TravelMorgan Stone GretherCamassia Natural Area, camas lily, flower, spring, oregon, pacific northwest, West Linn, oak trees, lichen, moss, hiking, travel

Camas Lily Bloom in Camassia Natural Area, April 2017

TravelMorgan Stone GretherCamassia Natural Area, camas lily, flower, spring, oregon, pacific northwest, West Linn, oak trees, lichen, moss, hiking, travel
Camas Lily Bloom in Camassia Natural Area, April 2017

April 2017. It was time to return to Camassia Natural Area in West Linn, Oregon. Why? Because the camas lilies were all in bloom of course! Brilliant blue hues blanketed the fields in the park, which is about 26 acres of protected oak groves nestled across from Oregon City. There were other flowers too, white, pink, yellow. As I said before, the area contains fields, wetlands and oak groves, and everywhere is sprinkled with large erratics (rocks brought here by ancient ice-age floods).  

Nice person in Portland, Oregon, and beyond.

TravelMorgan Stone GretherWest Linn, Camassia Natural Area, oregon, pacific northwest, oak trees, trees, moss, lichen, travel

Camassia Natural Area, West Linn, Oregon

About 26 wooded acres nestled on a ridge overlooking Oregon City.  There are wetlands and oak groves, with the whole area sprinkled with large erratics (rocks brought here by ancient ice-age floods)...

TravelMorgan Stone GretherWest Linn, Camassia Natural Area, oregon, pacific northwest, oak trees, trees, moss, lichen, travel
Camassia Natural Area, West Linn, Oregon
TravelMorgan Stone GretherChampoeg, oregon, pacific northwest, willamette river, trees, hiking, Champoeg State Heritage Area, Oregon parks project, winter, travel

Winter Hike in Champoeg, Oregon

In early February 2017, on a very cold, wet winter's day, I hiked around the Champoeg State Heritage Area outside of Butteville, Oregon. Champoeg (pronounced like "shampooey") was an important settlement in the 19th century and in 1843 formed an early regional government, a key step for the area eventually becoming a state. Today the former townsite is merely a field, but the surrounding 600 or so acres have become a park with forested trails easing along the Willamette River....

TravelMorgan Stone GretherChampoeg, oregon, pacific northwest, willamette river, trees, hiking, Champoeg State Heritage Area, Oregon parks project, winter, travel
Winter Hike in Champoeg, Oregon
TravelMorgan Stone GretherMolalla River Recreation Area, Molalla River, river, flower, trees, hiking, oregon, pacific northwest, moss, travel

Molalla River Recreation Area, May 2017

A series of hiking and mountain biking trails that take you through forests so thick they make you feel a million lightyears from the Willamette Valley just a little below…

TravelMorgan Stone GretherMolalla River Recreation Area, Molalla River, river, flower, trees, hiking, oregon, pacific northwest, moss, travel
Molalla River Recreation Area, May 2017
TravelMorgan Stone Grethertimber linn parkhot air balloon, festival, Northwest Art & Air Festival, Albany, oregon, pacific northwest, Linn County, travel

Hot Air Balloons at Northwest Art & Air Festival in Albany, Oregon

In August 2017, we visited the Northwest Art & Air Festival in Albany, Oregon. The event started at Timber Linn Park with 35 hot air balloons slowly taking to the sky at 6:45am. The colors and the sounds were amazing fun. The sky was a hazy brown due to forest fires in the Cascade Mountains nearby (here's hoping no one gets hurt or loses their home!), but it made for a lovely sunrise at least. 

TravelMorgan Stone Grethertimber linn parkhot air balloon, festival, Northwest Art & Air Festival, Albany, oregon, pacific northwest, Linn County, travel
Hot Air Balloons at Northwest Art & Air Festival in Albany, Oregon