portland is a must visit city. The entire Pacific Northwest region keeps an amazing folksy, tree-hugger, hippie-type vibe while remaining on the cutting edge of the 21^st Century. While the past couple of blogs entries about Portland have focused on specific aspects of the city, this final entry will combine some of the larger reasons as to why the region harbors innovation and the creative spirit.

The first thing that sets Portland apart from other parts of the country is its climate. Because it is situated in between the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, the warm/wet climate is very kind to agriculture, and farmers are capable of growing just about anything imaginable.  This unique location makes the Portland area one of the US’ leading producers of crops like hops for beer, hazelnuts, and lumber. The variety of crops native to the area has added into helping turn the area into a diversified hotspot where people are free to live however they deem fit.

Because of the abundance of food, an innovative and eclectic culture has given rise to countless farmers markets, brew pubs, microbreweries, wineries, and restaurants committed to experimental cuisine using local ingredients of amazing variety and quality. The existence of chain restaurants is sparse because residents have grown accustomed to dining on local fare with an experimental flare. Two restaurants that really stood out were Tasty n Sons, a trendy spot with a “hipster-ish” vibe, and Olympic Provisions, Oregon’s first USDA-approved salumeria.

A sampling of charcuterie from Olympic Provisions

Fried egg, cheddar, and chicken biscuit from Tasty n Sons

The flexibility afforded to creating food and going easy on regulations and ordinances led to Portland becoming one of the first cities to embrace the food truck trend that is sweeping the nation. This movement has lead to some serious culinary creativity as well as some curiously compelling trucks rolling down urban hotspots and stopping to serve dishes ranging from Korean Tacos to cake pops.

Some of the most spectacular parts of the city are also the most understated. The neighborhood known as Ladd’s Addition features historic houses of all types that are arranged on a series of formally organized streets punctuated by a central green space/garden and four amazing rose gardens. The city is often referred to as “Rose City” which is evident by how well the different varieties of the flower are able to grow. In a city like St. Louis, this neighborhood would be a spectacle of sorts, but the people of Portland see it as just another part of the city, almost taking its uniqueness and beauty for granted.

One of the rose gardens in Ladd's Addition

Even with the laid back culture, the new architecture, food, and art scene of the city are well refined and cutting edge. Many of the new apartment buildings, either recently or still under construction, are excellently designed or rival some of the other top design spots in the world, partly because the city seems relaxed enough to allow experimentation and concerned enough to not allow bad work to dominate. The combination of a laid back lifestyle, terrific urban planning, a gorgeous climate, and an abundance of agriculture make Portland an inspirational hotspot for designers and creatives of all disciplines.