Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Images from a quick Columbia River Gorge getaway...

I snapped a lot of photos when Andrew and I hit the road last month, I think a few of them are worth sharing here.
Our first stop was along the east fork of the Hood River, after travelling around the back-side of Mt. Hood. I stopped to admire the fuzzy verbascum (above), but then realized I was standing in the midst of hundreds of lady beetles. They were coming in from all directions, it was amazing. I called Andrew over, who said (in an offhand manner), "looks like they're getting ready to hibernate"...what? How did I not know that lady beetles hibernate?

Homebase for the next three nights was a hotel on the Columba River in Hood River, Oregon. The moon-rise was dreamy...

And the sunrise the next morning was equally dazzling.

We walked down the rivers edge for a bit, here I'm looking back at the Hood River Bridge, connecting Oregon and Washington.

Of course this trip involved fishing, well, for Andrew. These frost-nipped ferns were alongside the first spot we visited, at the beginning of the Hood River Penstock Flume Pipeline Trail.

In a better protected spot they were still bright green, and there were snowberries too. Well that's what I'm calling them. I have no idea what they're really called.

The trail starts by this old abandoned powerhouse. It seemed rather picturesque on a sunny, cool, morning.



And I won't lie, a little creepy too...

I took two steps inside that door but that's as far as I dared to tread.


The river. 

The trail follows along the river banks...

...eventually ending up on top of an old pipeline as it snakes along, and over, the river. Sadly we didn't make it to the pipeline part of the trail, but if you're curious this video starts on the pipe and walks the trail backwards to where we were. 

When your roots don't have to venture deep into the soil to find water...or maybe the soil was washed away?

After some exploring I left Andrew behind and went to cross a couple of nurseries off my list. 

Unfortunately at the season's end neither one had much to see. I was impressed with how much space this one (Good News Gardening) had available though. In the summer it must be fabulous.

There was a small indoor space with tools, containers, and a few houseplants. There was also a café with a few tables in the mix. I didn't linger because there was an (unmasked) couple having lunch. It sure smelled good!

Day three of our adventure we crossed over the Columbia River into Washington State.


Andrew had marked a few stops along the Klickitat River that he wanted to fish. I went exploring...


I've no idea what this plant is, but it made a great groundcover.



This groundcover (rockcover?) was really interesting. My go-to source for ID on plants like this (my friend Evan, he knows everything) IDs it as Selaginella wallacei, and after looking it up, I agree.

Isn't it fabulous? Since this site says "Conservation Status: Not of concern", I'll go ahead and admit a little piece of it came home with me. I hope I can keep it alive.

A rock with a plaque on it. I assumed someone must have died here, maybe drowned in the river?

Nope. Arnold and his friends went hunting.

A few hundred yards away I found bones, the third such siting on this vacation. I believe these were from deer, probably not Arnold and his friend's work though.


Here's a view of the Klickitat River as it winds through a narrow cannon. It was getting late or else I'm sure we would have found a way down there... 

Instead we made our way back to the hotel (through The Dalles, where I got my agave fix). The next morning it was time to pack up the car and head back to Portland. Our 4-day getaway was a lovely, relaxing, time...

Weather Diary, Nov 16: Hi 52, Low 47/ Precip .14 

All material © 2009-2020 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

19 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos. A lovely time of year to take a road trip. Did Andrew catch any fish? The Selaginella reminds me of a prostrate spruce. Cute.

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    1. He did, but he's a catch and release guy so no photos. And yes I can definitely see the spruce resemblance. That's part of what was so intriguing to me, little tiny prostrate conifers.

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  2. What a lovely, and much needed getaway. I assume the hotel accommodations were satisfactory with regards to the COVID precautions. Hibernate ladybugs? What a cool bit of trivia. The photo of the electrical pole with moss and barbed wire is great.

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    1. The hotel was wonderful, we felt very safe.

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  3. The photos were most definitely worth sharing. The abandoned powerhouse was indeed creepy (perfect for a horror movie featuring wayward teens risking disaster). I enjoyed the wide landscape shots and of course the mass of ladybugs. I like that they hibernate in colonies like that.

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    1. Did you ever see the movie The Lost Boys? I kept hearing the soundtrack every time I looked at that powerhouse.

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  4. Nice getaway. One of the few places in your area that I've been to, it has lots of natural beauty. The river traffic is interesting to watch, as are the long freight trains following the north side. Those are most likely Asian lady beetles, they hibernate by the thousands and around here in old houses that aren't airtight, they can invade and become one big stinky problem. They can be identified by a 'W' or 'M' on its pronotum (the section that separates the head from where the wing covers start). Good aphid and thrip eaters, though!
    That power station does look a bit creepy... though it looks like a big party spot for teens!

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    1. I posted the hibernating lady beetles on Instagram and got a few stories of household invasions. Ugh.

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  5. A change of scenery and pace is so important! I'm glad you had a few days in a different environment. It looks like you had an awesome view from your hotel!

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  6. How nice that you got away. This year, even a brief change of scenery makes all the difference! I think your unknown ground cover plant may be some kind of buckwheat, possibly Eriogonum umbellatum. Its flowers are wonderful In summer!

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    1. Interesting... I will have to research that, thanks for the lead!

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  7. Wonderful photos! So different than the desert where I live! The only thing that is jarring to me are the gang painting on the abandoned powerhouse and along the Pipeline Trail. To me it is disturbing unfortunately. Sounds like a wonderful getaway! Lucky you!

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    1. Yes graffiti is rather disturbing, and a trend that unfortunately seems to be growing here in Portland.

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  8. That Selaginella is amazing, I hope it takes. Looks similar but with a slightly different feel (not sure what exactly is off) to Lycopodium clavatum.

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    1. I agree with your comparison to the Lycopodium clavatum. Having seen both of them growing in their natural environment I can say (in my admittedly limited experience) they are indeed quite different. The Lycopodium clavatum I saw was in a wet sheltered, shady spot and felt lush. This Selaginella wallacei was (as I'm sure you noticed) growing on rocks with very little soil, parts of it were dormant. The spot was very exposed and was mostly sunny. So interesting!

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  9. I was so happy to just drive an hour to Davis to pick up my plant sale purchases from the Arboretum and stop by Gerhards-where more plants were scored. Just an hour away but it seemed like an exotic journey after not being out of Napa since August. I loved your photos, and it made me remember taking a Mt Hood Railroad excursion many years ago.

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    1. That's it exactly! No trip to the airport or long journey in the car, but it still felt exotic to be away.

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  10. Luckily there is always fabulous scenery in fishing spots!

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