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Cattle drive near Haines, Oregon.  Everything about the cattle drives have changed over the years but the cowboys still have the same view.  Photo:  Near Haines, Or. just West of Baker City, Or   6/12/2006

Wallowa Lake with Mt Howard in the background is located just west of Joseph in N.E. Oregon.  The lake is five miles long with a maximum width of one mile and a depth of 283 feet.  The elevation of the lake is 4372 feet and Mt Howard is 8256 feet. There is a lodge at the far end of the lake and a tram rises 3700 feet up Mt Howard. The lake was formed by a glacier and it left a substantial moraine (photo #2).  The ducks in the foreground are Common Mergansers.  Photos:  Wallowa Lake  6/11/2006

Grist Mill on Cedar Creek just upstream from the Lewis River near Woodland, Wa.  Built in 1876, it is still operational and serves as a working museum.  Bring some grain or corn and they will probably grind it for you for a small fee.  I think they are open on Saturday and Sunday with group tours by arrangement but you will probably want to Google and call beforehand.   Photo:    About 7 miles North-East of Woodland, Wa.  2/10/2005

The annual Polish Festival in Portland, Oregon takes place every year on the last weekend in September.  This is the largest Polish Festival West of the Mississippi and last year approximately 12,000 people attended.  It is located in the parking lot adjacent to the St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church and the Polish Library Hall on Intersate Ave in historic North Portland.

They have traditional food, costumes and entertainment.  I had Kielbasa (Polish sausage), golabki (cabbage rolls), pierogi (dumplings filled with rice and meat or cheese) and bigos (hunters stew made from cabbage and meat) and it was very tasty.  Fine deserts and a wide variety of libations were also available.

On stage while I was there, were several groups of youngsters in ornate costumes performing traditional ethnic dances.  The were very entertaining and I particularly enjoyed the pride and enthusiasm of the children that were performing.  There were older groups scheduled for later in the day.

If you weren’t there, you missed it, but you can put it on your calendar for next year. It is not too late however, to attend the Greek Festival that will be held the first weekend in October at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Portland.  If you don’t live nearby, check to see what is going on in your area.  I am not apt to travel to Poland or Greece but they were kind enough to come to Oregon and share some of their culture with us.  Photos:  Polish Festival, Portland, Or 9/26/2009

Dalmatian Toadflax “Linaria dalmatica” Snapdragon Family (Scrophulariaceae) Perennial, plant 2-4′ tall, leaves blue -green and alternate, bright yellow flowers with closed throats and conspicuous spurs.  Blooms in late spring along roadways in disturbed soils in Or and Wa.  Non-native and invasive.  Photo:  near Catherine Creek, Wa in the Columbia River Gorge  4/20/2005

Bitterroot “Lewisia rediviva”  Purslane Family (Portulacaceae). Perennial, plant 1-3″ tall with fleshy leaves and carrot-like roots, flowers white to rose and 2-3″ in diameter.  Blooms in late spring in the Columbia River Gorge and in Eastern Or. and Wa.  Photo: Catherine Creek, Wa. in the Columbia River Gorge 4/20/2005

Tall Annual Willow Herb “Epilobium barachycarpum” Evening Primrose Family (Onagraceae).  Annual, plant 1-3 feet tall, four petals white to pink and lobed. Blooms July to September in dry grasslands and along roadsides throughout Or. and Wa.   Photo Columbia Hills State Park, Wa. in the Columbia River Gorge 9/18/2009

The site where these petroglyphs were discovered is now underwater behind the The Dalles Dam on the Columbia River.  Forty-three were rescued and are now on display at Columbia Hills State Park in Wa. across the river from The Dalles, Or. There are a lot more that are now under about 60 feet of water.  Photo:  9/18/2009.

She Who Watches Petroglyph.  I went to the Columbia Hills State Park in Washington just across from The Dalles, Oregon to see “She Who Watches”.   The three foot diameter petroglyph is old but probably not ancient and it may have been created only two or three hundred years ago.  There are additional petroglyphs but she is definitely the queen.  The trail is about a half mile long and the surface is somewhat rocky and uneven.  Visitation is by appointment only on Thursdays and Fridays, April through October.  Photo:  Columbia River Gorge  9/18/2009

Buffalo Burr “Solanum rostratum”  Nightshade Family (Solanaceae)  Annual, plant 2-3 feet tall, lobed leaves resemble the watermelon plant, yellow flowers five lobed and aprox 1 inch diameter,  spines on stems and fruits.  Noxious weed from the mid-west and each plant produces approx 8500 seeds.  Photo:  Goble, Or  9/17/2009