Journalist By Nature

Sunday, March 15, 2015

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

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Garden Home Lives Up To Its Name

Magnolia tree in bloom

Unseasonal summer-like weather has blessed the Northwest recently, hurrying spring's brilliantly colorful opening act by several weeks. The yards of the Garden Home community in southwest Portland showcase the exploding pink, white, yellow and blue blooms of trees, shrubs and bulbs on well-tended larger lots. This district, established over 100 years ago, was included as a stop on the Oregon Electric Railway. East coast investors of the day envisioned grand expansion and wealth in the west and helped to bankroll this early form of transportation. This helped to bring more people to the Portland area and Garden Home in particular. Today it is a neighborhood of well-maintained homes on generous acreage, wide streets winding through the development, skirting the Portland Golf Club nearby and jumping over the roaming drainage system of Fanno Creek and its tributaries. The median price of homes here is $317,000 but one 5,800 square foot residence was on the market for $1.3 million. The six pages of sales literature were worth studying!

Trail lined with white blossoms

Nestled west of the Sylvan hill area, Garden Home boasts a lengthy trail system through a nature park, part of the Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District. The trail is paved and follows the topography of Fanno Creek. This particular sunny day the trail was in heavy use by joggers, stroller moms, dog walkers and walking groups. Signage along the way provides park history as well as directions to various streets and trails. Many of the streets in this area dead end at the creek so through traffic is challenging. Beavers are reputed to be slowing the creek flow with their dams, much to the chagrin of bordering homeowners who don't want their lots flooded.

Fanno Creek

Birds of water, marsh and land habitats were in abundance, chubby from insect consumption and eager to start their new families. Visibility was at its best with leafless trees and shrubs providing little camouflage for these feathered creatures. Bird calls played through the warm air currents as we made our way out of the park and into the housing areas. Yard services and construction equipment were actively sprucing up various properties with maintenance as well as renovation work. Neighbors we talked with were proud of their section of the city and its consistently attractive ambiance. It would be a very appealing area to live in with easy access to major highways and upscale amenities.

Breaking out of the trail at McMillan Park we stood on the sidewalk bordering the busy Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, such a noisy contrast to our nature park quietness. Across this treacherous roadway stood our lunch destination McCormick and Schmick's, a seafood specialty restaurant. Walking a quarter mile to a stoplight and pedestrian crossing seemed the safest route to arrive there. We were graciously seated in a back room where tables were set with white linen cloths, a full compliment of silverware and greeted by a handsome, black-clad waiter of a certain mature age. He adroitly managed to take our orders amid requests for separate checks, splitting plates, counting wine glasses and answering questions about the particulars of menu items. Professional in his every move, he arranged our plates without asking who ordered what and maintained a discreet surveillance of our meal. It was a pleasant and refreshing interlude to our six mile city walk.

If you can't make the entire walk, at least make a visit to the nature park and stroll along the golf course's southern border to enjoy the pleasures of this little gem in Garden Home.

Playground scene

A kid at heart!

Paved trail

Home peeking through the trees

Traffic along golf course

Currants in bloom

Creek bridge

View across the creek

Joggers add local color

Nature trail signage

Inviting view

Blooming beauty

Magnolia bloom up close

$1.3 M for sale

Century tree

First Garden Home house

Breaking through to traffic

Lunch!

Golf course border

Friday, February 27, 2015

Plio-Pleistocene Portland

Most Portland residents are likely unaware they are living in one of the few U.S. continental cities containing extinct volcanoes. These ancient eruptions are part of a vast collection of lava vents formed thousands of years ago on the eastern side of Portland's geography. Partially because of their altitudes which afford stunning vistas, best enjoyed on a clear day, these grass and tree-covered mounds have been turned into public parks. Powell Butte is one such example in southeast Portland, the second largest park after Forest Park and is comprised of over 600 acres. Mistaken in our assumption that our visit would be a mere trudge to the top for a panoramic view, we were to discover we had vastly underestimated this park's offerings.

Powell Butte Nature Park is the site of an old dairy farm, originally purchased by the Portland Water Bureau but leased to the dairyman until a 50 million gallon water reservoir was built on the site. In a joint effort between the Water Bureau, Portland Parks and Friends of Powell Butte a new visitor's center has been recently built and a nine-mile system of nature trails established. There is paved parking, restrooms, a water bubbler, signage and free access. The trails are open to foot traffic, horseback riders, mountain bikers and tour groups such as Volcano Lands Nature Tours. Trails are marked by bright yellow steel plates with laser-cutout trail names and directions. Some of the trails are still under construction, some are paved, others are compressed dirt. There is a .6-mile asphalt-paved stretch to a view point that is wheelchair accessible. One trail connects to the 40-mile Springwater Corridor trail that runs from the Portland waterfront to Gresham.

The theme of water pipe diameters inspires the stainless steel cylinder decor as well as circular inlaid pieces at various viewpoints directing your attention to the display of snow-capped mountains that comprise the Cascade Range. A broad variety of flora and fauna inhabit this park in addition to the busy stream of human and leashed canine visitors. The keen eye can spot various birds, deer, and raccoons amid the bursting blooms of hawthorne trees and wonderfully scented Western red cedar. Trickling streams wander down the slopes, not very audible in this dry winter season however. Open meadows are lined with split rail fencing and the occasional picnic table beckons visitors to stop and enjoy a snack with their view.

Two hours of vigorous and continuous hiking over hills and through woodlands allowed us to round the butte and see some near views under a cloud-laden sky. On a clear day you can see beyond the belching stacks of the paper mills of Camas/Washougal, Washington and survey the peaks of Rainier, St. Helens, Adams and Hood as well as the channel of the mighty Columbia River and many of the settlements in between. Waving a cheery adieu to the project workers we headed to a nearby hiker's home for a special celebratory lunch.

In a grand kitchen designed for social gatherings we were assigned preparation tasks for a Chinese hot pot meal. Various meats and vegetables are artistically arranged on platters where diners can make selections to simmer in a giant pan of broth, add rice noodles and seasonings and enjoy a leisurely visit during the individualized cooking process. The conviviality of group meals is so enjoyable with this particular collection of women of a certain age. We laugh, tease, share life's issues and support one another in heart and soul. We're all foodies of a sort so appreciate the finer aspects of food and drink. In the Asian theme of the meal, the hostess offered sake and mochi cake to conclude the meal and this gave us an opportunity to wish her the happiest of birthdays. Great hike, great meal, great friends!