60 in 60, Take 13

#13a, Oak Island, Sauvie Island, NW Oregon (04/23/11),
#13b, Warrior Rock, Sauvie Island, NW Oregon (05/01/11)
Spring has blessed us with the occasional sunny day {Don't go nuts. The sun is still an elusive and fickle beast. Have I mentioned my recent paranoia over even the teeniest cloud? Even little, solitary ones can act like rabbits, multiplying into a thick layer of gray blah in a matter of hours. If I have learned only one thing living in Portland it is this: a cloud cannot be trusted.} Luckily we had a Saturday and Sunday where the skies remained clear, so we ventured to the lovely Sauvie Island, just northwest of town.


Mt St Helen's is visible to the left. Mt Adam's to the right.

The hiking here is a little weak. The island is completely flat and filled with farmland so most walks take you through tall grasses and along the shoreline of the Willamette River. It has amazing views of Mt St Helen's, Adams, and Hood though, and a large number of Bald Eagles, one of which we saw flying overhead on our walk to Warrior Rock.

While this is all well and good, what is most important about Sauvie Island is the farmland. Come early June, I will be parked squarely in a berry patch, probably in some euphoric state of strawberry-picking bliss {you will not find me on the "clothing optional" beach however, which is also on the island}. They have a handful of 'pick-your-own' fields and I absolutely cannot wait.