Category: Outings

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Sandy Outing

We had an uncertain weather forecast so we went for a little hike and exploration in Sandy Oregon. Lori, Jeanette, Marilyn and I were going to start with a short hike of Tickle Creek Trail that runs through the expanding new neighborhoods of Sandy. On arriving and after trying several trailheads on the lower and most scenic part of the trail we found it was closed because many trees had fallen across the trail. We ended up going to the other end of the trail to hike back to the closed section. So our short hike became even shorter. Next we moved on to do a short exploration of Meinig Memorial Park. They hold several events here through out the year so now we know where it is. From the park we were able to walk up to the old section of town and start in on a walking tour of historic Sandy. The wind and rain pick up part way through our tour so we retreated back to the car and headed to lunch at the Smokey Hearth. After lunch we check out the Jonsrud Viewpoint. Not much of a view today with the bad weather but on a clear day this spot would be nice. So ended our outing.

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Eugene Outing

Lori, Jeanette, Sylvia and I did a day trip down the Willamette Valley to Eugene. Our first stop was at Skinner Butte where you can get a view of the the city. From there it was just a short drive to get to 5th St. Public Market for just a quick walk through. Then it was off to do what everyone was really interested in, sampling micro brew beer. First stop was to Nankasi Brewing that we found out had closed their taproom. Fortunately Hop Valley Brewing was just a few blocks away where we were able to sample a flight of beers and get some lunch. Everyone agreed the lunch was good but the beer was not. So we were off to near by Oakshire Brewery to sample a flight of tasters that fell short of expectations. We had one more place to try at Claim 52 that was out of many of their beers so we did a short flight. Again another place not to return to. We finished our day in Eugene at a cemetery where a relative of Jeanette was buried and an appropriate place to end our visit.

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Lyle Eagles, Schreiner Farm, Catherine Creek, Fish Hatchery and Backwoods Brewery

Out for a road trip to the East end of the Gorge on a day with no rain or wind just cold. We started at Balfour-Klickitat by Lyle to spot some eagles and then went further East to Schreiner Farm to see some exotic animals. Then it was time to start heading back to Portland with stop at Catherine Creek to see how the flowers were coming along and then another stop at Spring Creek Hatcher to see if the fingerlings were in the raceways and they were. We got there right at feeding time so we saw the water bubble up as the little salmon popping up for lunch. Finally we went to Backwoods for Pizza and beer.

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Memorial, Molalla Parks

We wanted to do a get together after the holidays but weather and injuries prevented us from doing a walk or a hike so we did a little scouting with lunch. Lori, Jeanette and I first headed down to Wilsonville to do a quick check of Memorial Park. The Park offers some trails and could work into a longer hike with connecting over to Boones Ferry Park. Next we were close to where Jeanette planted a tree and placed a remembrance marker for her decease husband and wanted to show use where it was. The area had changed a lot so it took us a while to track down the spot. From here we are off for one of Lori’s favorites a car ferry ride across the Willamette River. This lead us to the Molalla River State Park close by the ferry landing. After a quick drive through the park and seeing it would not work out for future outings it was time for lunch at the Backstop Bar & Grill in Canby. So a day low on walking in the rain but high on poking our noises into places and having a good social time.