Northeast Oregon

We made it to Hu-Na-Ha RV Park, a city park in Elgin, OR, today. The trip was along a more scenic route than we had planned. A stretch of I-84 was closed because of a wildfire, so we had to detour on OR 11 at Pendleton and then OR 204 into Elgin. The RV park itself is rather basic gravel sites and not much to look at, but the area promises to offer some spectacular scenery and great hikes.

This afternoon we walked into the town. Elgin actually boasts an Opera House built in 1911 to house both city government and a performing arts center. It is on the National Register of Historic Buildings. The Little Mermaid will be performed here in September.

Across the street and eye catching in its own way is the Subway sandwich shop with a wild west motif.

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Heading East

We said goodbye to the Columbia River RV Park today at the end of a great visit with Chris and Sherrie and Anara. Our trip was along the Columbia River on I-84. We're spending the night at the Port of Arlington RV Park. (For you Texans, that's Arlington, Oregon.)

Sailboats in a little harbor, view looking toward I-84, and toward the inevitable railroad tracks.

We are in the longest pull-thru site, #3, which is unfortunately not wide enough for us to open our living room slide. The grain elevator operated by Mid Columbia Producers, Inc., is on the river.

Wind surfers park in this open dry camping area. The wind is relentless, but there were folks out on the river today.

A very different view of our site looking toward the hills above Arlington. Read more!

Sunday Parkways

Sunday Parkways is a program operated by the Portland Bureau of Transportation:

City of Portland Sunday Parkways presented by Kaiser Permanente promotes healthy active living through a series of free events opening the city's largest public space - its streets - to walk, bike, roll, and discover active transportation while fostering civic pride, stimulating economic development, and represents the community, business, and government investments in Portland's vitality, livability, and diversity.   

Yesterday we met Chris and Sherrie at Woodlawn Park, one of the four parks on the NE Sunday Parkways route this year. We didn't make it around the entire route, but we had lots of fun.

The Carroll Raaum Swing Band entertains the cyclists

Relaxing to listen to music

All kinds of bikes!

At Alberta Park, we all stopped at the photobooth for a little fun

This Stormtrooper had sound effects

Hula hoopers included this stilt walker from Circus Cascadia Read more!

Moving and Another Ride

We were lucky enough to be able to extend our stay at Columbia River RV RV Park, but we had to move from our premium spot, site #37, to site #155 in an older section of the park.

It was extremely tricky to get into the site. The approach road is not very wide and there is a concrete block wall along the edge. The site is narrow, and in the back there are obstacles on both sides of the drive (a tall post with a sewer vent pipe on the driver side and a large red concrete post on the passenger side). Our turning radius is not small, so we really had to thread the needle to get into the site with only inches to spare. Then we had to reposition carefully side to side to allow for our slideouts. It was a real triumph of teamwork that we got in with no mishaps and still friends!

After lunch we biked to the Columbia Children's Arboretum. We had seen posters advertizing a neighborhood picnic and potluck there coming up on July 30.

It's a small park with an interesting history (see excerpts from a Portland Parks webpage about the arboretum below). We saw several of the state trees, each with a label featuring the state bird, state flower, and state motto in addition to the state tree. Some trees are so popular that two or three states have chosen them.

The Blue Spruce is claimed by both Colorado and Utah. Colorado calls it the "Colorado Blue Spruce."

After we left the arboretum we headed out to ride along the Mighty Columbia River once more. I find it fascinating and awe inspiring.

Here's part of a Portland Parks website describing the history of the arboretum (http://tinyurl.com/gtdc7v7):

Columbia Children's Arboretum

10040 NE 6th Dr 

General Info

Acreage: 28.80
Acquired in 1999

.........

When Portland School District acquired Columbia School, it was designated as a middle school. The local youth who attended the school were primarily a very transient population, well below the city average in both education achievement and economic levels. In a goal to strengthen the basic curriculum through science-centered projects, Principal Bill Warner proposed a new program titled Growth through Research, Organization & Work (GROW). Students studied math, language arts, social studies, health, and science as they worked on the 28-acre site that became known as the Columbia Children’s Arboretum.

The land started out as a tangle of blackberries in 1965, but by 1970, students and families had planted 8,000 trees. Students began by planning three different scenarios for the development of the land. An orchard and organic garden was chosen for the area adjacent to NE Sixth Ave. An arboretum was designed for the land on the south side of the drainage ditch with intentions to solicit and plant trees from every U.S. state. The area furthest from Sixth Ave was planned as a natural area where indigenous plants and animals could provide a tranquil setting for study.

Before long, the creation of a garden and arboretum became a community project. Organizations of all sorts began to help the school create its dream. Edward Maddix, a Tigard architect provided construction drawings for the site. Students and staff approached the U.S. Marines for assistance with heavy land moving. Bulldozers were brought in to remove the blackberries and create a pond with an island. The Oregon Association of Nurserymen supplied trees, the Rose Society donated roses for the garden, the pond was stocked with fish by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the Rotary Club provided tree labels, and the list goes on. The architect worked with students to design a study shelter that was adopted by Women in Construction. Remnants of the beginning of the shelter still remain, although its construction was limited by the fact that utilities could not be brought to the site.

In 1977, Portland Public Schools built a bus barn on the site of the organic farm area. Eventually, changing demographics in northeast Portland reduced the need for Columbia Middle School, and it closed in 1983. Classes at Whitaker School, located three miles from the arboretum, adopted the GROW program in the 1980s and planting increased. However, the distance between the school and Arboretum became a problem and the program only lasted until the early 1990s. A few classrooms around the district continued to use the Arboretum for field trips. The most constant visitors were neighbors from the new housing developments on the east side of the Arboretum. The neighborhood association created a Columbia Children’s Arboretum Preservation Committee to develop goals and activities in the Arboretum. It has sponsored work parties on a monthly basis for over 10 years. 

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Lovely Day

We had a lovely day today. It is Blake's 45th birthday. Robert and Julie turn 31 tomorrow. We wish them all wonderful celebrations.

Chris took us out to the Screen Door for brunch. The food was delicious. The specialty of the house is fried chicken and waffle: a stack of three buttermilk battered natural fried chicken breasts
over a sweet potato waffle. We all stuck with more traditional fare. Ken and I had berry turnovers and eggs benedict. Chris had biscuits and gravy (with country veggie gravy). I sampled it and found it quite tasty. Sherrie had cheddar grits and praline bacon (which she shared with us--Yum!) and pimento cheese.

After brunch we stopped at a couple of bike shops on the way home--and at this pot shop (pottery, that is, not that other thing you might be thinking of). Sherrie is in a gardening mood and wants a large pot for her new little lantana bush to grow in.

Back at the house, we left Sherrie unpacking and preparing for her interview tomorrow. Chris and Ken and I drove to the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival, free for its 36th year. We arrived toward the end of the 2:30 set and left after hearing two and a half of the vocalists in Vocal Summit.

2:30  The Tim Willcox & Charlie Doggett Quartet

4:00  The Mel Brown Trio

5:30  Vocal Summit; Richard Arnold, Rebecca Hardiman, Mike Winkle, & Mitzi Zilka

Overall it was well worth attending, and we didn't have to park very far away.

As you can see, the canvas canopy has seen better days. They were taking up a collection to help replace it. Read more!

More Biking

We headed out to the Marine Drive bike path again today. This time we explored the M James Gleason Memorial Boat Ramp. It includes a pay parking lot and access to a large beach. No signs identify the beach, but from the Metro Parks website, we know it is the Broughton Beach.

In the parking lot we spotted this unusual camper. It has a German license plate.

What is even more unusual is the sign on the side. We are wondering if it is indeed on a complete around the world tour or has done such a tour in the past. We looked around and didn't see any other campers that could be traveling with this one. It looks rugged enough to handle an around the world tour!

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Columbia River RV Park

We took our customary site photos today. We are in site #37 at the park. It's a large pull thru and has a good view of the southern sky for our DirecTV dish. We'd really like to have a small patio or at least stepping stones outside our door, but otherwise it's a very nice site.

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Back on the Bikes, and Back in Portland

We moved to Columbia River RV Park today, staying for a week. We really like the proximity to the Columbia River and to the Marine Drive Trail. We got set up this afternoon and headed out on our bikes. The first section of the route is on the bike lane on Marine Drive, which is pretty heavily traveled at 4:30 p.m. on a Tuesday. Fortunately the bike lane is wide enough that we felt comfortable on it.

At 33rd Avenue, this portion of the trail begins. It runs inland of Marine Drive for a bit, skirting the northern edge of Portland International Airport.

At about a mile, the trail crosses Marine Drive and from that point on runs between the mighty Columbia and the highway. This section of the trail extends to the I-205 bridge, but we didn't go that far today, preferring to head home for dinner.

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Back to the Ruth Bascom Riverbank Trail System

We rode this trail along the Willamette River in Eugene two years ago, so we were very happy that the weather cooperated and we were able to ride it again today. This time we started at Island Park, at the east end of the North Bank Path, and rode counterclockwise. For much of the distance we could see the Willamette River sparkling in the sun. We recognized many of the sights from our previous ride.

One of the impressive sights along the way is Autzen Stadium, home of the Oregon Ducks.

We stopped in the Alton Baker Park on the North Bank to eat our picnic lunch. We expected to find a picnic area but had to settle for a table near the disc golf course.

This is July in Oregon, so of course the blackberries are ripening. We couldn't resist stopping to pick some along the trail. Of course you pay the price: I impaled my thumb on a particularly wicked thorn, but it's all worth it.

Something else that Oregon has in July is plenty of wildflowers.

In the Delta Ponds area Ken noticed something swimming in the water below the bike path, a cute critter that at first we thought might be a beaver. But this animal has a round tail and very prominent whiskers. A signboard identified it as a South American Nutria.

In the same area we saw several herons, including this showoff.

We biked the North Bank Path, the East Bank Path, the West Bank Path, and the South Bank Path. Altogether that's about 14 miles, but we actually did more, partly because we had to cast about to find the path. At one point near the University of Oregon there is a "disruption" where the path follows some roads and is not very well marked.

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A Day at Lost Lake Resort

Chris, Sherrie, Anara, Sierra, and I drove out to Lost Lake Resort yesterday. We had fun setting up camp in Yurt G7, strolling along the lake shore, and taking in the spectacular views of the Milky Way and Mount Hood. Sierra had two tripods set up and got some remarkable shots.

This morning Ken drove out from Portland to join us. We all hiked the Lakeshore Trail. It's 3.5 miles and was described by the workers at the General Store as very easy, level, a piece of cake. The first part was exactly that, with boardwalk over the marshy areas. Later we got into some dicier terrain, including some where the trail had evidently washed away. We all made it, but Ken and I sure wished we had carried our hiking poles.

Chris rented a large rowboat and a kayak. Anara and Sierra paddled the kayak. Sierra did some free diving and underwater photography.

Meanwhile the rest of us were in the rowboat. It nearly sank when we launched it, with Ken and me in the stern and water pouring in. It turned out that the staff had neglected to put the plug in, so the boat had to be drained before we actually set off.

Chris rowed most of the way across the lake and back, with a little break while I rowed for a bit. It's been a long time since I rowed, and we were heading into the wind, so I didn't last very long. The lake was calm and peaceful. We wowed a bit over Mount Hood and watched the newts swimming around and even read for a bit.

Back at the yurt we built a fire and fixed dinner and later made s'mores. It was a great evening to a day of adventures. We hope to return on our next visit to Portland.

That's Anara in the foreground reading.

The girls had the top bunks. 





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