May 9, 2013

Columbia River Gorge, Day 1:

I find wildflowers, especially poppies, irresistible for my lens. These were in a field outside of Fort Vancouver.

Amazing how styles and preferences, even manners, change over time. Just look at the bright colours inside the room photographed below.

The interiors of these buildings
would look out of place anywhere
but a historic site. In the above
photo a beautiful wood-carved
stairway decorates the building of a
particularilly notable soldier for
which the Marshal Plan is named.

Old wood stoves used for baking.

These starlings where seen jammed
into all the nooks and crannies of the
watchtower.

The canon seems to be aimed at one of
the fort's own buildings.

It's nice to be back in the northwest. For the most part, today was a day of tourism as we visited various historic sites. Our first stop was fort Vancouver. As I stood within the large wooden walls of the fort and observed the displays that illustrated the different artifacts that could be dug up from the different eras of this region, from early emigrant artifacts of those natives who crossed over the Bearing Strait during the Ice Age to the discarded brochures lying on the modern surface. My mind turned from civilization to the starling on the wall, singing gleefully, and I thought back to those days when mammoths roamed the hills below the local glacial wall. Now the introduced and rather invasive starling is the predominant animal. I can't say I mind them, though. They have almost become a part of suburban culture and I don't mind them at all as long as they stay suburban.

The above two photos are of the
watchtowers.

We viewed some of the buildings used for military housing on the local street and then explored the fort itself with its canons and watchtowers. Despite these preparations, the fort never saw battle historically. The blacksmith told us that the place was primarily a pivotal place for the fur trade (that greedy and wasteful business that seems to have gotten North America its start). That doesn't mean it wasn't a harsh world though, as the re-enactor informed us. Every kid in the town carried a long knife and an ax with him and he was often sent alone into the forest for foraging or hunting. Those tools would come in handy if he wound up spending the night away from home in indian country.

Most food, thankfully, was harvested at the fort's European-style gardens. This too had been recreated by the volunteers at the fort and they grew various fruit, herbs, and spices. It was this practice of early colonizers that resulted in so many introduced species present in North America today. Like starlings.

There were also some native birds at the fort, including a lively sparrow near the fields of wildflowers. At first he sang, but as I crept closer for a photograph, he flitted away to a farther fence post. Still made a decent picture though (check it out on the left).

The photo on the left is of my brother demonstrating an intelligent tourist practice.

On our way to the next site, we stopped at a glorious view of the gorge. Swallows and swifts darted round the cliff below us and turkey vultures soared overhead. Someone jokingly stated that somebody must have fallen off the cliff and that is why the vultures are circling. Well, after noting how precariously some of our members stumbled around the meridians and teetered on the cliffs edge, I wonder if that saying isn't at least a little likely. Just kidding. The vultures just enjoy the updrafts from the valley below.

It's a stunning view from Beacon Rock.

One cannot have too many
wildflower photos. Even these
unobtrusive yellow ones are
delicately pretty. 

We arrived at Beacon Rock, there was a little confusion as to where the trail to the top was. We trekked out on the wrong trail for a minute before realizing that the one we really wanted was just around a bend in the rode. It proved to be an exciting hike with a good view. A great way to get used to being with the family again after a long winter. The rock itself is 848 feet above the Columbia River; a bit of a climb for the less-fit members of the family. Besides the view, a few animals were seen, including a clever Stellar's jay who was obviously used to free handouts from hikers. Some say that the blue jay is more beautiful, but I don't think so. The Stellar's jay just has that "northwest" feel

The way up was a switch-back trail that climbed up the river-facing slope of the basalt cliff. Anyone who considered stepping over the railing was in for a surprise; 800 feet of sheer drop into the forest below. At one bend in the boardwalk, I found something on a ledge. "I caught a snake!" I called, and heads spun to see. It was just a little plastic cobra toy, though.
Tomorrow, we head to Catherine Creek and there we hope to find some real snakes. Stay tuned! (anyone?)
It's so nice to be back with my family in a place I can truly call home. As nice as Florida has been for the winter, nothing beats the colourful biodiversity of the northwest.
I am looking forward to see what tomorrow brings.