Day 3 includes yet another house in the Portland area. The house is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places, but that’s not why most people visit the house. The house is now a museum, the rooms turned into galleries.

If you enjoy natural science then you will adore this museum. If that’s not your thing, then you’ll be really bored here. It really is a museum of pretty much only rocks & minerals.

Technically, it’s called the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks & Minerals. But, who’s going to say all that? We just call it the Rice Rock Museum or even the Rock Museum.

The home turned museum was built in 1952 by rockhounds, Richard & Helen Rice.

Right out front is a large quartz piece found in Arkansas.

Main Building

The Rainbow Gallery is one of our favorites.
Top: In normal light the minerals aren’t all that wowing…
Bottom: … But, wait a few seconds and the lights go out. Then, they cycle through both shortwave & longwave florescent lights. The minerals react differently to the varying wavelengths. They seem to glow.

Top: A visual representation of the hardness scale of minerals.
Bottom: The kids can even test the hardness scale themselves.

Also on display are examples of how minerals are used in our everyday lives.

Synthetic Bismuth from Germany
To be honest, I have know idea what that means, but I thought it was super cool.

The lady on the left is carved from jade. The piece on the right is agate & from Beijing.

Mt. Hood Aurora Borealis carved from contra luz opal by Thomas Harth Ames.

Dennis & Mary Murphy Petrified Wood Gallery

Carved Lewis and Clark

Bottom Left: The green stuff is Pyromorphite. Found in France.
Bottom Right: Wulfenite. Found in Arizona.

Recently a letterbox was hidden at the museum. Of course, we had to find it.

The rare, beautiful & famous ‘Alma Rose’ rhodochrosite. From Colorado.

Cut gems

Northwest Mineral Gallery

As you enter this building you are greeted by this huge opal filled thunderegg found in Oregon. The thunderegg is Oregon’s state rock.

Mesolite. Found in Washington

Another good sized Thunderegg. These rocks are dull on the outside, but beautiful inside.

These thundereggs are about fist size, a more typical size.

Oregon’s state gem, sunstone.

I loved these 3 paintings showing the process of a petrified forest.
Top: “Before Petrification: A forest, including fallen logs is depicted. Volcanoes are erupting in the distance. A lake separates the forest from the volcanoes, and the lakes water cools the lava.”
Middle: “During Petrification: Logs are buried under lava (basalt) and a top layer of soil has developed, implying a long passage of time since burial. The overlying basalt and soil create anaerobic environment preventing the wood from decomposing. Silica rich water seeps down through the soil and basalt to the wood and precipitates microcrystalline quartz (agate/chert/jasper) and/or opal. Other minerals/elements in the water (eg iron) cause the coloration.”
Bottom: “After Petrification: A new landscape exists and erosion has now exposed the now petrified wood to the surface.”

Outside

Left: There is a huge rock pile outside. The kids each got to pick one to take home.
Right: Farm Girl was sweet and gave me her rock to put around our pond. It’s sitting next to a love rock.

My kids love this Rock Museum. We’ve visited it a few times and I’m sure we’ll visit it again.
To see what others are sharing for the month of October check out write31days.com

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On a fairly sunny day in May, the kids and I spent the day exploring sites in the Columbia Gorge.

COLUMBIA GORGE INTERPRETIVE CENTER

Although I wanted to see other things, my main reason for going to The Gorge that day was to visit the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center. So, we went there first.

The Interpretive Center is on the Washington side of the Columbia River, but I had planned to drive most of the way on the Oregon side, up I-84. Even though, for the most part, I knew where to go I still turned on Google navigation. When I got closer to Portland, Google Maps changed my route. I don’t know why, but I followed it. It now had me crossing the Columbia River in Portland and driving the rest of the way on the Washington side, on SR-14, part of the Lewis & Clark Highway. This was my first time driving up The Gorge via Washington.

BRIDGE OF THE GODS

After touring the Interpretive Center, we drove over the Bridge of the Gods to get back to Oregon. As well as being a cool looking bridge, it is also part of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Cheryl Strayed ended her PCT travels here, as she tells in her book Wild. She was a nut & probably never should have hiked that trail as inexperienced as she was. But, it is a great story about not only her journey on the PCT, but also her journey through life getting her where she is now. It’s inspiring. I can’t wait until the movie comes out.

PACIFIC CREST TRAIL

Just over the bridge, in Oregon, is the little town of Cascade Locks. Here, we hiked a short way on the Pacific Crest Trail in search of a letterbox. Which, we found. Yay! One day we will hike more of this trail.

CASCADE LOCKS

We found another letterbox not far from the sign.

I’ve only been to Cascade Locks once or twice before, and I remember getting ice cream cones from this place. So in adding to that memory, I treated the kids. It was a warm day, perfect for licking ice cream.

BONNEVILLE DAM

BONNEVILLE FISH HATCHERY

From the dam, we went to the Bonneville Fish Hatchery.

MULTNOMAH FALLS

Our last stop of the day was a quick visit to Multnomah Falls.

Multnomah Falls is the highest year round waterfall in Oregon. Second largest in the US. The Upper Fall plummets 542 feet. The Lower Fall is 69 feet.

A few months prior a boulder fell through the Benson Bridge. This bridge allows you to continue your hike across the Falls and up to the top. The bridge was being repaired, so it and the trail were closed. It is now open, though.
The furthest we could go up the trail was to this observation point, which was fine since I didn’t want to spend a long time at the Falls anyway.

Excerpt from the journals of Lewis & Clark, April 9, 1806
“we passed several beautifull cascades which fell from a great hight over the stupendious rocks & the most remarkable of these casscades falls about 300 feet perpendicularly over a solid rock into a narrow bottom of the river on the south side. . . . several small streams fall from a much greater hight, and in their decent become a perfect mist which collecting on the rocks below again become visible and decend a second time in the same manner before they reach the base of the rocks.”

It was a long, fabulous day. I don’t even remember the kids arguing much.

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To go along with our Native American studies we visited the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center. This was our first time exploring this museum.

I was surprised at the variety of exhibits. We were there for the Indian artifacts, but also learned about the natural history, transportation, & community of the Columbia Gorge.

FIRST PEOPLES – THE CASCADE CHINOOK

We began our tour in the section of the museum that housed the items we came to see, The Native American exhibit.

Left: Standing tall & proud in the middle of the exhibit is a replica of  Tsagaglalal: She Who Watches. She is probably the most recognizable petroglyph in our area.

Top Right: Carved totems or sticks & Shaman’s spangle or shield.

Bottom Right: Canoe anchor & net sinker

Top Left: Knife – Stone blade attached by pitch to antler handle.
Not long before we visited the museum, Farm Kid1 asked me how the Indians made knives. I had to tell him I didn’t know, but probably out of bones or stones. I was happy to see this example & an explanation of what it was made from.

Top Right: Gaming stone – rolled or kicked by teams in the “kick” game.
Holy cow, that must have hurt when you kicked it.

Bottom: Root gathering or storage bags.

Left: Ceremonial dress made from buckskin with bead & shell embellishments

Emory Strong Library
Emory Strong spent more than 40 years researching the early people of the Columbia River Basin. After his death, his family donated his collection to the museum. Walking in the library is only available by appointment, but we could see all the memorabilia & artifacts through the glass.

TURNING POINT & THE CORPS OF DISCOVERY

With Lewis & Clark exploring the area in the early 1800’s, change was certainly coming. Between 1850 and 1853 land speculators & settlers filed claims under the Donation Land Act along the north bank of the Columbia River.

Top Left: Council Fire on the Columbia by David Manuel
A bronze sculpture with Native Americans & members of the Corp of Discovery. There was a small sign encouraging us to find a few items in the sculpture like a quill pen, fishing net, & blue trade beads. I love things like that. I guarantee my kids would have took a quick glance at the sculpture and moved on. Instead, they examined the sculpture searching for the items.

Bottom Left: Model of the Clahclehlah village
Lewis & Clark visited this site in 1805 & 1806. It was excavated from 1977 -1979 during the construction of a powerhouse at Bonneville Dam. Many artifacts were found.

Right: Items typically traded by the people of Clahclehlah in the early 1800’s, such as wapato roots, salmon tails, hazelnuts, tobacco, wool blankets & dentalium shells.

EARLY CHANGES

This area focused on the pioneers moving to the area & the military forts needed to protect them from Native Americans.

1907 dry goods store front
The real Doumitt Store closed in 1957.

The store windows displayed items available at the store. I love the items from this time period.

TRANSPORTATION

A small area is dedicated to sternwheelers & the SP & S (Spokane, Portland & Seattle) Railroad. I’ll admit we didn’t spend a lot of time in this area, although I do find the changes in transportation interesting. The sternwheelers were basically put out of business once the railroad came through. I’m curious to see what, if anything, makes automobiles obsolete.

Bailey Gatzert pilot wheel
The Bailey Gatzert was a sternwheeler built in 1890. She ran up and down the Columbia River & also around Puget Sound until the 1920’s.

HARVESTING RESOURCES

A large, open area showcases the timber & fishing industries.

Top Left: Logging equipment

Top Right: 1930 Caterpillar Tractor

Bottom: 1921 Mack Log truck. Max speed is 17.2 mph

Top Left: Typical airplane to deliver air male, a 1917 Curtiss JN-4 or “Jenny” bi-plane.

Bottom Left: The Corliss Engine, a giant saw mill steam engine weighing 32 tons. This thing was huge. It was made in 1895 & provided energy to a sawmill until 1949.

Right: McCord Fishwheel Replica
I asked Farm Kid2 what he thought this huge contraption was used for. He said he thought it had something to do with catching fish. I thought he was crazy, but it turns out that he was right. The wheels were placed in the Columbia River scooping up fish & dumping them into boxes. They were very effective. By 1935 they were banned in both Oregon & Washington.

HARSH DEMANDS – BONNEVILLE DAM

It is a small section of the museum, but I found the effects of Bonneville Dam & our need for its hydro-electric power very interesting.

COMMUNITY GALLERY

Inside & around the “house” are items about the people in the community.

Left: An old scrapbook. I’m so tempted to make one of these oldies, but goodies, for my kids. It’s a much better way than an old box to hold their memorabilia.

Right: Canteen cup with WWII battle locations inscribed

JAPANESE COLLECTION

An added bonus at the museum was their Japanese collection. We had just finished studying Japan, so it was great timing to view items from that culture.

Since Japan is right across the Pacific Ocean many Japanese immigrants came to the Pacific NW in the early 1900’s. They helped build roads, railroads, & tunnels, they planted orchards & operated ranches.
Top: Kazeon-bosatsu (Goddess of Mercy)
c. 1600
The gold ball in her hand represents happiness, joy & good health

Top: Wedding kimono

Bottom Left: “Beautiful Woman Just from Bath” by Kitagawa Utamaro
wood block print. copy of 1797 original
When we went to the Portland Art Museum I was hoping to see a wood block print, which we didn’t. So, I was glad to see one here.

ROSARY COLLECTION

I am not Catholic, but this was amazing. The Don Brown Rosary Collection displays about 4000 rosaries.

OUTDOOR EXHIBITS

Court of the Cedars
Carved in 1980 by Dudley Carter at 90 years old.
Right: Primitive Woman

Top: Early logging & road building equipment
If you are someone who really likes machinery, this museum had lots of machines to admire.

Bottom: 1959 SP & S diesel locomotive
Supposedly there is a geocache hidden on that train engine, but we didn’t find it. Dang it!

I am definitely glad we went to this museum. We learned so much about the Native people & the many changes over the years in an area not far from our home.

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After visiting Bonneville Dam we drove a very short distance to the Bonneville Fish Hatchery. It is on Tanner Creek, close to where it empties into the Columbia River. This is also the location where Lewis and Clark stayed on April 9, 1806. The last time we were at the hatchery was in 2007, on our way back from Idaho. It certainly was time to see it again.

This hatchery is Oregon’s largest & has been around for over 100 years. They hatch Coho Salmon, Chinook Salmon, and Steelhead for release in the Columbia River. Some young fish are also sent to other hatcheries.

The hatchery is managed by Oregon Fish & Wildlife & is part of the Bonneville Dam Historic District.

REARING PONDS

SPAWNING BUILDING

Spawning takes place during the fall. We visited the hatchery in the spring, so nothing was happening here. We did watch a video on the spawning process at the hatchery. The video was a bit graphic, but very informative. The part that I remember most is fertilization of the salmon egg. Many eggs from females are held in a bucket. The sperm from the males have been collected in a cup. The sperm cup is then dumped into the bucket of eggs. Voila, fertilized fish eggs.

STURGEON VIEWING & INTERPRETIVE CENTER

Inside the building you can view Herman, the Sturgeon. Honestly, I’m not sure if Herman was out the day we visited. This was the largest sturgeon we saw and I’m not positive it’s him. Herman is more than 70 years old & over 10 feet long. I don’t think this guy was quite that long. Either way this one was fun to watch.

A few other fish were swimmin’ along with the sturgeon.

We also viewed the sturgeon from outside, looking down into their pond.

This was a fun place to take my animal loving children. I’m glad they got to see conservation efforts at work.

One of these years, I’m going  to have to make a point to visit the hatchery in the fall to watch the spawning.

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On a recent trip to the Columbia Gorge, we stopped at Bonneville Lock & Dam. It is located about 40 miles east of Portland, on the Columbia River between Oregon & Washington. Construction of the lock & dam was complete in 1938. A second powerhouse was operational in 1981. The lock & dam are used for river navigation & hydropower. In 1987, Bonneville Lock and Dam were declared a National Historic Landmark.

INSIDE BRADFORD ISLAND VISITOR CENTER

We explored the Bradford Island Visitor Center.

Bottom Left: Capt. Benjamin L.E. Bonneville (1796 – 1878)
Years after graduating from West Point, Bonneville set out to be a fur trader in the west. From 1832 – 1835 Bonneville explored much of what later was the Oregon Trail. He worked for an American man that was a rival of the very large Britain-based Hudson’s Bay Company. HBC had a trading post we visited at Fort Vancouver and, at the time, the trader’s from HBC were not allowed to trade with the American fur trappers. Although the fur trading didn’t go well, Bonneville’s expedition wasn’t a complete failure. He took extensive notes on agricultural areas, timber & fur trading in the west.
As stated in the photo, Bonneville returned to the Pacific Northwest in 1852 and was one of the first to recognize the waters of the Columbia River could be controlled for human benefit.

Bottom Right: Post insulators & a bus bar. The post insulators keep the bus bar from touching anything. The bus bar carries electric current from transformers to transmission lines.

Fish Ladder
We got an underwater view of the fish swimming in the fish ladder.

There’s no guarantee that there will be fish migrating through the day you visit. I’m glad we got lucky when we went.

Workers at the dam use the underwater viewing to count the fish coming through the ladder. Biologists use this information to track fish runs.

Sketches from the Corps of Discovery
These two fish photos are in almost every museum we’ve visited that have anything to do with Lewis & Clark. They are reproductions from their journals.

Left: White Salmon Trout (or Coho Salmon), by William Clark
Excerpt from Lewis’ Journal, March 16, 1806
“The white salmon trout which we had previously seen only at the great falls of the Columbia has now made it’s appearance in the creeks near this place. One of them was brought us today by an Indian who had just taken it with his gig…”

Right: Eulachon (or Candlefish), by William Clark
Excerpt from Clark’s Journal, February 25, 1806
“I purchased of the Clatsops this morning about half a bushel of small fish which they had caught about 40 miles up the Columbia in their scooping nets. As this is an uncommon to fish to me and one which no one of the party has ever seen. On the next page I have drawn the likeness of them as large as life…”
“I found them best when cooked in Indian style, which is by roasting a number of them together on a wooden spit without any previous preparation whatever. They are so fat that they require no additional sauce and I think them superior to any fish I ever tasted…”

Learning via Computer
Downstairs, near the fish ladder viewing, was lots of info about fish & their migration patterns. The kids, of course, thought the information gained through use of the computer was best.

OUTSIDE THE VISITOR CENTER

Bonneville Powerhouse
To get to the Visitor Center on Bradford Island, you have to stop at a security checkpoint. Then, the road continues on right over the powerhouse. I’ll admit it gave me a slight case of the eebie-jeebies.

Fish Ladder
Fish ladders are used to get adult fish heading upstream passed the dam. The fish swim & jump up the ladder similar to the way they swim & jump up rapids of a river. Common fish that use the ladder are Chinook salmon, steelhead, shad, sockeye, lamprey & sturgeon.

We watched fish going up the ladder for quite awhile.

Bottom Right: The darkish blob is a jumping fish. Getting a photo of the fast moving fish in the rushing water was difficult.

Pill Box used during WWII
Bonneville Lock & Dam were a potential threat during World War II. Armed guards used these tiny cement shelters to defend the area.

Old Turbine
This gigantic turbine was in use for 60 years. It helped create power for 25,000 homes.

The Spillway
The spillway was open the day we visited, allowing water to gush through. This water is not used to produce power. It is used to let young migrating fish through to continue their journey to the ocean. Sometimes, after very wet winters, the spillway is open to let more water flow downstream.

I left the dam with very mixed feelings. I love what an engineering feat it is. It truly is amazing, even though a lot of the mechanics go way over my head. I truly am grateful for the energy it produces. I certainly don’t want to live without my lights, microwave or computer. The thought of not being able to charge my camera battery… eek!

I’m also impressed there is so much thought going into helping the declining number of salmon and other fish survive our human ways. Yet, I feel guilty. We’ve done quite a bit to mess with nature’s course of events. Fish waiting to go up the fish ladders often become a sea lion’s dinner. That has become such a problem that they now kill some of the sea lions. The same fate is waiting 16,000 cormorants next spring. I once was a scuba diver and had an interest in fish and sea mammals. I hate to see any of them killed on purpose. In more recent years, I’ve become a birder. I also hate to see such a huge number of birds killed. I don’t know what the solution is. But, it does give me something to think about.

Well, I hate to leave as a Debbie Downer. We really did learn a lot while visiting the dam. I think we’d all agree, our favorite part was watching the fish in the fish ladder. I’d actually like to go back, learn more & see the lock.

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To go along with our unit on Native Americans, I took the kids to the Portland Art Museum to see their Native American collection. We saw a variety of art. Some work was modern & used as decoration, some work was once used in celebrations, & some work was used in everyday life. I was surprised & impressed with all the different styles.

We went to the Art Museum on a day there was a public tour of the Native American art. The woman in the photo below was our docent & was great at asking the kids questions. The tour was about an hour. The first 30-45 minutes the kids were really engaged, then I think the talking got to be too much & they started getting antsy. I’m happy knowing they did learn at least a little bit because occasionally they will mention something the woman told us.

After Boarding School: In Mourning
Kaila Farrell-Smith. 2011. Oil paint & pastel on canvas.
This painting tells a story I never knew. My kids were saddened by it, as well. I never knew that well into the 20th century Native American children were taken from their homes to go to school. They were taught the ways of the Euro-Americans. They were forced to cut their hair & not speak their native language.

Anthropomorphic Figure
unknown Columbia River artist. Before 1750. Basalt.

Honoring the Family
Family items made by Native Americans in the Columbia Plateau

 Elk Tooth Dress
unknown Crow artist. ca 1890. Wool cloth, elk teeth, bone, and glass beads.

Girl’s Dress
unknown Cheyenne artist. ca 1890. Leather, glass beads, and paint.

Dress
unknown Blackfeet artist. ca 1890. Leather, glass beads, and wool cloth.

Cradle
unknown Kiowa artist. ca 1890. Wood, metal, leather, cotton cloth, glass beads, gourd, and hair.

A dried gourd on the cradle was baby’s rattle.

Woman’s Boots
unknown Kiowa artist. ca 1890. Leather, rawhide, paint, glass beads, metal tacks.

Moccasins
unknown Plains artist. ca 1890/1900. Leather, rawhide, cotton cloth binding, porcupine quills, glass beads, metal cones, and dyed horsehair.

Celebrating the Horse
Work of the Plateau Indians

Singing Maidens
Allan Houser. 1979. Tennessee marble.

Duck Pipe
Glenn LaFontaine. ca 1975. Clay and acrylic paint.

Basket
unknown Cahuilla artist. ca 1920. Sumac and juncus.

Because of the cold weather in Alaska, these Native Americans had fewer colors & materials available for their work. To be honest, these items were not my favorite, but I did appreciate them.

Mask
unknown Yup’ik artist. ca 1900. Wood, feathers, paint, and sinew

 Killer Whale Mask
unknown Kwakwaka’wakw artist. ca 1900. Wood, paint, cloth, and string.

Wolf Forehead Mask
Tlingit. ca 1880. Wood, hair, copper, opercula shells, cloth, paint.

Raven to Sun Transformation Mask
Kwakwaka’wakw Tribe.

Dzunuk’wa Feast Dish
unknown Kwakwaka’wakw artist. ca 1900. Cedar and paint

When we first saw this, we were in awe. It’s huge. We didn’t know what it was. We thought maybe some kind of canoe or maybe a casket. Turns out it is to serve food. The Native Americans would use it to serve meals at large celebrations.

In this area of the museum we learned about the Pacific NW Native American art style, including the ovoid. It is definitely a shape & style I recognized, I just didn’t know it had a name or was so significant. An ovoid is a rounded rectangular shape. It is used to create things such as eyes, bodies, wings, fins, & can even be used just to fill up space. The ovoid shape is used many times in this feasting dish.

The Sculptor and the King
George de Forest Brush. 1888. Oil on wood panel.

Cheyenne Encampment
Ralph Blakelock. ca 1873. Oil on canvas.

Figurative Mola
unknown San Blas artist. ca 1940. Cotton.

Magpie, Guy, Wolf & Flat Screen
Joe Feddersen. 2012. Fused glass.

I am always surprised when modern or contemporary art grabs my attention & I like it, a lot. That’s not usually the type of art I tend to like. But this I really enjoyed. And, so did my kids. The artist is of Native American heritage & is a member of the The Confederated Tribes of The Colville Reservation. He combines his heritage with modern items, such as a tv, in his artwork. He is a basket maker & these fused glass pieces are a new way to create that weaving pattern. Now the kids & I want to take a fused glass class.

I am so thankful for all the great museums & places to visit within driving distance from our home.

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The kids & I ventured a bit south yesterday to visit The Oregon Garden. This was a first time visit for all of us.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect. We didn’t have time to explore the entire garden, but what we did see we enjoyed very much. It was a great place to explore with my kids. We had fun seeing the birds, squirrels, snakes, frogs, salamanders & bugs. I’ll admit, not all of it was knock-your-socks off gardening. But, we did have a great time & I enjoyed seeing the many different garden styles.

AMAZING WATER GARDEN

Chilean Gunnera
The leaves on this interesting plant caught my attention.

The kids spotted many salamanders in the pools of water.

We also saw a snake hunting frogs in the water. Things like this could entertain my kids all day.

TRAM RIDE

We took a tram ride to the back side of the garden. Then walked our way back. The tram driver was full of information about the various plants & gardens.

According to the tram driver, many of the garden areas are being kept up by various sources. He told us a story about this house & that it is now owned (or at least partly owned) by Better Homes & Garden Magazine. I found that curious.

REDISCOVERY FOREST

A very well managed demonstration forest area. It was beautiful and had lots of information. However, it was a bit too well kept to be an accurate representation of what our forests look like. We live in the hills of the Coast Range and there is a lot more depth in the plants than what is shown here.

Many Christmas trees throughout the country are grown right here in Oregon. We have a few friends that have Christmas tree farms. As part of the Rediscovery Forest, rows of Christmas trees were on display.

CHILDREN’S GARDEN

If I had to pick a favorite part of the Oregon Garden, this would be it. I adored all the whimsy.

Left: Mrs. & Mr. Potts
Right: Dolphin topiary

Awesome bench. Awesome weather vane.

Of all the gardens, the one idea I’m most likely to use at my own house is probably unconventional. I’ve had the idea of making a hobbit house for the kids for a little while now. But, seeing this one in person convinced me that we totally need one. My immediate reaction was how much our goats would love to climb on it. We have two piles of dirt that need rehoming & we need permanent housing for our goats. It’s a no-brainer to combine the two & make the shelter for the goats a hobbit house.

AND MORE…

Avondale Redbud
The one plant/tree that I wanted to come home with. I love the magenta color.

Silverton Market Garden
One area displayed different ways to grow a variety of crops. There were trellises with grape vines & raised beds ready to be planted. I, of course, was happy to see a chicken coop.

Left: The 400 year old Signature Oak. It is one of Oregon’s heritage trees.

LETTERBOXING

The kids & I like to search for letterboxes. We found a couple at the Oregon Garden. Yay!

The kids enjoyed this garden so much & wanted to stay longer, but as it was we were going to be a few minutes late for Farm Girl’s gymnastics class. We will definitely need to visit again. I’m thinking maybe even this summer. I’d love to see the gardens in full summer bloom.

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As part of our Moving West unit, we are learning about Lewis & Clark. We spent part of the weekend exploring the Lewis & Clark National & State Historical Parks in both Oregon & Washington. This is along the Pacific Ocean, the final destination of Lewis & Clark’s Expedition. At Cape Disappointment we toured the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center.

The Lewis & Clark National & State Parks are within the beautiful old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest.

INTERPRETIVE CENTER

Lewis & Clark’s team, The Corps of Discovery, carried a 15 star & 15 stripe flag (similar to this one) on their expedition. By the time Lewis & Clark went on their adventure (1803) there were 17 states, but the flag hadn’t been redesigned yet.

A half scale replica of the dugout canoes used by the Corps of Discovery.

There were many hands on activities, which of course, my kids loved. This one is trying to stack a canoe with as many supplies as possible without tipping your boat. The Corps of Discovery had to repack their boats daily.

Elk Skin Coat: Typically the frontiersmen wore buckskin clothes
Knapsack: US Army issued bags painted to repel water
Flintlock Rifle: Replica of the type of gun used by the Corps of Discovery

The Corps of Discovery encountered 24 different Indian tribes on their journey, including the Chinook.

Left:  The Interpretive Center also had examples of the journals kept by the Corps of Discovery.

Right: Once the Corps of Discovery made it to the Pacific Ocean they needed to decide the best place to spend the winter.

The items in this case belonged to Patrick Gass, a member of the Corps of Discovery. On the left is the flask he used. To the right is a wooden razor box believed to have been carved and given to him by Sacagawea.

More amazing to me than the items in the case, though, are the words around the case on the right. It says each of the men in the Corps of Discovery received 320 acres of land & double pay. Lewis & Clark each received 1600 acres and double pay. York and Sacagawea got nothing. Zilch. Nada. I know this was a sign of the times. But, it’s still awful. Obviously the US government was happy with their expedition for the men to receive double pay plus land. It’s appalling that the time, effort & sacrifice from an Indian Woman and a Black Slave weren’t compensated in the same way.

Sacajawea at the Big Water by John F Clymer

The end of the exhibit had pull drawers describing what happened to each member of the Corps of Discovery. York got his freedom sometime after 1811.

There was another section dedicated to the People at the Mouth of the Columbia River

A 3-D map showing where the fresh water Columbia River meets the salt water of the Pacific Ocean. Cape Disappointment is on the Washington side of the river. You can just barely see the You Are Here arrow in this pic.

CAPE DISAPPOINTMENT

Top: Cape Disappointment is one of the foggiest places in the US. I believe it. Not too far from us was the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. We could barely see it do to the fog.

Bottom Left: The words “Welcome to the Edge of the Continent” amaze me . I have lived near the Pacific Ocean all my life and I take it for granted. I can’t imagine the joy the Corps of Discovery felt when they first saw it.

Bottom Right: The Interpretive Center sits back on a rocky ledge. Many cormorants live on these rocks.

Outside the building is a large version of the nickel featuring the Pacific Ocean in the Westward Journey series. Just the other day we discussed and did rubbings of the Westward Journey nickels.  I wish I would have known this large one was there. I would have brought paper and a crayon for the kid’s to make a rubbing.

FORT CANBY

The Interpretive Center sits where what once was Fort Canby. The fort was built to defend the Columbia River from enemy warships. The US Army was here from the mid 1800’s until the end of WWII.

I love the field trips as much as my kids. I always learn something new & it’s always a great excuse to go see something we wouldn’t normally get to see. We drove across the crazy-steep, then low to the water Astoria Bridge. Made it to the edge of North America. Walked through an amazing old growth forest. Saw a lighthouse in the fog, making it a great time to show the kids why we have lighthouses in the first place. Explored an old army fort. Saw a bald eagle! We learned that the white stuff on the rocks with the cormorants was guano. The kids loved that. We experienced all this and more while the intent was to simply learn a little something about Lewis & Clark. I’m already plotting when we can go back & make a bigger trip out of it.

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As part of our Amazon Rainforest study we visited the Amazon Flooded Forest exhibit at the Oregon Zoo. This is a section we don’t generally spend a lot of time exploring. So, this was a great excuse to look a little closer. I had Farm Kid1 answer a few questions such as Which animal is the most colorful? Why? Which animal is the hardest to find? Why? Can you find all the colors of the rainbow in this exhibit? Farm Kid2 had a piece of paper & a few crayons. He drew the animals.

I’m not sure about you, but I never realized how high the waters get in the Amazon. I guess I never thought about it. The seasons in the Amazon are marked by the rain. During the rainy season the Amazon basin will flood, the waters getting extremely high. Eventually the water will recede showing off the forest floor. Some how the plants & animals have figured out how to adapt to these changes every year.

RED-HANDED TAMARIN
Emerald tree boa in the background. It appears as though these two are in the same area, but really they are separated by glass.

EMERALD TREE BOA

GREEN ANACONDA

PACU
Also in the exhibit are big fish called pacu. We learned that pacu in the wild eat the fruit from trees when the water is high, then poop out the seeds. When the water level recedes the seeds grow into new trees. These fish are an important part of the system.

DWARF CAIMAN
Not exactly the prettiest set of teeth.

ARRAU TURTLE
They are an endangered species.

We spent a good 45 minutes examining this small, but educational, exhibit. We all left with a better understanding of the rainforest.

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Farm Kid1 has visited the Tillamook Forest Center twice with Cub Scouts, but this was my first time going. I really enjoyed it. It’s a great discovery center & it’s free (donations accepted, of course). The museum has a ton of information on the Tillamook Forest including plants, animals & how people use the area.

Out Front

The building design is different. To be honest, I didn’t even realize this was the main exhibit hall when we first drove up. Thank goodness the boys knew where to go. Not long after being there, the building grew on me. I actually think it’s fantastic. It’s environmentally friendly, many of the building materials are local and that cute pond in front has many uses including acting as a heat exchange for the cooling system. The long gutter-thing sticking out in between the 2 buildings collects rain water from the roof and dumps it into the pond.

Replica of a forest fire lookout tower. Of course we climbed to the top and were rewarded with a great view of the forest. Inside the small room was a bed, a large map to chart the location of the fire & a radio to warn others.

Inside the Museum

Tillamook Burn

Left: All dressed up to practice putting out a fire.

Top Right: It’s hard to notice in this pic, but this is a 3D map with lights showing the different areas of the various fires during the Tillamook Burn.

Bottom Right: We can’t discuss forest fire safety without thinking about Smokey the Bear.

This is way past my running level, but here’s an ultra event for any one interested in checking it out: Run the Burn 5o miler & 50K

Displays

I loved all the hidden displays. This one shows what it looks like underground, but you had to pull it out to see it.

Left: Life on a rotten log. There’s even a huge magnify glass to get a closer peek.

Right: Another hidden display. This one describes rings on a tree.

This, I thought, was fantastic – especially since we have been discussing the different layers in a forest. There is a small scale model of each of the layers with a quick blurb describing the layer and drawers full of important plants and animals.

Changes in salmon eggs.

Hiking Trails out Back

To finish off our trip, we went on a short hike behind the museum.

I’m so glad we made the trip to this Forest Center. The kids had a great time & learned a bit more about the area we call home.

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