May 10, 2004
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Spring Morning in Portland, Oregon
They’re having tornados in Utica but here in peaceful Portland this is what it looks like at 5:45 a.m. I’m actually at work by now and it’s 7:25 a.m.
Yesterday I got to go with my son (who turned 36) and my two grandchildren for Mother’s Day and his birthday to a little island close to where I live called Elk Rock Island. Here’s what a little piece of it looks like.
The island represents part of an ancient volcano that erupted about 40 million years ago. The large, jagged rocks (Waverly Heights basalt) found throughout the island were formed by lava flows, and may be the oldest exposed rock in the Portland area.
Elk Rock Island was part of the original donation land claim of Milwaukie pioneer Lot Whitcomb and was known as Lot Whitcomb Island during the 1860s. It went through six owners before Scottish grain exporter and Portland businessman Peter Kerr (1862-1957) acquired the property in 1910 from the Rock island Club, which operated a dance hall on the island. He gave the island to the City of Portland in 1940 with the requirement that it be preserved in its natural state. As Kerr put it, “Preserve it as a pretty place for all to enjoy.” On October 29, 1954, the Kerr formally dedicated Peter Kerr Park with a bronze plaque on Peter Kerr’s 93rd birthday. For those of you Xangans who live in Portland this is a little known nature treasure to visit. It’s easy to get to and easy to hike. We saw herons and geese and lots of exciting bugs. Of course we had our gear – binoculars, bug box, one of those Christopher Robin nets on a long stick bug catching things. The weather was perfect. It was just the right amount of outing for me. Now on with the Rest of the Year.
Deep Thought: It makes me mad when people say I turned and ran like a scared rabbit. Maybe it was like an angry rabbit, who was running to go fight in another fight, away from the first fight.
Today I am grateful for: My Timex starting ticking again just when I thought it was broken for good.
Comments (7)
You’ll have to post directions. It sounds interesting and would be fun to visit. Thanks for posting. I love hiking.
i love how the wee hours look there in your part of the world. i spent many a happy summer day in Portland, Oregon as a child on holiday with my family. we’d walk along the ocean after storms, sifting through all the debris, dead crabs, sea dollars, etc…and set fireworks off on the beach, i remember that too, we couldn’t do that back in Canada – illegal to purchase and set off fireworks then here…
Looks cool.
Looks like a great place to frolic!
Sounds like you had a fun day.
Sound like a good trip.
What a great place to visit anytime, but on Mother’s Day would make it extra special. How cool to walk on a volcano, even if it’s extinct.
Is that a rose bush on the left side of your yard picture?