Husband James, 3 year old son Titus and I left home relatively
early -8am- with our 2 pups Canby and Ani in tow. We didn’t have much of a plan
which is pretty typical for us. James heard from some friends at work that
Rowena Crest just past Hood River is a stunning array of wildflowers right now
due our unusually (and sucky) wet winter and spring.
It's about an hour and a half drive from Portland, with wildflowers
popping up left and right the closer we got. The breathtaking views of the
Columbia River Gorge right off Highway 84 never gets old. Waterfalls, trains,
boats, cliffs, trees, flowers and views of Washington across the water make me appreciate
the beauty of the Northwest every time.
Arriving, we hopped out got everyone out of
the car, walked up excited to take to the trail just to realize… NO DOGS
ALLOWED. Well crap… that’s what we get for winging it. With too good of a photo
op and a much needed break from the car for all of us, instead of taking to the
trail we played a bit in a flowery meadow across from the trailhead.
It is illegal to pick wildflowers here but as you can see in
some pictures my 3 year old didn’t get that message in time. He only picked 1,
and when I tried to explain to him that he couldn’t pick anymore because it was
illegal he started looking up because he thought I said that we couldn’t pick
the flowers because of the eagle. So I went with it… yep… if you pick anymore
flowers the eagle will get mad because they belong to him, we can smell them
and look at them, but no picking them, we don’t want to upset the eagle.
Just flowers...
The Rowena Platea was created 12,000 to 15,000 years ago from flooding during the last Ice Age. The water and ice raged down the Columbia River tearing the landscape as high as 1,000 feet.
If your looking for a little
more sweat, check out the Tom McCall Nature Preserve, a
moderately difficult 3 mile hike. They both give you bright colored
wildflowers and monumental views of the gorge, this hike, however you also have
access to views of Mount Adams and Mount Hood. If your up for it a back to back hike of the two is very
do-able and they share the same convenient gravel parking lot.
Cyclists can be seen burning some serious calories climbing the winding roads surrounding the gorge especially on Historic Highway 30 so be cautious when driving.
Titus even made friends with a bumble bee...
Where have you seen the best wildflowers?
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