Kelly Creek Park

Portland is full of surprises. Out Gresham way, where over 300 acres of parks await discovery, Kelly Creek Park is a quick trail through old growth cedar and lithe alder punctuated by forest floor greenery awakening in the spring warmth. Daffodils in various shades of yellow bloom like exclamation points where hikers have scattered bulbs along the trail. Winding around giant Western red cedars, undulating over the terrain the trail circles around the park and runs past a small lagoon where cattails stiffly stand at the borders offering fluffy dried fibers to nest-building birds. The distinctive call of red wing blackbirds filters through the warm spring air as we chatter in our people language along the way.

We encounter locals walking their dogs and strolling pairs of friends enjoying this neighborhood luxury, a little slice of an old forest right out their back doors. Once the deciduous trees leaf out, the surrounding houses will not be very visible from the trail. Fort construction sites indicate that children have ongoing projects nearby, boards nailed to trees and clearings littered with the remains of festivities.

Leaving the park we head for the Red Store, at one time a feed store but now a home decor shop. There are parcels of land still vacant in this rural area of Gresham, original homes and farms still in evidence but mostly being squeezed out by high density housing areas. At our hostess's home we enjoy another hiker potluck lunch, complete with soups, salads and a blueberry crisp. The comfortableness of this home put everyone at ease and the afternoon slipped quietly away while Jezebel the American shorthair cat lounged in a sun spot on the carpet.

Our snowbird members are flying and driving to tropical and desert regions for the spring, leaving the rest of us to scale the byways of upriver scenic areas. Gather your trail shoes and head into the magnificence of the Pacific Northwest. Seek new areas to explore and let us know what you discover!

Slug, a forest mascot

St. Bernard strolling the trail

Green ground

Random daffodils 

Oxalis

Old growth cedar

Lagoon

Yard pond whimsey 

Undeveloped space, for now

Original farm house

The Red Store

Planter ideas

Nursery stock farm

Drainage cover

Beautiful bloomers

Currants in bloom

Gate to the trail

Jezebel