Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Portland Walks: Marquam Trail

We hiked up the Marquam Trail to Council Crest the weekend before last and guess what we saw!: 

Barred Owl

It's a Barred Owl. And not only that, moments after this picture was taken the owl swooped down to catch its dinner and flew away. The trail was also laden with moss, ferns, salmonberries, slugs, snails, and mushrooms:

Salmonberries Garden Slug & Moth Fairy Ring

I took my Audubon book, but I'm still such a novice at identification. After a week or so I am pretty confident that these are salmonberries, a garden slug and a fairy ring mushroom, but I'm not 100% confident. 

Anyway, the trail is lovely enough on its own, but the view from the top (Council Crest Park) is also very nice, with a view of Mt. St. Helens:

View from Council Crest

I was a bit taken with a sculpture called Westward, that also featured three drinking fountains. We ended up resting at Vista Spring Cafe before heading home. They served us Widmer Hefenwizen in the right glass while we pondered what it would take to get their unusual fans up and running again. It all made for the perfect Sunday!