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Fishing Round Lake, Marion County, OR

May 30, 2007: Round Lake, Marion County, OR: It promised to be a hot summer day so Chris and I determined to check the snow pack between NFD 46 and one of his favorite fishing lakes. (Round Lake is accessed on one of the branches of NFD 63 but washouts have closed the road so one must work your way in from NFD 46.)

Round Lake is not much more than a shallow pond. The shoreline contains pond lilies. Rough skinned newts can be seen making their rounds. Later in the summer algae blooms will cloud the lake. Deeper water is beyond casting range so a float tube is necessary for the serious fisherman. The trout are small but plentiful enough to make fishing interesting. The rhododendrons will be blooming soon to add to the alpine beauty of the area.

I was pleased to find a specimen of fuschia-flowered gooseberry (Ribes lobbii), an uncommon plant.

There were still a few spots of snow blocking the road but with 4-wheel drive engaged we plowed through. Trees were down across the road in a few places but the road was reasonably clear. It would make sense to carry an axe, chainsaw, and a cable… we could yank some of that stuff out of the road.

byLarry

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Larry Rea May 31, 2007 October 14, 2017 Diary

Climbing Saddle Mountain, Clatsop County, OR

May 29, 2007: Saddle Mountain, Clatsop County, OR: Marvin and I headed for Saddle Mountain State Park, determined to climb at least to the two mile point. The trail is steep and rocky. Good hiking boots are recommended. The views from the top are spectacular.

It was a delightful summer day and we enjoyed visiting with the other hikers on the trail. No doubt they wondered about those two old guys loaded down with camera gear, peering at nearly every flower along the trail and muttering to themselves in Latin.

Sometimes they would find us flat on our bellies, sprawled out in the trail, and I’ll bet they wondered for a moment if they needed to start a rescue operation. There would be an air of relief when they discovered we were just looking for the proper perspective for a killer picture of some tiny flower.

It might be interesting to hear their conversation after they passed us.

We’re happy to share our enthusiasm and joy for the day.

byLarry

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Larry Rea May 30, 2007 October 14, 2017 Traveling With Marvin

Columbia River Gorge, Multnomah County, OR

May 25, 2007: Gresham, OR: It is Friday. With the upcoming holiday weekend accompanied by its flock of tourists it seemed like a good day to check the Columbia River Gorge for wildflowers. I started at Troutdale, following old highway 30 past the Vista House on Crown Point and then stopping at pull-outs to check for blooms. The parking lot at Bridal Veil Falls was full so I kept going. Multnomah Falls is always busy and you have to watch the crazy pedestrians carefully because they will walk right out into the highway without paying attention to traffic. (Why does a pedestrian cross the road?)

I returned to I-84 at the John Yeon State Park, crossed over the Columbia on the Bridge of the Gods at Cascade Locks then followed highway 14 along the Washington shore.

I was amazed at the number of cars parked at the Dog Mountain trailhead… there were two full lanes, probably 50 cars, in the parking lot.

Catherine Creek was dry… not much going on there but I did find one “Small Flowered Godetia” (Clarkia purpurea spp quadrivulnera).

Small flowered Godetia (Clarkia quadrivulnera) Catherine Creek 5/27/2007

As I drove by the cliffs upriver a few miles west of the intersection with 197 a flash of color caught my eye. It turned out to be Penstemon richardsonii. I was fascinated with the wasps pollinating the flower. They weren’t honeybees and I was thankful that they weren’t aggressive.

Honey wasp — (Pseudomasaris ) Honey Wasp Penstemon richardsonii bee 5/25/2007

I took the Dalles Mountain road (just east of the intersection with 197), and drove to the top of the hill. The biscuit root (Eriogonum sp.) is in bloom… it doesn’t have a pleasant smell, reminds me of dirty socks. There were butterflies aplenty, the little iridescent blue ones.

The daylight began to fade so I crossed back into Oregon on The Dalles Bridge and returned home on I-84.

byLarry

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Larry Rea May 26, 2007 October 14, 2017 Diary

Iris chrysophylla

May 24, 2007: Detroit, Marion County, OR: After getting some help with key characteristics from Marvin Kellar I returned to take another look at the roadside iris. It is Iris chrysophylla… the slender-tubed iris. Note the flower and the long ovary tube extending from the spathe.

byLarry

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Larry Rea May 25, 2007 October 3, 2017 Diary

Bridal Veil Falls, Multnomah County, OR

May 22, 2007: Bridal Veil Falls, Multnomah County, Oregon: Chris and I tried once again to photograph wildflowers in the State Park known as Bridal Veil Falls. The canopy of the forest causes low light conditions and my digital camera was having problems with focusing and because of wide apertures depth of field was nearly non-existent. The solution was to provide supplemental light with a flash unit. I purchased a micro-flash and this was the field trial for the new equipment. The instructional booklet for the flash unit referred to the camera’s documentation (which was nonexistent) so I was on my own to figure out how the combination worked. The unit required batteries (the salesman failed to mention this) so an extra trip was involved in getting the proper batteries. Finally, it all came together…

Fragrant Fringe Cup

Uncommon flower… Bronze Bells

byLarry

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Larry Rea May 23, 2007 October 3, 2017 Diary