November 2021 report…

December 4, 2021 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

A month that sped by, interludes of rain and wind and another atmospheric river, a few hikes, some knitting, and a family Thanksgiving celebration indoors…

Hikes:

November 5th – Wildwood Trail, miles 0 to 1.5, Portland, OR

On a sunny afternoon, we walked the first section of the Wildwood Trail as part of a 3 mile loop. We saw some late fall color, a bald eagle, and a few other interesting trees.

liquidambar

oak

bald eagle

Redwood trees

Huggable!

Monkey puzzle trees

Not huggable!

I only have about 3 miles left to have completed all 30 miles of the trail.

November 10th – Catherine Creek – Bitterroot/Stringbean/Rowland Wall trails, WA

Another 4.5 mile loop on a sunny day in the eastern Gorge, Washington side.

Up the Bitterroot Trail, view to Catherine Creek Arch.

Oak groves on the west side of Rowland Wall.

Spotted towhee

Lunch view to the east toward Rowland Wall

another towhee?

Handsome old tree snag

Westward view

Back over Rowland Wall

Orchards of Mosier

We took a quick stop to check out the bald eagle nesting grounds on the nearby Klickitat River, knowing it was probably too early to see them.

No bald eagles yet,

but plenty of Osage Oranges,

and some small birds in the bushes.

Three bushtits

Spotted towhee

November 18th – Deschutes River Trail, OR

A two hour drive to get out of the rain – a pleasant 5 mile walk with friends…

Canada geese near the trailhead

The river level is high!

Some fall colors along the banks

Cliff views as we start uphill…

View back to the river mouth.

November 23rd – Stonehenge, WA

Again we drove east, looking for good weather. We found sun, but too much wind! We drove through the wind power installations in the hills, then stopped for our lunch break at the Stonehenge replica/ WWI Memorial near Maryhill, WA.

Rainbow and white caps on the Columbia River, from the Hood River Bridge.

Driving through wind power country…

Stonehenge Memorial out on a bluff over the Columbia River…

West toward Hood River

Eastward views

North…

Sun on the cliffs near Lyle, WA, as we drive back west into the rain.

Thanksgiving:

We celebrated with friends,

Thanksgiving table, 2021

Some turkeys were not eaten

while this bird feasted on the rudbeckia seedheads in our front yard:

Knitting

Mostly on a brioche project. I have become quite experienced at repairing knitted purls and vice versa.

Neighborhood

Many walks during the dry intervals. Leaves saying goodbye…

and this guy looking to the future…

The rest of October, 2021: knitting, neighborhood, more hikes…

November 3, 2021 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

A transitional month – the last of the summer flowers, leaves turning and falling, more rain, an atmospheric river event. We got our Covid booster shots, are poised for reentry, again, again, again, again….

Knitting, etc:

I knitted some little creatures – a gnome, three cats and a witch, and finished a pair of socks. My collection of twelve hats and a cowl are blocked and ready for donation to a local women’s shelter. I sewed potholders and a door light curtain for my daughter.

Witch and Cat (Susan B Anderson)

Mystery gnome Gnorwen (Sarah Schira)

Twelve hats and a cowl for donation

Weaving Socks (verybusymonkey)

New potholders for a gift

Tiny Speckled Window Cat (Sara Elizabeth Kellner) for a gift

Another Tiny Window Cat for me

Around the neighborhood:

Colors of the season:

Sunflowers

Crabapples

Two more hikes, besides our Mt Adams and Eagle Creek adventures:

With more frequent rain in western Oregon, we go east of the mountains, beyond the rain shadow.

10/21/2021 Tom McCall Point, Oregon: Orange oak trees, views of Mt Adams and Mt Hood, and a surprise viewing of a buck near the top of the mountain.

Tom McCall Point

Parsley Alley

Oak leaves

Oak tree

Memaloose Hills

Mt Adams, Washington slopes

Mt Adams

Mt Hood

Buck

Dried balsam root and puffy clouds

Summit view

10/27/2021 The Labyrinth, Washington: A saunter with our son through some of my favorite basalt piles and oak groves on an overcast day with sun breaks.

Oak grove

Orchards of Mosier

Friendly tree

Columbia River Gorge

New Zealand Albatross update: The chick Tiaki that I watched in the webcam from the time it was laid as an egg last fall, to its fledging in September 2021, has flown across the South Pacific Ocean to the coast of South America.

Screenshot from the NZ/DOC tracking page.

And some inspiration for staying positive…

Internet meme – author unknown.

Three Fall Hikes near Mt Adams, WA Oct. 6-8, 2021

October 26, 2021 / margaretquilts / 3 Comments

We stayed two nights in Trout Lake, Washington, to be closer to some far flung trailheads in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The distance may not be far, in miles, but the nature of the roads requires slow and patient driving. The trails were beautiful, in their fall colors, despite a a bit of rain and early snow.

Trail location map

Lewis River Falls – October 6th

Knowing it would probably rain, we chose a waterfall hike through the forest. This area is extremely popular in summer. However, on this rainy fall day, we had the trail entirely to ourselves beyond the Lower Falls Overlooks near the campground.

Lower Falls: We looked from above, then from one of the downstream side trails.

Lower Falls from the overlook

Closer view of the holes in the rocky platform

Fallen leaves near the downstream viewpoint

The Lower Falls were mesmerizing:

Lower Lewis River Falls

We walked back upstream along the Lewis River for about three miles, toward the Upper Falls. We passed the Lower Falls again:

Lower Falls with a bit of fall color

We found a beach during a pause in the rain for our lunch break.

Lunch rock

Rock hopper nearby

We continued upstream to the Middle Falls:

Rainy trail – the trees sheltered us much of the time.

Middle Lewis River Falls

The main channel cuts into the rocky bench below the falls.

We passed Copper Creek Falls, a tributary to the Lewis River:

Copper Creek Falls

We paused for a rest at the Upper Falls lower viewpoint:

Upper Lewis River Falls

From here we turned back, retracing our steps through the woods, quite satisfied that we have seen most of the Lewis River Falls.

Sun breaking through on the return hike.

We drove on various Gifford Pinchot National Forest roads to our lodging in Trout Lake. These roads were very slow going, shifting from paved to gravel and extremely potholed!

Killen Creek Meadows, Mt Adams – October 7th

We woke to a glorious blue sky day! The mountain was out, and we looked forward to our hike to Killen Creek Meadows on the northwest flanks of Mt Adams.

Mt Adams from Trout Lake

The Killen Creek Meadows to High Camp trail begins in the forest, then emerges into tiers of meadows. We started at about 4500 feet elevation, ascending to about 6000 feet on the 12,281 foot tall stratovolcano.

Lots of red huckleberry bushes along the trail.

Fresh snow from yesterday’s storm began at about 5200 feet.

In one forest opening we could see Mt Rainier to the north.

The open meadows provide great views of Mt Adams:

We reached the junction of the Pacific Crest Trail and the High Camp trail at lunch time, after hiking 3.5 miles. The snow was getting deeper, so we decided this would be our turnaround point. We did meet one northbound hiker, Tortoise, while we rested there.

Trail junction/lunch stop

High Camp is somewhere up on this ridge

Sparkling snow

We made our way back, admiring the views and the foliage.

Clouds forming in the afternoon

Huckleberries in the snow

Killen Creek Meadows are known for summer wildflowers, and we plan to return for a future summer adventure.

Takhlakh Lake is not far from the Killen Creek Trailhead. We stopped by for the iconic view on our way back to Trout Lake.

Mt Adams from Takhlakh Lake

Glacier close ups

Northern flank

An ice cave?

Adams Glacier

Hummocky topography on the south flank

Bird Mountain Loop, Indian Heaven Wilderness – October 8th

We chose this hike on the northeast side of Indian Heaven Wilderness for our last day. Clouds were coming in, but we had excellent conditions for seeing lots of lovely fall foliage around the meadows and lakes. The trail begins in the forest, and heads up hill to the flanks of Bird Mountain.

Once again, our trail leads through red huckleberry foliage.

From the shoulder of Bird Mountain, we got views of surrounding peaks, near and far.

Mt Adams to the east

Goat Rocks to the northeast

Sawtooth Mtn, with Mt Rainier in the distance

Scree slope beneath Bird Mountain, near our return trail this afternoon.

Continuing south, we would pass near Lemei Rock.

Beautiful foliage, mushrooms, small lakes appeared in the meadows along our trail.

Mountain Ash

Small lake

Mushroom

We stopped by this small unnamed lake to eat lunch and admire the reflections and colors.

We took the side trail to Deep Lake, passing the Cultus Lake outlet on the way.

Cultus Lake from the Deep Lake Trail

Deep Lake

Back on the main trail, we passed Cultus Lake before taking the junction toward the Pacific Crest Trail and Clear Lake.

Cultus Lake

Clear Lake

Back on the Pacific Crest Trail, northbound

One of the scree slopes on the west side of Bird Mountain.

Another unnamed lake by the trail.

We crossed back over the northern shoulder of Bird Mountain, where we could see some views again, before descending through the scree slopes back to the trailhead. Lots of late blooming flowers and seedheads in this area.

Sawtooth Mountain, from Bird Mountain

Mt Adams

Descending the scree slope – rougher trail in here

Seedheads

The very last lupine of summer.

This was a very successful trip – three new trails for us, and more added to our list for the future. We’d hiked more than 22 miles, and 4000 feet elevation, and fully immersed ourselves in the autumn foliage.

Artist Point trails near Mt Baker, WA, September 12 – 15, 2021

October 21, 2021 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

We stayed in a condo near the small town of Glacier, WA and drove to trailheads near Artist Point each day. During previous visits, we had some lovely hikes, but were impeded by snowed-in trails in August of 2010, and rain in October of 2015. We felt lucky to have a good weather window this trip.

Our four hiking trails – the Ptarmigan Ridge and Chain of Lakes Trails share the same trail from Artist Point for the first mile.

September 12 – Bagley Lakes

The cloud level was just above the Bagley Lakes – no mountain views today, and a bit of rain, but not many people either.

Hiking down the glaciated columnar basalts to the lakes

Mountain ash, pearly everlasting, and clouds

Lower Bagley Lake, asters

Bridge across Upper Bagley Lake outlet

First we hiked partway around Upper Bagley Lake:

Small waterfall and late paintbrush along the trail

Huckleberry bushes turning red

Fringed grass of parnassus in abundance!

Upper Bagley Lake shore and meadows. On our previous visit this area was full of snow.

We turned back and walked along the southern shore of Lower Bagley Lake:

Meadows full of fringed grass of parnassus – previously only seen rarely by me!

Bridge over the check dam at the lower end of Lower Bagley Lake.

We returned along the north shore of Lower Bagley Lake,

Columnar basalt waterfall

Cascade between the lakes

Pool above the cascade

Fireweed

then climbed back up the glaciated basalt surface, having completed the 3 mile loop, clouds lifting just a bit.

On our drive down the road, we stopped at the Picture Lakes – no mountain views today, but plenty of colorful wildflowers and foliage in the surrounding meadows.

Picture Lake

I realized the foliage colors are all there in the Hitchhiker Shawl I am knitting.

September 13 – Ptarmigan Ridge

When we arrived at the Artist Point trailhead, Mt Baker was out, though hiding a bit behind fast-moving clouds.

Mt Baker from Artist Point

We started along the first mile of trail that is carved into a high cirque, toward the saddle where the Ptarmigan Ridge trail begins.

Trail along the cirque

Saddle, Mt Baker beyond the clouds.

From the saddle, we dropped down into another cirque, then back up to Ptarmigan Ridge, heading toward Coleman Pinnacle.

Hiking up the next cirque to the ridge.

Ptarmigan Ridge

Rock hopping bird

View along the Ptarmigan Ridge trail

Closer view of our next saddle

Once over that saddle, we hiked toward Coleman Pinnacle.

Coleman Pinnacle

Glacial striations

Hiking up the barren, glaciated surface.

We were high enough to look down on Goat Lake,

Goat Lake

but the mountain remained elusive. One shoulder peeked out, giving us our best view for the day.

Looking for the mountain

Mt Baker’s shoulder

Glacier close ups

Meanwhile, I was also admiring the foliage colors, and the sea of lily seed heads. This must have been an amazing wildflower meadow a few weeks ago.

Lily and pasque flower

Lily and huckleberry

The clouds became thicker, so we decided to turn back, after 4.5 miles.

Another look at Goat Lake.

Goat Lake, a few people for scale.

The clouds parted for a minute, giving us a glimpse of this outlet valley below.

One last look back at Mt Baker before we turned the corner at the high saddle.

Returning along Ptarmigan Ridge…

Partridge foot, Happy Bunny Butte

Trail across the western cirque toward the saddle at Table Mountain

Back along the eastern cirque, Mt Shuksan still under clouds

Marmot crossing

Almost back to the trailhead, Mt Shuksan beginning to peek out.

We hiked 9 miles, 1500 feet for the day. We had packed food in our car, just in case the sunset looked promising – one never knows in the mountains.

September 13 – Artist’s Point Sunset / Huntoon Point

We rested for a while in the trailhead area, and were rewarded with more cloud clearing, and some beautiful sunset views. We walked along the Huntoon Point Trail for about a mile, watching the sky, the glaciers, the reflections in the several ponds and tarns along the way. A lovely evening.

Mt Shuksan:

The peak

Glaciers

Tarn and trail between Huntoon Point and Mt Shuksan

More stunning reflections

Last look.

Mt Baker:

Mt Baker; Coleman Pinnacle, which we walked around earlier today, in the foreground.

September 14 – Chain of Lakes

The mountains were out at the trailhead under a higher cloud cover, rain pending…

Mt Baker

Mt Shuksan

Cascades to the north

Knowing it might rain by afternoon, we started out on the Chain of Lakes Trail…

Cirque trail

Today we can see the Cascade peaks to the south, and Baker Lake below,

and the glaciers on Mt Baker

Crossing the stone ledges in the cirque

Fireweed and Mt Baker, and our trail junction in the saddle.

From the saddle, we had a better view than yesterday of the Ptarmigan Ridge trail.

Ptarmigan Ridge trail

Today we are going north, down the scree slope below Table Mountain, into the Chain of Lakes basin.

We passed by four lakes in the basin…

Mazama Lake

Stream between Mazama and Iceberg Lakes

Iceberg Lake

Hayes Lake

We followed the side trail around Hayes Lake, toward Arbuthnot Lake, and found shelter under a few trees to eat lunch just as the rain began.

Hayes Lake and Table Mountain

Lunch spot view of Hayes and Arbuthnot Lakes

Closer view of Arbuthnot Lake

The rain was beginning in earnest, so we turned around to retrace our steps, walking quickly as conditions got worse.

Mushroom forest

Outlet stream

By the time we were hiking back up the scree slope, I was getting pretty tired, after three days of hiking. I paused, and heard a whistle, and saw a marmot down on the rocks below the trail.

Marmot giving me the side eye as they enjoy their shower.

We still had more than a mile to go in the pouring rain, no more photos today. But we were very happy with our three days of hiking, and seeing the mountains, and came up with a new list of trails to return to, not just here, but along other trailheads in the North Cascades.

September 15 – Billy Frank-Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge

Halfway through our six hour drive home to Portland we took our lunch break at this wildlife refuge at the southern end of the Puget Sound. We walked about two miles, to the beginning of the boardwalk that extends for another mile out into the Puget Sound.

The trail begins near a bog where we spotted a great blue heron.

We continued on wooden boardwalks through the woods,

with views to grassy lowlands.

Some other hikers pointed out the tiny frogs on the marsh grasses.

and I spotted a hummingbird.

After passing the barn,

we emerged to wide open views of the southern Puget Sound,

and spotted another heron.

We walked to the very beginning of the mile long boardwalk out over the water,

but decided to turn around for the day,

saving our visit to the farthest viewing platform for another day.

We will return!

Thus ended another adventure, leaving me with tired legs, and a new list of places to hike next time.

What happened in September 2021…

October 7, 2021October 6, 2021 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

Home and garden:

Last of the tomatoes

gladiolas

sumac

chamomile

Farmer’s Market bounty

Knitting:

I finished more hats for the Women’s Shelter donation, made progress on socks and a shawl, both excellent travel knitting, and began knitting the fall Mystery Gnome. And I received a late but welcome crocheted bag as a birthday gift from my sister.

Crocheted bag from my sister.

Donation hat

Weaving Socks, pattern by Very Busy Monkey; Knit Picks Stroll yarn.

Hitchhiker Shawl, pattern by Martina Behm, yarn by Knitted Wit

Mystery Gnome 7, pattern by Imagined Landscapes, yarn is Noro Silk Garden sock.

Hiking:

We spent a lot of time on hiking trails! In addition to two out of town trips to the Olympic Peninsula and Mt Baker, and a day hike at Cloud Cap on Mt Hood, all described in separate posts, we went on six other adventures:

September 9, East Crater Trail, Indian Heaven, Washington. Return to Junction Lake.

Into the woods

East Crater

Junction Lake

Mountain ash

Huckleberry

Mt St Helens from the PCT Southbound

Birds in a water hole in a mostly dry creek

September 17, Portland Arboretum. Early fall color on a beautiful day.

Aralia

Sumac

Hop hornbeam

Douglas fir with sap

September 24, Kiwa Trail, Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, Washington. Looking for Sandhill Cranes while we can still hike the trail before it is closed for the winter nesting season.

Nightshade berries near the creek

Woodland

Grassland with teasel

These are the sandhill cranes we are looking for!

Resident nesting pair with colt

September 26 – Saltzman Road in Forest Park, Portland. Our first time on this particular trail through the park, we walked 6 miles while catching up with friends.

Saltzman Road, Forest Park

September 28, Crawford Oaks, Washington. A return to an oft hiked trail, we escaped the rain in Portland and saw only 4 other hikers the entire day.

Columbia Hills from The Dalles Bridge

Geologic context

Eight Miles Falls

Pear tree

Our usual lunch spot

Clouds and wind

Eastward

Tufts

The “one tree”

Dried balsamroot, Dalles Mountain Ranch

Some foliage for the day:

pear

poison oak

oak

grasses

September 30, Coyote Wall, Washington. Another often hiked trail, again with friends. A beautiful day up there!

Puffy clouds and rocks

Coyote Wall

Mt Hood in the clouds

Return hike

Other news:

Tiaki, the Albatross chick I have been watching in New Zealand via webcam, has fledged!

The blue line is a tracker on Tiaki, the red line is one of her parents.

A family member acquired a new-to-him car.

I attended an in-person book group meeting, where we watched the moon rise over the Willamette River from Sauvie Island.

Olympic Peninsula, WA, late summer, 2021

September 25, 2021November 18, 2024 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

Aug 29 to Sept 3, 2021 – We scheduled a trip to the Olympic Mountains after our Iceland plans were cancelled due to increased spread of the Delta variant of Covid 19. We have been to the Olympics a few times, and have wanted to go back and explore more in the Hurricane Hill/Deer Park area where there are higher altitude hiking trails, the only ones that can be accessed without overnight backpacking. The weather was perfect, but a different sort of human pathology foiled our plans. The night we arrived in Port Angeles, the Olympic National Park website posted a closure alert due to police action. The closure continued for the three days we were in the area, so each day we found alternative hikes.

Driving north on 101 toward the Olympic Mountains – great weather ahead!

Port Angeles

Our hotel on the hill right above the center of town had an expansive view across the harbor, all the way to Victoria and the San Juan Islands. Port Angeles is home to the ferry to Victoria, BC. On previous visits, long lineups of vehicles filled the ferry loading zone at the dock, while people waiting to cross filled the town with activity. The ferry has been closed due to Covid since March of 2020. The town felt eerily quiet as we walked along the waterfront, admiring the beautiful setting and the shipping activity in the harbor.

View across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Mt Baker poking above the marine layer

Another view of Mt Baker beyond the ship

Hotel balcony view across Port Angeles Harbor to Vancouver Island

Stairs down to town

Evening lights

Sol Duc Falls

Monday, August 30th – A short trail leads to a beautiful triple falls.

Sol Duc Falls

We explored the river above the waterfall.

American dipper on the rocks.

Calmer water

We continued farther up the Sol Duc Trail to extend our hike.

Shelter near Sol Duc Falls

Trail beyond the waterfall…

Corydalis

The blue bead berries of the Queen’s cup or bead lily

Vanilla leaf

Ediz Hook

In the afternoon, we drove out onto Ediz Hook, the long jetty that shelters Port Angeles Harbor from the Salish Sea. There are beaches on both north and south sides of the jetty, and a Coast Guard Station at its far end.

Looking north toward Canada…

and westward from the north shore of the jetty.

A seal in the Salish Sea

We walked along the south shore of the jetty, looking back to land:

Southeast to the Coast Guard Station,

South to Port Angeles and the Olympic Mountains,

Southwest to the mountains and harbor industrial buildings.

Seagull on the north shore

Striped Peak

Tuesday, August 31 – We found an interesting hike at nearby Salt Creek Recreation Area on the Washington Trails Association website. This was a 7 mile hike through beautiful forest and not so beautiful clearcuts, with a visit to a lovely beach cove near the end of the loop.

Trail map

We began in the forest, hiking up almost 1000 feet to the top of Striped Peak.

We passed military bunkers from WW2 along the ridge, similar to bunkers we saw in Cornwall a few years ago.

A trail around the peak leads to views in all directions:

Crescent Beach to the west,

Olympic Mountains to the south,

Vancouver Island to the north,

Port Angeles, and our trail through the clearcuts to the east, taken from a bench near the top of Striped Peak.

As we walked more than a mile through the clearcut, we could look back and see the top of Striped Peak.

Eventually, the trail reentered the green forest, and we made our way back along the coastal cliffs .

A side trail leads down to Eagle’s Cove, with its surreal turquoise waters:

Eagle’s Cove, tide going out

We spotted a heron out in the cove.

Heron and sea gull

We think the heron is standing on a floating log.

Pebbly sand and shells on the beach

Pebble close up…

The hike out of the cove is steep.

Looking down at Eagle’s Cove

Wednesday, September 1 – We drove from Port Angeles to Lake Quinault, with stops along the way.

Bogachiel Rainforest

First stop, a three mile hike at the Bogachiel Rainforest. This is the dry season in the rainforest.

Large tree as bridge.

Plank boardwalks through what I presume can be a much wetter forest floor

Fallen tree to the right of the trail

Ruby Beach

After our rainforest hike, we stopped at Ruby Beach, the first of several beaches that can be visited while driving south along the coast.

Looking down at Ruby Beach from the overlook

Sculpted sea stack near the access trail

We walked north along the shore as the tide receded.

Wave sorted shingle

A flock of birds kept us company…

Walking south again…

Tide pools formed around the sea stacks …

Sea anemones

Sand, cobbles, clam

Back beach lagoon

We also walked a short distance south on Ruby Beach.

Destruction Island, with lighthouse, in the distance

Parting view of Ruby Beach

We stopped briefly at the at Kalaloch Beach 4 overlook.

View from above Kalaloch Beach 4

Cormorants

The sun is shining somewhere on this foggy day.

Roots around a nurse log

Lake Quinault

We stayed two nights at Quinault River Inn, a beautiful property with lovely views of the river and mountains.

View from our porch to the river and mountains

Thursday, September 2 – We explored the network of trails along Lake Quinault and nearby rainforest, then drove the loop road around the lake.

Trail sign

We began by walking east along the lake shore, mesmerized by the reflections in the glassy lake surface.

The spell was broken by a launch crossing the lake, casting wake ripples through the reflections.

We turned back west, passing by the historic Lake Quinault Lodge.

We crossed a bridge near Willaby Falls, then headed uphill to the rainforest trails.

Willaby Falls

I was continuously awed by the size of the trees in the rainforest.

Cedar swamp

Cascade Creek

After finishing our hike, we drove the roads around Lake Quinault, passing waterfalls and a view into the higher mountains.

Merriman Falls

Bunch Falls

Quinault River upstream (east) from the lake

We closed our last day back at the Quinault River Inn, watching reflections in the water as the shadows grew long.

Follow up to the Olympic National Park crime situation: We learned that a man under the influence of methamphetamine had wrought havoc on the area before disappearing into the wilderness with a long gun. Trails and campgrounds in the National Park were evacuated for three days, interrupting many people’s trips. The man was located, and the park reopened, about an hour after we departed. Allegations as of time of writing this, according to a news article in the Sequim Gazette (September 14, 2021): He assaulted his girlfriend, set a 1000 acre fire, cut down a tree to block the road, disabled a park service radio repeater, and tried to shoot down a surveillance drone. After a negotiated surrender, he was placed in custody. He had multiple weapons, ammunition, chain saws, survival gear, a letter announcing a revolution to begin soon, and a quantity of presumed methamphetamine in his possesion. He has many past domestic violence charges.

This crime event did not exactly ruin our trip, as we were able to find other options for hiking and seeing beautiful places, just not the places we had planned to see. We have become accomplished this year at making other plans, and making the best of unforeseen circumstances. We hope to return another year to see the high country.

Late April 2021

May 8, 2021 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Continuing my neighborhood walks: After the cherry blossoms, the pink snow,

We go from pink trees

to pink sidewalks in a week’s time.

And find them all through the neighborhood.

Dogwood trees and other flowers bloom,

Dogwood

rhododendron

fothergilla

lewisia

Interestingly cracked concrete catches my eye…

We went on two more hikes with amazing wildflowers:

Tom McCall Trail, OR, April 23

When we hiked here on March 11th, the slopes were covered with purple grass widows. Today, the balsamroot is the star!

Starting up the trail with friends.

Lower cliffs, balsamroot and lupine in full bloom!

Eastward view.

Every blade abloom under the oak trees.

Open slopes of balsamroot and Mt Adams.

Continuing up.

Paintbrush in bloom on the upper slopes.

Views from the top:

West to Mt Hood.

North to Mt Adams.

Northeast, to the Cherry Orchard.

More views on the hike down:

Rowena Plateau.

Paintbrush! and the Memaloose Hills, with their yellow backs.

Parsley Alley….

And a few more flowers, for the day.

Chocolate lily and some of that sneaky poison oak creeping in.

Oaks toothwort

Miner’s lettuce

Waterleaf

Orobanche

Baby stars

Bitterroot Trail, Catherine Creek, WA April 26

Aptly lived up to its name – the earlier blooming flowers have faded, but the bitterroot is just getting started today!

We began near the fairy ponds – now filled with camas lilies; the adjacent rock outcrops hosting glorious bitterroot flowers.

Lewisia rediviva

Sprinkled across the basalt; bicolored cluster lilies speckle the meadow beyond.

We wind our way up the slope:

Eastward.

Camas lilies and shooting stars.

Death camas and purple camas lilies

Turn left at the balsamroot, while admiring the windswept views east,

and west…

We drop down the Rowland Wall trail,

One of the largest clusters of bitterroot buds I have seen…

buckwheat

A giant clump of cliff penstomen surprised us!

More bitterroot scattered across the rocky surface along our return trail.

This is their time to rise up!

Meanwhile…

We finally had a chance to see the heritage American Chestnut Tree in the Sellwood neighborhood. It dwarves the house, and there is an enormous stump of another chestnut tree behind it.

Rare American Chestnut, Sellwood, Oregon

Leaves just budding out.

Knitting

I finished a Scrappy Marl Hat for the guild project,

started another hat, and restarted my bamboo cardigan.

Quilting

I’m making progress on the baby quilt.

Repotted plant report from Washington DC:

Commentary on the verdict, and the path forward:

Eastern Gorge Trip, April 2021

May 1, 2021May 19, 2021 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We spent a few days hiking east of the Cascade crest and the rain. We stayed in a small hotel in the small town of Moro, and explored two Oregon State Parks for the first time, then visited the Columbia Hills in Washington on our way home.

Driving south of the Columbia River to White River Falls State Park – low hills and agricultural buildings our new scenery.

April 13th, White River Falls State Park, Oregon

We admired the White River Falls from the overlook, then walked downstream to see the lower tiers of the falls. We were about 2 miles upstream from the confluence with the Deschutes River, and about 50 miles from the source, the White River Glacier on Mt Hood, near a favorite winter snowshoe location. Here, the White River tumbles over cliffs, past the ruins of a hydropower plant that was abandoned in 1963, when a giant dam on the nearby Columbia River was built.

White River Falls

Abandoned power plant.

This is a beautiful falls, though the surrounds are a bit of a wasteland – cement and disconnected pipes, wire grids, a broken building with roof gaps, graffiti, tumble weeds and leaves blown in, plants growing out of the cracks, moss in the crevices.

Bright yellow balsamroot and parsley were blooming around the canyon, and gold fiddle neck striped the edges of the rocky path.

Balsamroot, parsley

fiddleneck

Down by the river we had a bit of a wind shelter. Quiet today, but in summer people come to swim. We walked a ways down stream to see the third tier of the falls, the smoothed rocky shelves with potholes, now exposed, and smooth, sandy banks.

Sandy beach above the lower falls.

Lower falls; upper falls visible to the upper right.

Downstream along the White River.

We walked back up to the rim, past the ruins of the powerhouse and almost post-apocalyptic scenery.

Return hike.

More of the ruins of the old power plant.

From White River Falls, we drove east across the Deschutes River on our way to Moro, along a long, smoothly curved road on the Warm Springs Reservation. Balsamrooot blooms were sprinkled on cliffs above the canyon.

We passed sagebrush uplands and cultivated green fields, a 360 degree horizon punctuated by white windmills gleaming in the afternoon light.

Many white wind turbines on the horizon.

April 14th, Cottonwood Canyon State Park, Oregon

We drove across the uplands between the John Day and Deschutes Rivers on a beautiful clear blue morning. Mt Hood, Mt Adams and Mt Rainier were on the horizon, and more windmills.

Mt Hood

Mt Adams and Mt Rainier

Mt Adams, windmills

Mt Rainier and the Goat Rocks, windmills

The Lost Coral Trail in Cottonwood Canyon State Park is 9.6 miles out and back. The trail follows an old road along the John Day River, sometimes beneath river-cut cliffs, sometimes across the point bars, as the wide blue river sweeps down stream.

Trailhead

Under the cliffs

Balsamroot above

Bicolored cluster lilies

Desert parsley and lichen

Balsamroot and parsley

milk vetch

Cottonwood Canyon campground across the river.

Continuing along the river, the slopes were speckled with wildflowers; willows on the bars and a few trees were beginning to leaf out.

Flowering alluvial fan across the river.

Cliffs and reflections, serviceberry in bloom.

Sagebrush

A welcome bench for rest and contemplation.

Lovely desert colors in the rocks, river, plantlife.

At our turnaround point, we found a phlox-covered slope and beautiful views of the river. We saw three equestrians – our only other people on the trail today.

Three equestrians in our downstream lunch view

Upstream lunch view.

phlox

We retraced our steps upstream after lunch, admiring the views along the river in the changing light.

Walking upstream.

Many colors along the river.

Grassy tufts in the river.

Larkspur

Back under the cliffs near the trailhead.

Parsley

I don’t know if I still love the desert as much as I used to. The rocky, prickly, isolation of it has caught up with my age. Dust and wind, and there must be snakes around somewhere …I just don’t know…

April 15th, Dalles Mountain Ranch, Columbia Hills State Park, WA

We drove back across the windmilled uplands, in view of the three mountains on the skyline, all the while watching the painted slopes of the cliffs and hills on the north side of the Columbia River. Distinct patches of yellow, white, and purple across the green and brown indicate the slopes are blooming with the wildflowers that we are going to see.

Looking at the Columbia Hills in Washington from Oregon.

We hiked the Ranch Loop clockwise from the Dalles Mountain Ranch Trailhead – we have been here before, most recently in February, when only the early flowers were on view. Today there were so many flowers out – gold balsamroot, purple lupine, pale pink phlox, and always the yellow parsley and pink filagree creating a pastel underglaze on almost every slope.

Mt Hood and ranch buildings from near the trailhead.

The “one tree”, still no leaves, with a flowery background

Balsamroot all the way down to the Columbia River.

Lower east-most view.

Lupine and western view from the high point on the lower trail.

Large head clover

Fleabane

Lunch view – in February this area was covered in purple grass widows.

Back up Eight Mile Creek to the ranch.

We finally spotted the old car that is so often photographed among the flowers at the ranch.

We enjoyed this hiking trip, a chance to get out of town and enjoy the spring flowers at a couple of new locations.

Blooms of early April 2021

April 24, 2021 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

The crabapple tree in our front yard finally bloomed during the second week of April. This tree was in full bloom the day we moved into our house in mid March almost 30 years ago.

April 9th

April 11th

April 15th

Other garden blooms:

tulips fully open

phlox

checker lily

And some cupcakes for a friend’s birthday:

Hikes:

April 2nd, Memaloose Hills, OR –

Begin at the Memaloose Overlook…

Today’s star is balsamroot!

Buttercup carpet in the woods.

Balsamroot all the way up Chatfield Hill.

Looking back.

North view from the top – Mt Adams, paintbrush, yellow parsley.

Columbia River, Columbia Desert parsley, balsamroot

Mt Hood to the west.

Willows and bees near the spring on the return hike.

Popcorn flowers on Marsh Hill.

View from Marsh Hill back to the Memaloose Hills.

More wildflowers:

Blue eyed Mary and slender phlox

Glacier lilies and buttercups

Larkspur and balsamroot

Shooting stars.

April 8, Coyote Wall, WA – Our first hike with friends in more than a year! We are all fully vaccinated!

Starting up The Old Ranch Road.

Service berry in bloom on the Little Moab Cliffs.

The edge of the Coyote Wall, yellow parsley.

And balsamroot, eastward view.

Southward view.

And we are going higher!

Upper cliff edge view.

A nice meadow near Atwood Road, as we loop eastward before hiking down.

A day when every blade of grass seems to have a bloom!

So many flowers!

Desert parsley along Old Hwy 14 cliff, return hike.

And more flowers:

Parsley and cluster lilies

Tomcat clover

Pucoon

Great hounds tongue

Wooly vetch

Knitting

Some progress on two projects:

I finished the yoke on this bamboo cardigan, and it is way too big, despite careful swatching, so this one is in time out for a while.

A mystery project for a gift…

Quilting

I am starting a baby quilt for a new family member!

The rest of March, 2021

April 7, 2021 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Tulips and cherry blossoms, three more hikes, a new knit along, a careful cross country trip, and our neighborhood loses our star author, as we continue into our second year of pandemia.

The neighborhood in bloom –

anemones

tulips

forsythia

garden wall on Klickitat St.

cherry trees

Catherine Creek East

March 26th – A beautiful day – we roamed on the eastward loop to see the latest of early spring flowers sprinkled on the grassy slopes.

White death camas and saxifrage all the way up…

Yellow agerosis and yellow bells

The first of the purple camas,

the last of the grass widows.

Monkey flowers, rosy plectritis and orobanche

Shooting stars and saxifrage

Larkspur, and purple Columbia desert parsley

Yellow parsley and Mt Hood!

Meadow lark

Fairy ponds

Wildwood Trail, milepost ~ 10 to 14

March 29th – A slightly rainy day, trilliums lining the trail on our loop. I have now completed about 20 miles of the 30 mile trail during the pandemic.

Wildwood trail on a damp day.

Trillium blooming all along the trail.

Trillium

Violets

Salmonberry

Coltsfoot

Return along Leif Erikson Drive

Sky breaking out!

Cooper Mountain

March 30th – We took a quick loop around this mountain on the edge of suburbia, being reclaimed/preserved so that all doesn’t become concrete, while our son was at an appointment nearby. A few early spring flowers on view.

Iris

Indian plum

Oregon grape

Looking down the slope from the trailhead.

Knitting

I finished another hat, and continue to knit on the socks and cardigan.

Plaid hat – a test knit for a friend.

Sock and cardigan, in process.

Son’s trip to DC:

Travel is fraught in these Covid times, yet we needed to transfer one of our cars to our daughter on the east coast. Our temporarily unemployed son volunteered, so in the midst of the pandemic, he bubbled himself across country. With all appropriate masking and testing, he delivered the car. Then he flew back, and after more bubbling and testing, successfully completed his adventure Covid free.

Postcards from the road

Cherry blossoms on the National Mall

More cherry blossoms, tidal basin.

Beverly Cleary

We live in Ramona’s neighborhood, the same neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, where the acclaimed children’s author went to school and roamed Grant Park and Klickitat Street. Beverly Cleary died last week, a few weeks short of her 105th birthday. Though she spent most of her adult life in California, our neighborhood honors her legacy. Libraries and schools bear her name. We have a walking tour of the neighborhood to see her world. I remember getting my middle school aged son to read the books to his three year old sister while I was making dinner, and he never objected – he looked forward to it. “Is it time to read to Emily yet?” I especially enjoyed her two memoirs, recognizing many of the scenes from her childhood as replayed in her novels. I heard her say in an interview that she identified most with Ellen Tebbits. She got to live a good long life, and in our neighborhood we have her “ordinary” fictional children cast in bronze in the sculpture garden in the park, which doubles as a splash pad in the summer. Last week there were flowers in the sculpture garden in tribute to her memory.

Ramona the Pest

Henry Huggins

Ribsy