Peaceful Places in Portland

Elk Rock Island

2012-02-22T13:31:00.000-08:00

It can be easy, when living in Portland,to forget that the Willamette is a river.

I know that sounds odd, because what else would it be, but how often do youlook at that body of water downtown and think about currents, and drainages,and riverbanks, and islands? It just seems kind of like some water to getacross on the way to work, right?

Well, it’s a river, and if you want toget just a little glimpse of it in that form, head out to Elk Rock Island.First you have to find tiny Spring Park in Milwaukie. It’s a nice enough place,but follow the trail into the woods. Yes, you’re headed for the riverbank. Andwhen you get there, if the water is low enough, you can walk right out there tothe island-m-across a land bridge that is thought to be 40 million years old.

See, we’re not just “in town” anymore,are we?

This little island had many owners before1910 (one of them even built a dance hall on it) before its last private owner,a Scottish grain exporter named Peter Kerr donated it to the city with onestipulation: “Preserve it as a pretty place for all to enjoy.” Missionaccomplished.

Here, within sight of homes and docks andindustry, is a patch of woodlands, a small beach, a rocky bench, a cliff face,and a hidden laggon. Here are hiking trails and picnic spots, some peace andquiet, and-m-in winter, anyway-m-a waterfall across the way!

And here, rolling along as it always has,is a river, with a gentle current and birds bobbing and swooping, and, yes, anisland in the middle of it.

Essentials

Where: SE 19th Avenue & SE Sparrow Street,Milwaukie

When: Sunrise to sunset, but generally not accessible due to high water in winter and spring

Web: Official site and another blog post about it.

Leach Botanical Garden

2012-01-24T10:29:00.001-08:00

So with this post, I am going to start steering people over to my main website, PaulGerald.com. If you want to read all about Leach Botanical Garden, just follow this link.

The View From Rocky Butte

2012-01-16T10:06:00.000-08:00

Whenever I give folks my one-day tour of Portland,we always wind up at Rocky Butte.

Whether we’ve been up to TimberlineLodge, wandering the Gorge, or walking the city’s neighborhoods, I always wantto close the day with the view from the little park on top of the Butte. It’sthe best overall view of where we live, which after all is in a big city wheretwo big rivers come together, seemingly at the foot of a big volcano.

Officially, I can tell my guests thatRocky Butte is an extinct volcanic cinder cone and that it used to be home to ajail, a quarry, and a Baptist college. All of that is long gone, in its place aquiet, grassy little park, surrounded by rock walls, littered with climbingroutes, topped off by a cell phone tower that you’ll hardly notice.

That’s because Rocky Butte has the finestview in the city: west to Downtown, east to Hood and the Gorge, north to theairport. I love sitting up there in the evenings, watching planes come and gowhile the city’s lights start to twinkle and the setting sun paints Mount Hoodin pink alpenglow. All at once, I am reminded that Portland is a big,international city, but also a small town; bustling, but with pockets of natureand serenity; by the river, but surrounded by mountains; and at the end of theday, just darn lovely.

Check it out on the Web

Portland's Butterfly Park

2012-01-09T09:13:00.000-08:00

I have yet to meet one person who knew Portland hada butterfly park. And even if you knew where it was, and went there, you might reasonablyask two questions: Is this the whole park, and where are the butterflies?

Well, yes, this 1.09 acres is the whole park. Butfor perspective, let’s have a little history. This was a gravel parking lot anddump for the Macadam Bay Club-m-in other words, just another patch offorgotten, drive-by patch of Willamette River bank, presumed to be creepy ifnot dangerous.

But the city bought it 1984, and starting in 1991volunteers planted it with wildflower seeds from the Columbia River Gorge. Nowthose grasses grow among native grasses under dogwoods, oaks, andcottonwoods-m-just like a natural riverbank. The area is part of the SouthPortland Riverbanks Project, restoring 35 acres of wooded riverbank to natural,fish-friendly environs.

And yes, this was planted with butterflies inmind; in fact, the city says it’s visited by morning cloaks and orange sulfurs,among others, as well as birds such as cedar waxwings, killdeer, orioles, andchickadees.

To find this little patch of nature, park just offMacadam at the entrance to Macadam Bay, or walk south a few minutes on thepaved Willamette Greenway Trail from Willamette Park. You’ll see aninterpretive sign and an unpaved path headed through some brush towards theriver-m-and yes, that’s the whole park!

But it’s a nice little park, and as close to asecret as a city park can be. You’ll probably have it to yourself, to enjoy theview of the river, of Sellwood across the way, and who knows, maybe even of abutterfly or two.

Essentials

Web -- 7720 SW Macadam Avenue. Main Parks Number: 503-823-7529

Free. 5 a.m. to Midnight. TriMet #35 or #36 to SW Macadam and Taylors Ferry.

Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery

2011-09-09T15:20:00.000-07:00

Lest we forget that our city used to be a little river town, that what’s now called Southeast Portland used to be out in the country, let’s go back to 1866.

In that year, Portland was a town of a few thousand people on the west side of the Willamette River. What is now the corner of SE 20th and Stark Streets had recently been converted from the Stephens Farm to a cemetery, and the owner wanted to sell it to the city. But it was deemed too far from town, especially since Portland had yet to build bridges or pave streets.

In those days, this was a hill with one single fir tree, and probably a sweeping view of farmland in all directions. Think of how quiet and out-of-the-way that would have been.

Well, it still feels that way.

Perhaps the best way to visit this serene place is to admire the other trees that have grown around that fir. Three of them are Portland Heritage Trees; the first is a big leaf maple dedicated to Oregon’s first governor; it’s over by the soldier’s memorial. Turn towards Stark Street from there, then left before the fence, and look for an incense cedar on the right plus a gigantic western red cedar on the left.

The markers range from the simple and falling apart to the newest ones with photographs on them. You may also see a fireman’s memorial between four cedars, some markers with Chinese characters, and some you can’t even read.

And in the far northwest corner, still looking out over the country towards town, is the Lone Fir itself. A plaque identifies it.

If you look with just the right set of eyes, maybe you can still see that peaceful, rolling farmland.

essentials

Category: Historical Sites

Location: Entrance on SE 26th Ave., just south of SE Stark St.

Phone: 503-797-1709

Metro Website

Friends of Lone Fir

Admission: Free

Hours: Sunrise to Sunset

TriMet: #15 to SE Belmont and 26th or #20 to E Burnside and 24th.

Images from Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden

2011-06-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

Crystal Springs may not be too peaceful on weekends when the rhodies are blooming -- and forget Mother's Day! -- but it's an amazingly beautiful place. I mean, assuming you like water and trees and flowers and ducks and geese.

Enjoy.

Peace in the Pearl

2011-06-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

Water trickling. Kids giggling. Flowers blooming. Tall grass swaying in the breeze. A duck paddling on a pond.

Where are we? The corner of NW 11th and Marshall, in Tanner Springs Park.

One wouldn't normally associate "Pearl District" with "peaceful," but over here at the north end we're kind of on the edge. Over by the railroad tracks, just across from the river. The point where the streetcar turns west and heads into the industrial area. We still have some vacant lots over here.

Yes, I said "we." I now live at 11th and Northrup, and one of the great finds in my new neighborhood has been the little park across the street, the one with the pond and the grass and the wall of old rail ties. Did you know it's a water-recycling park? That there really are "springs," around which you can sit and picnic or read or just lie in the grass? Irises? Ducks?

One might also see wedding parties or fashion shoots in the park, but on two consecutive evening walks, when most everybody had gone home, I saw a beaver in the Willamette (three blocks away) and a heron in Tanner Springs Park, stalking fish, while a mallard slept in the shore grass. A friend who lives on the other side of the park said he saw an osprey come in once. All of this can be seen from Metrovino Restaurant.

Life in the city continues to impress and surprise.

What is "Peaceful Places in Portland"?

2011-06-01T22:02:00.000-07:00

Peaceful Places in Portland is an idea -- a quest, even. As I pursue that idea, I shall blog. And when I've found about 100 of them, I will make it into a book. That book will be published by Menasha Ridge Press in Fall, 2012. And it won't be the first.

What's a peaceful place? For our purposes here, they are in the following categories:

Enchanting Walks
Historic Sites
Museums/Galleries
Outdoor Habitats
Parks and Gardens
Quiet Tables
Reading Rooms
Scenic Vistas
Shops and Services
Spiritual Enclaves
Urban Surprises
Day Trips and Overnights

Got any suggestions for us? Please post a comment.

As I find them, I'll occasionally mention them here. Maybe even share a draft chapter or two.

So stay tuned for the peace and quiet.