Willamette Mission State Park

There are days and hikes that sometimes never go as planned. Today was one such that we both wish could have been a do-over at some other place. Being brand new to the area, we still don't know where to hike and we are finding that you can't get from point A to point B with any speed. There is no road infrastructure here so even though we should be only minutes from the Coastal Range, all drives are at least an hour and with about a four-hour window between dog walks, there is no profit in driving over two hours just to walk about two hours.

Making the best of a difficult situation, Ann randomly picked a destination called Willamette Mission State Park near Keizer, about 45 minutes from the house. The site of the first mission in the Oregon territory, the park is also home to one of the largest cottonwood trees in the country, if not the largest. Some historical sites and an awesome tree? Not exactly the mountains, but it could work for a quick flat-land hike.

On approaching the park, however, things started to go really south. First, there was a long line of cars and school buses at the entrance. We would get into the park to find dozens and dozens of school buses, hundreds of cars, and pack after pack of high school kids. Awesome! We spotted a ranger, asked her what was going on, and ultimately bummed a trail map from her after finding out that it was a local high school cross country meet that had all of the more interesting part of the park closed to the public. We almost turned around. We should have turned around.

Trying to make lemonade from our lemons, we headed south up the river along the riverside path that wound in and out of the woods and grasses. Soon enough, we had got away from the crowd, but the hiking was dull and uninteresting.

Stones Along the River Bank

Fox Sparrow in the Grass

Slough on the Willamette River

The further upriver we got, the wilder it got and as we skirted along a little slough shooting off the river proper, I heard a bald eagle give its signature call. I looked up to see one cruising the far side of the treeline along a pasture when another came across the river to join it. Soon enough, a large hawk joined the group and started harassing the eagles.

Bald Eagle, One of a Pair

Just after this and about 2.5 miles into our 4.5-mile hike, I heard Ann scream like I have never heard her scream before. She was crying and slapping at things I couldn't see and it took me a few seconds to understand that she was being stung by some insect. I went over to grab her by the hand to try to get her to run away down the path when all of a sudden, my leg felt like someone had shot a flaming hot nail from a nail gun into it. She would be stung four times and I would be stung three times before I could get her to run with me down the trail. When we got safely away, I found a dead yellow jacket in her shirt. We were in intense pain for the next 30 minutes and would not be pain- and itch-free for a week. Damn, those things hurt!

Needless to say, our day was pretty much ruined and we finished the remainder of our walk without a lot of enthusiasm.

Tansy, Tanacetum vulgare

Purple Jimsonweed, Datura stramonium

White Jimsonweed

Jimsonweed Seed Pod

All along the hike, we kept spotting a plant that looks like a Lonicera with white berries that resembles Doll's Eyes back east. It turns out to be Common Snowberry.

Snowberry, Symphoricarpos albus

All in all, a pretty miserable experience and not great hiking.

Miller Woods, McMinnville, OR

For our first hike in Oregon, we found Miller Woods, a 130-acre tract just west of McMinnville where we could have a quick walk while not stranding the dogs at home for too long. We walked 4.5 miles on an undulating track through fields and woods, with one brief climb of a couple hundred feet. In other words, it was flat.

The hills just west of McMinnville, approaching the Coastal Range, are an intriguing mix of deciduous and coniferous woods, some containing old growth. I saw some vast Western Red Cedars, Big-Leaf Maples, Oregon White Oaks, and other Hemlock-looking trees. I can't wait to spend some time out in the woods figuring out what all these western trees are.

Pasture at Miller Woods

Hiking Under an Oregon White Oak

Crown of a Huge Oregon White Oak

Under a Big-leaf Maple

Big-leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) Leaf

Pearly Everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea

So Not Virginia Anymore!

Ferns and Moss in the Understory

We had descended into a creek valley covered in old growth trees and were just making our way up a hill through a stand of planted Ponderosa pines, when I caught movement just ahead of me as a Great Horned Owl turned its head directly at me. I don't know that I would have seen it if it hadn't moved. It is most unusual to see an owl being active at high noon. They're usually crepuscular to nocturnal creatures and you hear them much more often than you see them. I was really excited for Ann as this was her first owl.

Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl on the Wing

It being mid-October and us being mostly in the woods, there weren't a lot of flowers to be seen. We saw a few cranesbills, a few purple, white, and yellow asters, and not a whole lot else. I'm really looking forward to spring and learning a whole new set of flowers. The Pearly Everlasting above is one flower that I do recognize from back east.

Random Yellow Aster

Another Pasture

Small Pond on the Property

Given that it was high noon and that we were having typical Oregon October weather, sunny one moment and raining the next, we didn't see a lot of birds. As we arrived, we saw one accipiter flying away from us and now and again, a Scrub Jay would yammer at us from the brush. Most of the little birds were limited to Oregon Juncos. We did hear a pair of Flickers talking back and forth to each other and flying from fencepost to snag to fencepost. I finally got a halfway decent picture of one on a snag. I did get to show Ann the golden blush of the feathers (Yellow-shafted) as the birds flew, which is a totally different look from the red blush of the eastern ones (Red-shafted) that we're used to.

Yellow-Shafted Flicker

Three Sheets, Portland

Ann's birthday arrived just days after we landed in Oregon and just days after our anniversary. I wanted to take her out for a nice meal and I wanted her to meet one of my former sous chefs, Danny Robayo, before he decamped for a new restaurant venture in Hawaii. I had some great talent in my kitchen back in Virginia and Danny is an all star. His exec gig at Three Sheets in Portland is about his fourth or fifth restaurant since becoming an executive chef in his own right and I couldn't be prouder of what he has become.

When we planned to move, I was excited to be able to hook back up with him. Over the course of the summer though, it became apparent that we might miss him: I did an extensive interview with his new employers in Hawaii and knew that he had been offered that gig back in September. We just did make it to his restaurant with only days to spare. In fact, I met his replacement who was in the restaurant training to take over the reins. That's how close we were to missing each other.

Three Sheets is a brand new restaurant on Hayden Island along the south shore of the Columbia River and is situated in what looks to be a condo building right at the Columbia River Yacht Club. We chose to come for Saturday brunch because that would be one of the slower shifts and hopefully would leave us more time to visit with Danny. As it turns out, we did get to spend several minutes with him at various points in the morning and we got to meet his wife and family as they came in for breakfast.

The Birthday Girl

And Her Date

We got ourselves situated and when our server asked if we'd like a Bloody Mary from their bar, who could resist? She offered to let us garnish our own, but we left her to do it, not expecting these crazily decorated concoctions! I love pickles of all sorts, so it was no hardship to feast on these meal-worthy cocktails. Garnish aside, the texture and flavor of the bloodies was fantastic!

Excellent Bloody Marys

I wasn't sure what to expect. Danny told me that he'd cook us something when I called him earlier in the week. He dropped by the table and told us to order entrees and he'd take care of the rest. So, at this point, we were pretty much starving and ordered two of their vast entrees from the menu, not knowing that we would soon have more food than an army could eat.

Steelhead Caviar with Blinis and Squid Ink Mascarpone

Ann and I are not huge eaters. We like to eat, but this plate of blini with squid ink mascarpone and a tin of steelhead trout caviar was a good start towards satiating our appetites. What a beautiful appetizer!

Matsutake Mushrooms on Pea Purée

Next came this plate of matsutake mushrooms on a pea purée. I'm surprised at green peas in October, but the seasons are very different out here. This was a beautiful dish.

Pork Belly and Quail Egg on a Biscuit with Syrup

Next up was an entire breakfast, a split biscuit stuffed with pork belly, topped with a quail egg and drizzled in maple syrup. At this point, we were already plenty full and our entrees had yet to make an appearance at the table.

Hangtown Fry

For my main course, I ordered a Hangtown fry with soft scrambled eggs, fried oyster, and pork belly all sitting on a grilled slice of sour dough bread, garnished with harissa. Really delicious.

Grilled Cheese with Duck Egg

Ann went for an adult grilled cheese, topped with an over easy duck egg. The plates are huge and so the mammoth slices of bread appear to be normally sized, but don't let appearances fool you: the portions here are enormous.

King Salmon on Fresh Chickpeas

Now a good 2-1/2 hours into our feast, out comes Danny with this plate of king salmon, "just because you have to try this." The salmon was cooked perfectly, but I expect no less from Danny and his kitchen, and it was a really spectacular piece of fish. Not all salmon is created equal, and this stood head and shoulders above most.

What made the dish so outstanding was not the salmon, but the fresh chickpeas, just slightly cooked and mixed with a mild harissa and feta cheese. I love fresh chickpeas and was fortunate to have Yael to grow them for me at the restaurant. They're a pain to shell out, but they taste so wonderful. This is probably the single best dish I had in a restaurant in 2017.

Lobster and Matsutake Mushroom Risotto with Black Truffles

On the way out the door, Danny handed me a cardboard to-go container and whispered conspiratorially, "I know you'll know what to do with these." Not that I couldn't already smell the truffle from several feet away, but I resisted opening it until we got home to find a couple matsutakes, a couple lobster mushrooms, and a black truffle. I did indeed know just what to do with them and made this risotto a couple days later when we had finally gotten sufficiently hungry to eat again.

My great thanks to Chef Danny Robayo for taking great care of us, affording Ann and me the much-needed time to sit and talk for a morning, and of course, for the goodie box. Danny, I wish you all the luck with your move to Hawaii and in opening your new restaurant.