Walked 3.23 Miles - Oaks Bottom

I  had a really great walk today. I felt strong and I walked fast. I was enjoying the walk so much that I had to remind myself to look for photo ops. Not a bad problem to have, especially when a year ago I would take photos as an excuse to stop and rest. Not that I'm entirely pain free, but it's no longer getting the better of me. I headed to Oaks Bottom and I was so grateful when I started the descent into the park. The air was cool and fresh on this very sunny day. Lots of folks were out and it's always fun to exchange smiles. I even passed a couple of walkers! Ok, so one was a woman who looked 13 months pregnant and the other was an old man pushing 100. But still! I passed them and that added to my good cheer. 

The flowers on this dogwood are sticking straight up. So interesting. These blooms were a few inches over my head.











I've seen a lot (a lot) of flyers around Brooklyn advocating for the protection of KBOO. Most are full sheets of text which I can glean bits and pieces of when I pass by. This one is definitely my favorite.





The Pac Man at Oaks Bottom has been updated. I think it's pretty rad.





When I was walking to Oaks Bottom, my expectations for greatness was low. It's a well travel route for me. I couldn't believe my luck when I saw this chimpanzee art under the railroad tracks at the of the Oaks Bottom path. There were about 6 total along the walls. Chimpanzees and Pac Man? Such a good day.








2 blocks from home, I walked on this long stretch of sidewalk filled with 'I love you's. There were also rainbows and smiling suns. What a wonderful way to end my walk.

Walked 3.28 Miles - Oaks Bottom

Since yesterday's walk seemed to be more photos than walking, today I wanted to focus more on walking. That's why I headed to Oaks Bottom. I've covered this ground so many times that I wouldn't be too distracted by what I walked past. It was pretty overcast, but I shed my jacket quickly. 

I always make a loop around the tadpole pond. Today, when I was about a halfway around the pond when I heard a rustle. A baby deer! A brand new deer to the herd. I really didn't think that the few deer that leave here would reproduce. This is so exciting. This little baby deer proves that the deers can sustain a life in this park. 





After I took the picture of the baby deer, I looked to my left and this duck was walking right towards me. She turned when she was probably about 2 feet from me and headed to the tadpole pond. Her mate followed behind. Except he got off the path to walk around me and the got back on the path to continue on his way.





I left the tadpole pond and a few minutes later, I spotted a bit of brown in the trees. Do you see it?





I slowly walked around a bit to get a better view. Another deer! I think this is one of the original 3 deer I keep seeing. I really couldn't believe my luck that I saw two deer in different area of the park. This deer is across the path and several hundred feet (if not more) from where I saw the baby deer.





And then as I was about ready to climb the hill out of Oaks Bottom, I spotted a duck egg just laying out in the open. The egg is a little tricky to see (it's at the base of the tree), but I couldn't pass up the chance to post a picture of it.





All in all, it was a fantastic day. I got some good non-stop walking in to and from the park. I also got to stop and enjoy wildlife. I couldn't have asked for more. Here is the little baby deer again. I saw her again when I looped back towards home. I had to go around the tadpole pond just to see if I could see the baby deer again. And there she was. Just too cute for words.

Walked 6.10 Miles - Oaks Bottom Bluff

I had today off from work, because I'll be working this Saturday. It started off cloudy and I almost wore a hat thinking it could rain. I'm glad I didn't, because the sun came out and I quickly shed my coat. I decided to head to the Oaks Bottom Bluff, because I had time for a longer walk. At the SE Artwalk a few weeks ago, I had bought a print of the view of downtown Portland from the Bluff. I also drive by here often when I get sushi from Zenbu (I'm hardcore addicted to them). I haven't walked here for awhile and it seemed perfect for today.

I look forward to walking past this house. They decorate for every holiday. Even this little shrub in front is always dressed up too.








I assumed this was going to be more Occupy literature, and I was surprised to see this. While I'm blogging this post, I'm watching a documentary on Joan Baez and she's singing It Ain't Me, Babe with Bob Dylan. What a funny coincidence. 




















I love this so much! This is the poster for the upcoming Llewellyn school auction. 





I finally got up the nerve to walk through the big lot just North of Portland Memorial Chapel. I've always wanted to check out the view from there, but sadly there isn't much of one. I do love the big trees that are on this lot. 





Oaks Parks is in the background. 





This is the view of my print. We refer to Downtown as "Oz" from this vantage point. 





I spent a bit of time hanging out on the bluff. It's just a beautiful area. You can even see Mt. St. Helen today (to the left of the dark green trees in the background).





While looking over the bluff and standing directly under this tree, lots and lots of crows started landing above me. The noise was deafening. There must have been 100 crows. 

Walked 4.63 Miles - Oaks Bottom

If yesterday felt like May, than today felt like December. So cold! I left the house with my hat and I'm so glad I did. Only about 5 minutes into my walk it started to down pour. It's kind of funny that walking in the rain has become a novelty this year. It's been ages since it's rained during my walks. This storm was making up for lost time. I was completely drenched and freezing cold when I got home.

I wanted to run a bit on the Springwater Corridor which is the whole reason I went to Oaks Bottom today. The trail was extremely empty in the cold weather. I ran about a half to three quarters of a mile. I felt good and it was nice to change it up a bit.





All of the little dots in the water are ducks.

Walked 3.58 Miles - Oaks Bottom

What a beautiful day! It's the first day of February and boy, it is starting off well. I am so happy to say good-bye to the craziness that was January. I decided to head to Oaks Bottom, because I just wanted to be in nature. This was a cleansing walk to celebrate finally getting through my big project at work. The sun was shining bright and it was a joy to walk in short sleeves. Such a great day to be outside.

I have a new obsession with plants in round holes.














I've turned off my music often to listen to birds. Today I turned off my music to listen to the frogs! Such a great change and they were crazy loud. Very fun! Oaks Bottoms was very busy. At the top of the park, there was a class practicing wilderness first aid. Then at this spot, I passed a guy with a gaggle of 5ish years old with him. He was squatting and he had something in his hands. I doubled back to take a peek and he was showing the kids a little garter snake. I so wished I was brave enough to ask to take a picture, but one of the 5 years old was glaring at me and I chickened out. Also, Portland Public Schools were on holiday today, so traffic on the trail was heavier than usual. I'm glad so many parents thought to take there kids here.





I crossed the Springwater Corridor to get a look at the Willamette. The only other time I'd walked on my trail was a rainy gray day. Even though the sun was out, the trail was still extremely muddy. 





Yeah, it looks pretty much the same as before. There were signs stating that the bank was unstable and to stay at least 50 feet away from the edge. I broke that rule here, but only for brief couple of seconds. Falling into the Willamette is not something I ever want to do.








These blue diamonds were about every 50 feet on this trail. I tried to google them to figure out what they mean, but I couldn't find the answer. Does anyone know?





I've seen this series of public art before, but this one was brand new to me. I don't know how I've missed it before. I couldn't resist getting a self portrait.











It's amazing the amount of work that is spent on this park. Now that I've been here so much, I can see all the changes taking place. From regular filling of bird feeders and clearing away tree debris to this great new trail head. Previously, this was an ugly hard to maneuver weird gate thing that wasn't very user friendly or welcoming. Now there's a great wood fence and bike rake. 








Posted on a car window.

Walked 3.50 Miles to Oaks Bottom - Last walk of 2012

Today I walked for the last time in 2012. Over the course of the year, I walked 324 miles on 91 different walks. That's only 20 miles shy of walking to Seattle and back. I'm so proud of this accomplishment! I really didn't think I had walked this much in 2012. I've set a new goal for 2013 to walk even further. I also have a few races I'm thinking about participating in. The future is definitely bright!

For my last walk, I decided to head to Oaks Bottom. I wanted to jog a bit and I really like how flat the Springwater Corridor is. I'm still very frightened of tripping, so it's the perfect place to practice without fear of curbs, cracks, or other hazards. 





Due to the Max construction, road closures are common and constantly changing. Often when I drive home, now, I have to find new routes because of the closures.





This entire row of colorful flowers caught my attention from a block away. Such a sight for sore eyes in the dreary winter weather. It wasn't until I took the picture that I realized they were all fake.








I've walked past this broken window for well over a year now. I finally stopped for a self portrait.





I recently drove past the Sellwood bridge and saw this construction in progress. They will be shifting the bridge to sit on a temporary structure while a new bridge can be built. The whole thing sounds like magic. I can't even comprehend what it takes to move a bridge, let alone build a new one. Portland keeps getting better and better! 





Just as I started to descend down into Oaks Bottom, it started to snow. It only lasted a few minutes and the tiny snowflakes didn't last on the ground, but it was a perfect moment. While the water isn't completely frozen, I was amazed to see it covered in ice.





I walked around the tadpole pond and came upon these newly filled bird feeders. So many beautiful birds were waiting their turn to feed. I stopped here and stayed as still as possible, so they would eat in my presence.





I love the reflection of the trees in the water. The water was perfectly still today.





The path around the tadpole pond was extra slippery due to the frost on the mud. I was very careful walking this trail.











I heard these crows from blocks away. I changed directions and tried to get as close to them as I could. They were constantly on the move circling from tree to tree. There must have been over 100 birds.





It's fitting that Oregon has been filled in by moss.





The fall leaves may be gone, but their imprints remain.

Walked 3.69 Miles to Oaks Bottom

Today I walked to Oaks Bottom. I wanted a short, direct route, because I wanted to get home quickly to my new kittens! Greg and I adopted two kittens the week before from the Oregon Humane Society. I spent all last week bonding with them during all of my free time, so I didn't get any walking done. It was nice to get out today and stretch my legs. I couldn't believe how much water is at Oaks Bottom now. 

I know this is the Jack of Diamonds, but after seeing this I had Juice Newton's Queen of Hearts stuck in my head.





For this self portrait, I leaned way over this monster puddle/small lake. I like all the different layers to it. From here, I ran almost to the end of the Oaks Bottom trail. It's the first time I've run in my new minimalist shoes. The first several steps almost made me stop, because my bum ankle is so stiff that it didn't want to run. After it loosened up a bit, I felt great. I also ran a bit along the Spring Water Corridor. I'm starting with baby steps, but this success has me thinking about doing the Shamrock 5k in March.





The tadpole pond has so much water! I looked all around, but I didn't see any creatures today.





As you can see it's a very gray day. I got rained on a bit, but it wasn't bad. Once I got to the end of the Oaks Bottom trail, I crossed the Springwater Corridor to take a look at the Willamette. This is a small dirt (well, mud today) trail that I'm usually leery of being alone on my walks, because there is so much overgrowth. Today it felt wide open since all the trees and brush have been cut back. I could see all of my surroundings and I felt safe checking out this trail.





I'm so glad I did, because I found art! This is called Shifting Assets by Linda Wysong. It was created in 2002.








This tree was filled with birds. I could hear them blocks away. I stood under this tree, turned off my music, and just listened.














When I got back home, Zor was waiting in the window for me. 

Walked 2.86 Miles - Oaks Bottom

Today I headed to Oaks Bottom. I have been trying to walk at least 4 miles now, but today I only managed less than 3. My new awesome shoes are giving me a couple of hot spots, so I didn't want to over do it. I'm still more than pleased with these shoes. I know it will take time to properly break them in, so I'm definitely not deterred. The evening sun was so beautiful coming through the trees. It was a great day to walk.





I could see these leaves from a couple blocks away. They were practically glowing.





I like the dichotomy of fallen debris in this daisy.





I walked past the house that previously had many No Dog signs.  All of those signs are now gone and this is their new sign.





My friend had posted on Facebook a few days ago that he had seen this deer family on McLaughlin. That makes me so nervous since that is a major thoroughfare. I was thinking about this and how I hadn't seen the deer lately. As I'm thinking this, I see this doe out of the corner of my eye fall back in this field. She started towards me and I was thinking she was going to come directly to me. About 20 feet before she got to me, she changed course and found an orange peel. She is chewing on it in this picture. I worry about these deer becoming too tame and harm coming their way because of it. 





This buck, the brother of the doe, also came out. He kept his distance and seemed to keep watch. I was surprised at how big he had gotten. It was great to see him. I didn't see the mom this time. Maybe her babies are big enough to venture off on their own.





I'm glad this field is fenced off. If it wasn't, I could see people trying to get too close to these guys. They were still here when I returned back this way. By this time a crowd had gathered to watch them. It's so weird to think that there is deer living just over a mile from my house.





The tadpole pond has water again! The last time I was here it was dry as a bone.

Walked 3.19 Miles to Oaks Bottom - in the Rain!

The rain is here! It's been such a long dry spell and I was ready for the rain. I added a jacket and hat to my outfit and headed out to Oaks Bottom. It was the first place that popped into my head, because I was longing for that area to get some water. It's amazing how my spirits change in the rain. The air smelled amazing and the rain was refreshing. I felt like I can breath easier in this weather. 

 

I'll warn you know, I mostly took pictures of rain drops. It's been 80 days since it rained and I had forgotten the iphone/rain balance dance. I took less pictures in general, because my phone was getting crazy wet. I was soaking wet when I finished.

 

The strip mall is down! It's amazing how fast these changes happen. They just started 2 days ago.

 

Our neighborhood Chinese food restaurant has lots of movie memorabilia. I like this neon Alfred Hitchcock.

 

Oaks Bottom was beautiful. At one point, I turned off my music and just listened to the rain in the trees. It was a pretty good down pour. It was incredible.

 

This was under the train tracks at the Spring Water Corridor turn around. 

This is the only photo I took on the return trip. I was waiting for the signal at Holgate to change. For the rest of walk, I put my phone away and just enjoyed staying present walking in the rain. It was a glorious walk. It was just what I needed.

Walked 3.13 Miles - to Oaks Bottom

It's been two weeks since I've walked. Life was crazy insane the past two weeks. Really, really busy. The kind of busy where you just have to put your head down and make it through. Luckily, now things are starting to return to normal. It was nice to get out and walk. I opted for the predictable Oaks Bottom 5k. No need to plan a route or to worry about where to go. I put myself on autopilot and walked.

Fall leaves are already crisp and fun to walk in. It's been so dry this past couple of months that we have yet to deal with rainy leaf mush.





MAX construction is getting noisy. They are driving huge steel bars into the ground. The pounding is loud enough to hear inside the house and makes Trilly pretty freaked out. I'm just so happy that the site is so active. Progress!
























The tadpole pond is completely dry. I found myself thinking about the rainy weather ahead a lot on this walk. I miss rain so much. I'm ready for gray drizzle. 





This is where Oaks Bottom runs into the Spring Water Corridor. I pass under the train tracks, turn around, and head home.









I saw this sign at the beginning of my walk. Each tree at this house had "No Dogs" signs. A little boy (I'm guessing the author of these signs) was sitting on the front steps, so I didn't stop then to take a picture. I figured I'd try when I came home. Luckily, the little boy was gone and I got to take my pictures.





I didn't see this sign the first time around. I'm so glad I spied it. Someone is very adamant about not waiting dogs around. I took this picture and then headed on my way only to see a lady walking her dog. She asked me very tersely why I had taken a picture. I told her that I thought the signs were really funny. She didn't find any humor in this and went off about how nobody controls the sidewalk and she can walk her dog if she pleases. I quickly made my escape.

Walked 3.08 Miles - Oaks Bottom

It was another hot day, so I headed to Oaks Bottom. It was my first day back to work after being on vacation for a week, so I wanted a simple route where I could go on autopilot. My brain was fried. I had lots of problems with my legs and there were times where it hurt pretty badly. Dealing with pain is just exhausting; every step takes twice the effort. But all in all, it was a good walk and I said "hi" to lots of friendly folks. One guy even saluted me. I think it had to do with the wonder woman shirt I was wearing.

This now defunct art studio is just south of Holgate. I've always liked the fanciful paint job.

It's so amazing to see how Oaks Bottom changes over the year. It's really dry now.

Walked 3.91 Miles - Oaks Bottom

 

 

It was another hot day, so I headed to Oaks Bottom. I decided once I got to the end of Oaks Bottom, I would continue on the Spring Water Corridor for a bit. We just received our leg assignments for Portland to Coast which is in a few short weeks! I was thrilled to see that both of my legs are categorized as 'easy' and each leg is 4 miles long. I'm trying to make all of my walks at least 4 miles to prepare. I was going to walk around the block a few times to push this over the 4 mile mark, but my iphone started getting wonky on me the last mile of my walk. Voice control kept turning itself on which interrupted my audio book. I tried music as well and had the same issues. It was so annoying that I just decided to end the walk before I hit 4 miles.

 

 

Greg did some research and it turns out that many runners have this problems, because their hands get too sweaty and it messes up the iphone home button and turns on voice control. There is no way to disable the voice control, so I need to figure out how to be less sweaty - at least when it comes to my left hand which holds my phone.

 

 

 

 

I walked along Milwaukie more than I normally do. Usually, I keep to the quieter neighborhood streets until I have to get on Milwaukie to cross Holgate and pass over McLoughlin. It was nice to see some new sites. I've always thought this Buddhist Priory is so pretty. There were many photo ops here, so I'll definitely walking past here again.

 

 

 

 

I also spied this large stencil on Milwaukie which I've never noticed driving by.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't carry water on me when I walk. I need to keep my hands free for taking pictures. The water fountain (use the smaller one) at the top of Oaks Bottom was another reason I chose to head this way on a hot day. Filling up here at the start and on the return trip was heaven. It's made me re-think carrying water. Greg has a water belt and I think I'm going to give that a try since it will allow me to keep my hands free.

 

 

 

 

This is why Oaks Bottom is so desirable on a hot day. To know that respite from the heat is just a mile away got me out walking on a hot day.

 

 

 

 

I have a new favorite street artist! This is the second time I've stumbled across these faces. This one is about 2 inches high. I love that it's such a different medium for street art. It could be as simple as a mold and fimo clay, but what a great idea. The other face I saw was much smaller and this. I will definitely be on the look out for more. So very cool.

 

 

 

 

About 1/4 mile on the Spring Water Corridor headed towards down town, I saw some folks stopped on the path. I figured they had spotted something cool, so I picked up the pace to see if I could get in on the action. I was in luck! You can see a tan deer directly across from the two girls.

 

 

 

 

I was also able to stand directly across from this mama deer. Her two young offspring were also eating close by. This is the third time this season that I've seen these 3 deer. It's so great to see and I'm so happy that they were across the fence and train tracks. I worry about them becoming too tame and getting hurt. 

 

 

 

 

The edges of the trail were covered in Cottonwood seeds. It looked like snow and was about 3 inches tall. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have some very cool neighbors. This is only two blocks from my house. I love seeing all the different signs they post often.

 

 

 

Walked 3.12 Miles to Oaks Bottom

 

 

Wow!  July has been a busy month.  My days have been filled with lots of committee work which has left me not a lot of time to walk.  I had several projects culminate in the first 2 weeks of July and lucky life is starting to return to normal.  I made it out today after not walking for almost 2 weeks.  It was a lot and muggy day, so I headed to Oaks Bottom and the shade.  

 

 

 

 

I think the Winterhaven school is so pretty.  With school out of session, I'm exploring this property more.

 

 

 

 

Zucchini!   

 

 

 

 

And strawberries!  It's definitely summer now. 

 

 

 

 

I didn't take that many pictures on this walk.  I was having issues with my iphone.  It didn't want to focus for me.  I took it as a sign to just focus on walking.

 

 

 

 

Now that the 17th street overpass is closed, I've seen some pretty crazy driving in the  neighborhood.  Lots of folks are flying through stop signs and not being careful in our residential area.  It's a little scary to think about all the kids and pets that play on these streets.  I wish folks would follow the proper detour signs and slow down.

 

 

 

Walked 3.1 Miles - Oaks Bottom

 

 

Today was crazy muggy.  I headed to Oaks Bottom in search of cooler weather.  Oh, and I should warn you now, this will not be the last Hydrangea picture you see.  This is another favorite flower; I love all the different colors and varieties.

 

 

 

 

The tell-tale fence is around the Avantis Credit Union.  I'm sad to see this go.  We had a non-fee ATM a few blocks from the house.  That has come in so handy many, many times. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the wildflowers that grow here.  It is so beautiful and I know all the wildlife thrive in it.  I'm so glad that Portland makes these kinds of areas a priority.

 

 

 

 

This is a great sitting area just at the top of Oaks Bottom.  I've seen many nature classes being taught here.  Today, I saw many different summer camps taking place.  What a great way to spend the summer.

 

 

 

 

I knew I had made the right choice when it dropped at least 15 degrees the minute I was under the trees and starting to descend to the bottom.  It was also snowing cottonwood seeds which gave the whole place a very dream like quality.  So peaceful.

 

 

 

 

I returned to the tad pole pond and the water had dropped drastically.  I hope the little tad poles are hanging in there.  Or maybe they are frogs now?  I did see a garter snake!   You can see his body on the log.  He slithered past me and was almost gone before I had the sense to take a picture.  I haven't seen a snake in a very long time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I really love to find lady bugs. They seem lucky to me.  

 

 

 

 

 

Walked 2.96 Miles - Oaks Bottom

 

 

Today I decided to head to Oaks Bottom.  I haven't walked there in a couple of months and I wanted to see how different it was now that it's June.

 

 

 

 

I found myself looking at these beautiful clouds while on my way to Oaks Bottom.  It's been pretty rainy here, so to see clouds that are so white and fluffy surrounded by blue was just made me happy.

 

 

 

 

I got off the main trail a bit to check out the tadpole pond.  I couldn't get too close to the water, because it was roped off.  I didn't see any tadpoles, but it made me remember catching them as a kid.  Such great fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I turned around where the Oaks Bottom trail runs into the Spring Water Corridor.  It's amazing to see how big the Oaks Bottom area is.  There are so many trails to explore.  Although while walking alone, I prefer to stick to the main path.

 

 

 

 

Deer!  I can't believe I saw a deer at Oaks Bottom.  I was walking along the main trail when this guy caught my eye.  We stared at each other for about 5 minutes.  Such a beautiful creature.  I walked along a side trail a few feet to get a closer look at him.  Finally after looking at him for a long time, I turned my head for a few seconds and when I turned back he was gone.  I hope to see more deer here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the reflection in this little bit of water.  Can you see the two ducks? The female was making the funniest squishing noise by putting her bill in the mud.  Maybe she was looking for bugs?  She would dig in the mud for a few seconds and then turn to wash her bill off.  Then she would do it all over again.  It was fun to watch.

 

 

 

 

A few blocks from home the wind started to pick up.  My beautiful white clouds now looked like this.  I was glad to be almost home.  The sudden storms we have been getting have been pretty intense.  I was only home for a few minutes when the down pour hit.  Such great timing!