Living in the Northwest

New Edge is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, nestled on the banks of the beautiful Columbia River. Vancouver is considered part of the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, with a population totaling 1.7 million. Elevations vary from a few feet above sea level to 11,235 feet. The Vancouver/Portland metropolitan area offers the best of two worlds: the friendly personality of a small community and the interests of a large city.

Year-round activities are always abundant. The view of the Cascades to the east is fabulous, most notably Mount Hood, which provides year-round recreational activities from skiing to hiking. Vancouver and Portland are divided by the Columbia River, which provides many opportunities for water activities. This area boasts a mild climate with summer temperatures rarely over 80 degrees and winter temperatures rarely below 40 degrees. Spring comes early and fall comes late, and the gentle rain keeps the area green and lush.

Outdoor Activities

Outdoor recreation offers camping, fishing, hiking, river rafting, biking, skiing, wind surfing, and kite flying. The greater Portland Metropolitan area has 9,400 acres of parks, including the smallest park in the world (Mill Ends Park) and the largest urban wilderness (Forest Park). The area offers many spectator sports, from a NBA team (Portland Trail Blazers), to A-League professional soccer (Portland Timbers), to minor league hockey and baseball teams (WHL's Portland Winter Hawks and Padres' AAA Portland Beavers).

Cultural Activities

The Portland/Vancouver area offers numerous art galleries and museums, a world-class symphony and opera, as well as a number of theater groups and jazz clubs. Whether you're looking for the latest restaurant review or searching for something to do, check out www.oregonlive.com or www.pdxguide.com for current activities.

Washington Attractions

Mount Saint Helens
May 18, 1980. On that fateful day, Mount St. Helens Volcano in Washington exploded violently after two months of intense earthquake activity and intermittent, relatively weak eruptions, causing the worst volcanic disaster in the recorded history of the United States.

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
Fort Vancouver was the administrative headquarters and main supply depot for the Hudson's Bay Company's fur trading operations in the immense Columbia Department. Under the leadership of John McLoughlin, the fort became the center of political, cultural, and commercial activities in the Pacific Northwest. The site is beautifully restored, and visitors can tour the reconstructed fort site or attend living history demonstrations in the Kitchen, Blacksmith Shop, Carpenter Shop, and period garden.

Pearson Field Air Museum
The air museum is located on historic Pearson Field, the oldest, continuously active airfield in the West. The museum, which is relatively new, is the first step in a three-phase project to recreate a pre-WWII Army Air Corps Field that existed at Pearson Field in the 1920s and 1930s. The museum exhibits and displays highlight the pioneering days of aviation in the Northwest.

Oregon Attractions

Portland Art Museum
Founded in 1892, the Portland Art Museum is the region's oldest and largest visual and media arts center and one of Oregon's greatest cultural assets. The Museum's treasures span 35 centuries of international art and offer one the most comprehensive collections on the West Coast.

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
Step through the doors of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) and enter a world of discovery and imagination. This playground for the mind includes hands-on fun, live demonstrations, a planetarium, laser shows, laboratory experiments, and classes and camps for all ages. Climb aboard the USS Blueback submarine, experience the state-of-the art OMNIMAX® Theater and check out the exhibit hall for national touring exhibitions.

Oregon Zoo
Our zoo began in the back of a Portland pharmacy in 1887 and has seen a rich 100 years of history, and there are great plans for the future. The zoo is 64 acres, has 1,029 animals representing 200 species. The annual attendance is about one million. There are nine major exhibits, an elephant museum, and a variety of summer concerts and shows.

Columbia Gorge
Experience some of the most spectacular scenery in America and re-live the history of the Lewis and Clark route, the Oregon Trail, the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area and in the wake of the historic Great Sternwheeler era.