November 2022 hiking, and a visit to the Maryhill Museum of Art

January 9, 2023 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We went on three familiar hikes, and to the Maryhill Museum of Art.

11/3 Steigerwald Wildlife Refuge, WA

This used to be our reliable close-in flat walk, for partly rainy days, where we could go to see upside down trees reflected in the lake, and often, many waterfowl. For the past couple of years, the site has undergone major reconstruction. The berm that separates these lowlands from flooding by the Columbia River has been breached in order to reconnect salmon to the Gibson Creek drainage. On our first visit back on the rerouted trails we saw a few birds and drained lakes. I will be interested to walk the rest of the trails when the project is complete.

Looking across the new Steigerwald Lake to the east.

Egret and heron

The bridge that used to have a lake under it.

Killdeer

Crossing the bridge

Trail now closed

Art trail – should be open next spring

View across the Columbia River from the berm

Geese

11/10 Angel’s Rest, OR

We save this popular close-in trail for midweek hikes. The trail zigs and zags up, through the forest, then the cliffs, to stunning panoramic views up and down the gorge, and across to the snowy Washington peaks (4.5 miles, 1500 feet).

Angel’s Rest

View to the west from the upper cliffs

Looking north across the Columbia River

Closer view of Silver Star Mountain

View to the east, northern shoreline highlighted by sunbeams

Blue jay lunch companion

Colorful twice-burned forest in the foreground.

11/14 The Labyrinth, WA

Our reliable eastern gorge hike, especially on windier days when the basalt columns give some protection. I love to visit all my favorite trees along the trail, and check the water levels in Hidden Creek (4 miles, 800′).

Approach trail – Old Hwy 8

Looking south across the Columbia River

Pools in Hidden Creek

Hidden Creek

Dry grass

Basalt cliffs

Up the labyrinth

More basalt cliffs

Favorite oak grove

Lunch view to the east

Farther up, the cliff-edge oak tree

Poderosa at the upper viewpoint

And down, past the haunted tree

Driving home toward rainy Portland through sunbeams

11/8 Maryhill Museum of Art, WA

I was still nursing a knee injury, so instead of hiking, we drove east of our usual winter hiking ground and visited the Maryhill Museum of Art. It is perched on a cliff edge on the northern side of the Columbia River Gorge, in a mansion built by Sam Hill. He was the remarkable American businessman who built railroads and roads, including some of the first roads through the Columbia River Gorge. He travelled through Europe in the early 20th century, and made many artist friends who convinced him to turn his mansion into a museum. The building was started in 1914, but not opened until 1940. It contains an eclectic selection of art, some donated by Sam Hill’s friends, some acquired later. So out in the middle of nowhere, on the edge of the Columbia River Gorge, is a museum with galleries of Rodin sculptures, gilt furniture that once belonged to the Queen of Romania, historical exhibits about Sam Hill and friends, and a large and well curated display of Native American art and artifacts. And hundreds of chess sets from all over the world. It is a beautiful collection.

Driving east out of the rain, through the Columbia River Gorge along WA 14

We accidentally parked near the service entrance, so walked to the museum from the western side.

Throne chairs, inspired by those donated to the museum by the Queen of Romania, with excellent views.

View west, to the vineyards and Columbia River

We walked around to the eastern entrance plaza.

Main entrance

Yarn-bombing installation

Dedication by the Queen of Romania

One of the historical exhibits was about pioneering modern dancer Loie Fuller, who encouraged Sam Hill to dedicate his house to art.

There is an entire gallery dedicated to the works of Auguste Rodin, the French sculptor, including a fascinating exhibit with miniatures showing each step in the process of Lost Wax Bronze Casting. We had just seen one of Rodin’s more famous pieces, the Burghers of Calais, in the Washington DC Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden, and here was a whole roomful of bronze statues, and plaster casts, working models, sketches and completed pieces.

Rodin gallery

Plaster model of The Thinker

More Rodin artwork

Another Gallery, Theater de la Mode, displays miniature mannequin collections from Paris fashion houses.

Native American Art and artifacts are on display in several galleries:

Modern jewelry

Displayed in a glass walled gallery with extensive views.

Modern paintings in another gallery,

these change seasonally.

And extensive displays of beading, basketry, stone, leather, weaving, pottery and other antiquities, organized by regions of the west. This exhibit is scheduled to be overhauled during the winter closure. (The museum is closed from midNovember to midMarch).

The last gallery we visited was the hall of chess sets – over 400, from all over the world, carved or sculpted from many different media, a dazzling display.

A life size cutout of Sam Hill stands overlooking this gallery.

As we exited the museum, we walked again along the outdoor plaza, admiring the views and outdoor art installations.

Looking down on the outdoor plaza

Aptly named “Roll and Play”, by Alisa Looney, 2007

Eastward view

View to the south, with three birds

Three birds

Walking into the wind back to our car. “Brushing” by Mike Sur, 2009.

I can’t believe I had never been here before, but I hope to return next year when they host their annual plain air exhibit.

October 2022 – Hiking

November 30, 2022 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Three mostly repeat hikes in October: Vista Ridge on Mt Hood, Indian Heaven Wilderness in Washington, and Oaks Bottom in Portland.

10/3 – Vista Ridge, Mt Hood

This is one of my favorite hikes on Mt Hood – especially during wildflower season. Today we enjoyed the fall colors in the burn zone – bright red huckleberries, white pearly everlasting, pink fireweed; and greeted a few of my haunted tree friends.

Huckleberries, pearly everlasting, and Mt Hood

Fireweed

We stopped in Wy’East basin (5800 feet) for lunch, then hiked a little higher, toward Barrett Spur.

Wy’East Basin above the Timberline Trail

Huckleberry foliage and faded wild flowers

Toward Barrett Spur and Mt Hood

North view, toward Mt Adams and Mt Rainier, behind the haze

We returned back down the Vista Ridge Trail, about 6.5 miles, 1500 feet for the day.

Pasque flowers

Huckleberry foliage

I stopped to look more closely at the fireweed – the four-petal flowers produce curly and fuzzy seedheads. On closer look, I noticed the seed casing split into four strands that curled away as the fuzzy seedheads emerged. I am not a botanist but found this fascinating.

Very few fireweed flowers still on view.

This four-part split seed caught my eye as I walked by. That is when I noticed this pattern on all the plants, though most were more fuzzy or curly, and less noticeable.

Fuzzier seeds, ready to fly.

We took a moment to look out east from Vista Ridge, toward The Pinnacle and Mt Hood, and the remains of the Dollar Lake Fire of 2011.

Farewell for the year to the haunted trees, by now knee deep in snow….

10/11 – Thomas Lake to Rock Lake to the Old Cascade Crest Trail, Indian Heaven Wilderness

A beautiful fall day. We found the huckleberry foliage still changing – some bright red, some still green, in the faded summer meadows, and no mosquitos!

Thomas Lake – Rock Lakes – Old Cascade Crest Trail Loop. About 7 miles, 800 feet.

Beautiful reflections in Heather Lake.

We continued past the first lakes on the trail, up hill, to the viewpoint of Mt St Helens,

and a glimpse of Mt Rainier.

Rock Lakes lunch stop

After lunch, we continued east beyond Rock Lakes, toward East Crater, to the junction with the Old Cascade Crest Trail. We had followed it north before, today we were trying the south trail.

There are many small lakes along this route.

The trail eventually crosses a large meadow, with a view of Gifford Peak beyond.

Looking back north toward East Crater, shortly before this trail intersects the Blue Lake Trail.

A shrinking lake near the trail junction.

At the trail junction, we headed north again to complete the loop. The Old Cascade Crest Trail is still used, and easy to walk, though it does not show up on recent trail maps.

Another peek at Mt St Helens beyond Eunice Lake on our return hike.

10/17 – Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, Portland

The standard 3 mile loop around the Wildlife Refuge, partly on the bike path, partly on dirt trails around the wetlands.

Wetlands and mausoleum mural from the bike path

Cooper’s hawk

Wood ducks

Oaks Amusement Park across the wetlands

Reflections

Hint of fall…

Later in the month we went to Washington, DC, where there were some long city/mall/museum walks, and to Shenandoah National Park, VA, where there were three other hikes, described in the next post.

September 2022 Hiking….

November 16, 2022 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

I went on three hikes in September, in Portland, Mt Adams and Indian Heaven.

9/14 – Macleay Park to Pittock Mansion: Finishing the Wildwood Trail, Portland, OR

During the early pandemic in the spring of 2020, travel was restricted. Many parks and trails were closed. We tried long neighborhood walks, but concrete is hard on the feet! I missed the dirt trails and nature. When local trails reopened, we turned to the Wildwood Trail in nearby Forest Park to keep our hiking habit going. We had hiked parts of Forest Park over the years, but usually prefer further destinations with views, waterfalls or mountain tops. The Forest Park trails are fine for nearby forest hikes, but are often crowded with trail runners and neighborhood hikers, and there aren’t many views. Nevertheless, we set a goal to try to hike the full 30 mile length of the Wildwood Trail in sections – especially after the realization set in that the pandemic restrictions were going to last longer than we first imagined. As of this month, there was one section left (not counting the section between miles 14 and 15 that is closed for repair). Early September had been too hot and/or smoky in our usual destinations to hike much, but after a day of rain we found time to hike this last section.

Upper Macleay Park Trailhead

Pittock Mansion

The views were limited on this overcast day, but the seasonal flowerbeds provided some bright colors.

Views to downtown Portland from Pittock mansion

Seasonal flower beds

We returned to our starting place, then added to our mileage by hiking a few of the trails on the nearby Audubon reserve – again a bit nondescript on this between seasons day – too late for summer flowers, too early for fall colors. Our total for the day was about 4 miles, and 700 feet.

Trail map for the Bird Sanctuary

Muddy trails

Douglas Fir deck

9/20 – Bird Creek Meadows, Mt Adams, WA

This area has been mostly closed since the 2015 Cougar Creek Fire. The Yakama people have opened the hiking trails for the month of September the last two years, and we finally made it out there this year. Our pre-fire hikes in the area were during peak wildflower season in a place where the bloom is as fine as any in the Cascades. We saw the beginnings of fall color on our hike today, while appreciating the repairs that have been made to the fire damaged trails. It was beautiful!

Our GPS track – 7 miles, 1350 feet

Bird Lake Trailhead, Mt Adams

Up toward Bluff Lake through the 2015 burn zone.

Green undergrowth

View to Mt Hood through the haze.

Bluff Lake, Mt Adams through the trees on the left.

Huckleberry foliage

Staircase Falls

Mt Adams

Hellebore, huckleberry

We reached the Hellroaring Viewpoint, then continued upward on the Climber Trail for a short way:

Hellroaring Viewpoint

Hellroaring Falls

Mt Adams Glaciers

Glacier View

Moraine and ridge toward the Climbers’ trail

Higher meadows

View east – Little Mt Adams and Heart Lake

Our turnaround point, looking north…

and looking east.

Our return hike circled through the western meadows, past Crooked Creek Falls, and then down through the burn zone again, to Bird Lake.

Gentian blooming in the huckleberry patches

Late season meadows

Crooked Creek Falls

Back down into the burn zone

Crooked Creek

Back to Bird Lake

Lookback photos from 2013 compared to 2022, looking south from the below Hellroaring Viewpoint –

August 2013

September 2022

And one of the wildflower meadows of summer 2013:

Bird Creek Meadows, Mt Adams, August 2013

9/27 – Indian Heaven Wilderness – Cultus Campground to Wapiki Lake Overlook

GPS track – about 8 miles, 1700 feet.

We had also hiked this trail before. Again, we caught the beginnings of the fall colors in the higher elevations, and in the more open meadows and huckleberry fields.

Trailhead

Panorama looking north from the shoulder of Bird Mountain

Sawtooth Mountain and Mt Rainier

Mt Adams

We passed Cultus Lake on our way to the Wapiki Lake overlook:

Cultus lake

Lemei Rock

Huckleberry foliage

A very few late huckleberries

Wapiki Lake Overlook

Mt Adams

Wapiki Lake

On our return hike, the smoke had blown in from a nearby fire, obscuring the mountain views we had enjoyed earlier…..

Toward Sawtooth and Mt Rainier

Toward Mt Adams

We were too early for full fall color. We passed this same pond near Cultus Lake last year, in early October, after there had been rain. I remember spending a lot of time here marveling at the colors. This year, late September, only a little color and no pond yet.

Pond near Cultus Lake, October 8, 2021

Same pond area, September 27, 2022

It is lovely to see these places in different seasons!

I am catching up on blog posts – on to October…

Four views of Wy’east, August, 2022

September 7, 2022December 15, 2022 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Our four August hikes all had views to Mt Hood and to some of the other Cascade volcanoes.

from Lookout Mountain

Mts Hood and Jefferson from Three Corner Rock, WA

from Elk Meadows

from the East Eliot Moraine near Cooper Spur Shelter

Location Map

August 4 – Lookout Mountain

We took this short hike with our daughter on a hot day. There were late season wildflowers, views from Mt Rainier to the Three Sisters, and a head on view of the east side of Mt Hood.

High Prairie Trailhead

Paintbrush, Sitka valerian, and asters in the meadows

Mt Hood from the trail pinnacle. Elk Meadows are on the other side of the ridge in the middle distance.

Mt Jefferson and the Sisters to the south

Scarlet gillia, Oregon sunshine, buckwheat and penstemon on the upper slopes

August 16 – Three Corner Rock, WA

Another hot day with a slow pace. Again we could see three Cascade volcanoes to the north, and Mts Hood and Jefferson to the south beyond the telecommunication towers. Most of the way we were on the Pacific Crest Trail. We were passed by about twenty north bound hikers on their first Washington trail section.

Approaching Three Corner Rock

View south to Mts Hood and Jefferson

View north to Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier and Mt Adams

August 22 – Cloud Cap to the Timberline Trail High Point

A favorite walk, up the glacier moraine, toward the Eliot Glacier, then along the edge of the sky to the High Point on the Timberline Trail. Every year I that am lucky enough to hike here I take the same pictures, but they are always meaningful to me!

Mt Hood comes into view after a short, steep hike up to the crest of the East Eliot Moraine.

Mt Hood, Eliot Glacier

Washington Cascade Peaks to the north – St Helens, Rainier and Adams.

This year I noticed a humongous boulder perched on the edge of the moraine…

We continued up the moraine, taking in the Eliot Glacier views before turning south toward the Cooper Spur Shelter.

Foot of the Eliot Glacier in the valley

Foot of the mountain glacier

crevasses

a waterfall

more crevasses

Peak up close

From the Shelter we walked south on the Timberline Trail, up to the high point at about 7400 feet.

Cooper Spur Shelter

Not much snow left on the trail

Looking up about 4000 feet to the top of the mountain

Penstemon

Ground squirrel

View south from our rest stop on the ridge near the trail high point. The Timberline Trail goes down toward Gnarl Ridge. Mt Jefferson and the Three Sisters are on the horizon.

While looking back up at Mt Hood from the high point I could hear water flowing out from the snow banks.

Melting snow on this hot day.

We made our way back along the edge of the sky…

We continued down the Timberline Trail below the shelter instead of going up to the moraine.

Long slope between the peak and Cooper Spur Shelter.

Our down trail goes below the shelter,

toward the Cloud Cap campground.

Near Tilly Jane Creek, I looked up at the East Eliot Moraine and saw the precarious boulder I had noticed on the way up.

Precarious boulder perched on the edge of the East Eliot Moraine

Will it still be here next year?

Late season gentian and monkey flowers in Tilly Jane Creek

August 30 – Elk Meadows

Our first time to this location in a while. Most of the meadows were beyond bloom, except for late season gentians, fireweed, and goldenrod.

Clark Creek, with a beautiful bridge.

Newton Creek is more difficult to cross.

This log was fairly easy to cross, but more difficult if one has fear of heights or balance problems. One of the reasons we haven’t been here for a while.

The seven to nine switchbacks after Newton Creek can be a shady hanging garden. On this hot day, most of the flowers were past bloom, but we did appreciate the shade.

Third switchback viewpoint

Nearby crosshatch tree

Fringed grass of Parnassus and aster

Dried out cow parsley, aster and goldenrod

Lunch view from the first meadow opening – plenty of gentian in the mostly dry meadows.

A scrub jay watched us eat lunch.

After lunch we circled round the perimeter trail, then went to the shelter in the middle of Elk Meadows. We saw plenty of aster seed heads, some arnica in the shady areas,

also fireweed,

and false hellebore.

Wide meadows near the shelter had swaths of goldenrod.

View back to the shelter, and to the burned forest atop Blue Grass Ridge.

Mt Hood close up!

We returned the way we came, back down the switchbacks, over the log bridge, planning to return sometime soon to see fall colors, and maybe to extend our hike up to Gnarl Ridge and the Timberline Trail.

Hiking in May 2022

May 31, 2022September 9, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Our four hikes in May were all repeat hikes for us, east out of the Portland rain, to see spring wildflowers in the Columbia River Gorge.

5/4 – Tom McCall Point

One of our favorite hikes (3.5 miles, 1000 feet) with wildflowers and mountain and river views.

Balsamroot and lupine on the lower plateau

Fern-leaf desert parsley and poison oak in Parsley Alley

Paintbrush and balsamroot all the way up the mountain

Chocolate lilies

View to Lyle and Rowena Crest

Mt Adams

View to the Cherry Orchard cliffs from the top of Tom McCall Point

And, a flock of American pelicans flying upriver…we’ve never seen that before!

5/10 – Bitterroot Trail at Catherine Creek

Another easy loop (3.5 miles, 800 feet), my favorite bitterroot flowers in bloom, and amazing views the whole way.

Bitterroot blooming on the rocky balds near the trail head.

Poppies and bachelor buttons along the road

Bitteroot, camas and monkey flowers near the fairy pools.

Bitterroot – Lewisia rediviva

Cluster lilies, orchards of Mosier

Meadowlark

Rosy plectritis and bitterroot

Upriver view at the Balsamroot cairn

Downriver view, giant anvil cloud southeast of Mt Hood

Top of Rowland Wall. I found that one giant cluster of bitterroot that I always look for.

Giant bitterroot cluster, not in bloom;

Another beautiful bitterroot cluster, in bloom.

5/13 – Weldon Wagon Road

A hike with friends along gorgeous slopes of blooming balsam root flowers (5 miles, 1200 feet).

Lower oak woodland

Western tanager flying near the balsamroot

The open slopes in bloom

Open slopes

Parsley and balsamroot

Flowery meadows along the trail

Lupine dew

Balsamroot

Dogwood in the lower forest

5/26 – Hamilton Mountain

This can be a more difficult loop hike (8 miles, and 2200 feet), but we chose to go just to the upper set of rocky switchbacks, then return the way we came (5 miles, 1550 feet). I got to see the smaller cousin of the bitterroot – Lewisia columbiana, on the upper cliffs just as the weather was starting to turn.

Lots of white flowers blooming in the forest

Equisetum (horsetail)

Rodney Falls

Pool of the Winds

View across the gorge from the Little Hamilton summit meadows

Larkspur, parsley, and chickweed blooming down the slope

Bonneville Dam and the eastern gorge

Hamilton Mountain- we are only going to the upper rocky switchback section, circled.

Most of the Lewisia columbiana was not blooming yet,

but there were some patches on a sunny cliff.

Chocolate lilies, phlox and parsley on the lower cliffs

We felt a smattering of rain as we hiked down, but managed to sneak this hike out from under the nose of the weather gods. The real rain didn’t start until we were on our way home.

April 2022

May 3, 2022September 11, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We returned from our east coast trip early in the month, happy to see our bulbs and crabapple tree in full bloom.

Checker lilies

Tulips

Crabapple

On April 11th we had an unusual late season snowstorm covering all the blossoms. It melted within a day, and though hail, wind and rain hit sporadically that week, we were also treated to several rainbows.

Snow on the crabapple blossoms

and tulips

Hail and crabapple blossoms

Sunny deluge

Rainbow

We hiked the Lyle Cherry Orchard West Loop on April 6th, – our second time on this new trail. Today we saw the early spring flowers, the always spectacular views, and a lot less wind compared to our hike here last December!

Eastern gorge, red poison oak beginning to leaf out.

Death camas in abundance throughout the lower plateau.

Death camus

Mt Adams from the upper trail

Pink filaree carpeting the upper oak groves

shooting stars

glacier lilies

fiddleneck

View to the western gorge and early balsam root blooms.

Balsamroot

On April 15th, we took a quick loop through Tryon Creek on our annual spring hike to see the trillium and skunk cabbage….

trillium

skunk cabbage

salmonberry

Big leaf maple, Tryon Creek

April 21st to 27th we travelled to the southwest, Nevada and Utah, the subject of my next post.

On return to Portland, the neon green of our city glowed from the airplane window. I was pleased to see the dogwoods and azaleas in the neighborhood in full bloom.

Tulips

My knitting this month:

April Gnome – Gno Fun Like Gnome Fun (Sarah Schira) – made for an east coast friend.

Backcountry hat – Guild service project

Morning Dew hat – Guild service project

Mercury Sox

New yarn from Local Yarn Shop Day

And…I celebrate the approval of our new Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson…though her presence will probably not be enough to thwart the regressive decisions looming….

The wisdom of Ruth Bader Ginsberg

March, 2022

April 10, 2022September 13, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

March was cold, rainy, windy, with a few sun breaks and early flowers:

camellias

hyacinths

cherries

plums

star magnolias

bare branches

We went on three repeat hikes:

Memaloose Hills – March 3rd:

Cold and windy at the Memaloose Overlook

Looking to the westward cliffs…

Zooming in on the blue heron rookery.

Chatfield Hill – mostly still dormant,

with a few yellow bells.

We tried a (new to us) side loop up the lower hill on the return hike.

White River with micro spikes – March 11th:

Clouds wafted across Mt Hood throughout the hike.

Our usual lunch spot – snow level is low!

Return hike – lenticular clouds forming…

The Labyrinth – March 16th:

Plenty of water in the Old Hwy. 8 waterfall; Mt Hood on the far horizon.

Slightly frozen grass widows.

Labyrinth waterfall

Yellow bells and buttercups

My favorite oak grove

Our guide Ponderosa

View from the guide tree

Early yellow parsley

The haunted tree

Knitting and sewing:

Quilt for my new niece, born at the end of the month.

‘Brave Enough’ Hitchhiker – yarn by Knitted Wit, pattern by Martina Behm

Gnome Pun Intended, pattern by Sara Schira, Year of Gnomes, scrap yarn.

Ripples Make Waves hat for the Guild Service Project; pattern by Casapinka; Knit Picks Hawthorne yarn.

I started a new pair of socks for travel knitting.

At the end of the month we flew to the east coast to visit family – that will be my next post.

February 2022

March 2, 2022November 17, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

I knitted a few things this month…

Goose Hollow Shawl, Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery KAL

Four hats for the guild service project

A flotilla of gnomes, sent to Washington DC, with survival provisions.

I started a baby quilt…

The front yard bulbs are blooming despite a late hard freeze.

We went on three local hikes to familiar areas, in addition to one big adventure to Palm Spring National Park in southern California (separate post)….

Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, Portland, Oregon, February 3

An easy 3 mile loop with lots of wildlife sightings.

Wildlife mural on the mausoleum

Blue heron mural

The lake, downtown Portland in the distance

Otter

Cormorant

Otter

Mallards

Coyote Wall, Washington, February 18th

5 mile loop, with friends, on a sunny day with only a light breeze.

Coyote Wall

Lunch view to Mt Hood

Lunch view to the eastern gorge

The early flowers:

yellow parsley

grass widows

gold stars

salt and pepper

Columbia Desert Parsley

spring whitlow grass

Catherine Creek, Washington, February 25

A week later, a cold snap had frozen most of the grass widows at nearby Catherine Creek. We walked a few miles, exploring some side trails we hadn’t tried before.

Fields of grass widows – some shriveled in the cold. Hoping many of these will bloom when it warms up!

A new to us side trail brought us to these rock formations.

The arch

The road

Dozens of robins bobbed and hopped in the surrounding meadows and bushes.

robin

Western bluebird

We visited our favorite fairy ponds, which were frozen,

And found a few blooming grass widows nearby.

grass widows

bitterroot foliage

Snow dusted eastern view

Meanwhile…The days have been galloping by. I have created a few things to justify the time, of which there is never enough. Elsewhere in the world all is upheaval, war and death. A power grab, unexplainable access to power; the code of civility is a construct…if we don’t all buy in then it cannot exist.

January 2022 in Portland

February 4, 2022January 25, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

The first couple of weeks were very cold, followed by many days of rain dripping down the windows, yarn loops sliding by on the needles, and just a few sun breaks. A tsunami from Tonga, the Omicron surge just beginning to decline, a trip to Joshua Tree cancelled…another pandemic month in Portland.

Hikes:

1/9/2022 Wildwood Trail to Pittock Mansion in Portland – A rare sunny day – everyone out on the trails – we continued our section hike of the Wildwood Trail, completing about 3 more miles as we hiked up and back to Pittock Mansion from the arboretum, crossing the new Barbara Walker Bridge for the first time.

Up until last year, hikers had to scurry across the very busy Burnside Street.

Barbara Walker Bridge.

Urban trail graffiti

We reached the 1914 Pittock Mansion, and walked around to the viewing areas…

Pittock Mansion

Views from the property to the Cascade Mountains…

Mt Hood

Portland and Mt Hood

Mt St Helens

Mt Rainier beyond Mt St Helens

Returning back over the Barbara Walker Crossing…

1/12/2022 Eagles and snow near Lyle, WA – Our annual trip to see the eagles at the Balfour/Klickitat Preserve:

Calm Columbia River looking east from the Hood River Bridge.

Snowy ground near Coyote Wall.

We walked to the eagle viewing area near the mouth of the Klickitat River:

Osage oranges along the trail

Frozen lakeshore, eagle flying above the island

Eagle and ducks

Looking up Klickitat Canyon – white eagle heads in the trees.

Bald eagle

Bald eagle

We saw more than twenty today.

Looking south to Tom McCall Point.

Next we walked some of the trails at nearby Catherine Creek.

Snowy slopes at Catherine Creek

Frozen Fairy Ponds

The arch

Mt Hood and the orchards of Mosier

Eastern Gorge

Grass widow foliage, but no blooms.

The waterfall.

1/18/2022 Swans at Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge, WA – We walked the 2.5 mile Oaks to Wetland Trail.

Swans in the distance, from the railroad bridge

Fungus

Belted kingfisher

Trumpeter swans

Then we drove the auto tour, looking for more swans.

Plenty of tundra and trumpeter swans in the northern lake…

American coot

Northern harrier next to the road.

1/28/2020 Chehalem Ridge Nature Park, OR – Our first visit to this new park south of Forest Grove. We walked almost six miles on the trails, quiet today with a few views of the distant mountains.

Chehalem Ridge Nature Park

Mt St Helens and Mt Adams

Farmlands and Coast Range to the west

Mt Rainier and Mt St Helens

Neighborhood:

On our first sunny day, I went outside for what seemed like the first time in weeks, to see blue sky and low angle winter shadows:

1/16/2022 – Another sunny day, we met friends and walked a long loop on the hilly streets south of downtown Portland.

Mt Hood from SW Portland

Mt Hood and the Tilikum Bridge over the Willamette River

By the end of the month, viburnum and crocus were beginning to bloom…

Viburnum

First crocus blooms of the year

Hexagonal sidewalk

Knitting:

I did get a lot of knitting done this month, since the outdoors were so inclement. And I am still meeting once or twice weekly with my knitting group over Zoom.

Winding yarn on my new swift.

Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Shawl, in progress

New pile of yarn from the guild to make hats for our service project.

I used online tutorials to learn Tunisian crochet.

I finished a languishing WIP – The Ella Improv Cowl, by Cecelia Campochiaro, using marling and sequence knitting techniques.

A Gnoah gnome, (Imagined Landscapes), sent via Intergalactic Gnome Transport to the burgeoning colony in Washington DC.

Addenda:

The volcano in Tonga!

The snow in DC.

Other adventures – January 10th was the 4th anniversary of my pituitary surgery. With constant vigilance and good doctors, all my hormone levels are now within the normal range. I feel healthy and strong and grateful for early diagnosis and the miracles of modern medical science, especially the monthly injections that keep the acromegaly in check.

On to February – pandemic numbers are going down in our neck of the woods – we may actually travel somewhere – stay tuned.

12/14/2021 Waiting for the winter solstice…

December 17, 2021 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes near Vancouver Lake, WA

I had heard rumors, and we had a day with some sunshine amidst the weeks of rain…

Sandhill cranes and snow geese near Frenchman’s Bar

We found a couple of view points through the berms and fencing around the Columbia Land Trust cornfields where we could see the flocks of birds wintering there. We saw the cloud of white geese stir up, then settle.

Sandhill cranes were grazing near the cornfield, often flying in groups of three…

We were using our zoom lenses, far from the birds, but could hear the honking of the geese, and that special purring trill of the sand hill cranes. And were grateful to see and hear them!

Meanwhile…

11/3 Steigerwald Wildlife Refuge, WA

11/10 Angel’s Rest, OR

11/14 The Labyrinth, WA

11/8 Maryhill Museum of Art, WA

10/3 – Vista Ridge, Mt Hood

10/11 – Thomas Lake to Rock Lake to the Old Cascade Crest Trail, Indian Heaven Wilderness

10/17 – Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, Portland

9/14 – Macleay Park to Pittock Mansion: Finishing the Wildwood Trail, Portland, OR

9/20 – Bird Creek Meadows, Mt Adams, WA

9/27 – Indian Heaven Wilderness – Cultus Campground to Wapiki Lake Overlook

August 4 – Lookout Mountain

August 16 – Three Corner Rock, WA

August 22 – Cloud Cap to the Timberline Trail High Point

August 30 – Elk Meadows

5/4 – Tom McCall Point

5/10 – Bitterroot Trail at Catherine Creek

5/13 – Weldon Wagon Road

5/26 – Hamilton Mountain

Memaloose Hills – March 3rd:

White River with micro spikes – March 11th:

The Labyrinth – March 16th:

Knitting and sewing:

Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, Portland, Oregon, February 3

Coyote Wall, Washington, February 18th

Catherine Creek, Washington, February 25

Hikes:

Neighborhood:

Knitting:

Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes near Vancouver Lake, WA

New York Times notice today: