3 Confluence Project

The Columbia River Gorge tells a wide range of stories, some obvious, some not so much. Fortunately the Discovery Center and the Interpretive Center that we visited – one at each end of the gorge – present a pretty honest appraisal of the history of the area, including the gritty aspects along with the sublime. These stories include the geological formation (combining volcanoes and glaciers), exploration by Lewis and Clark at the direction of Thomas Jefferson, Native American history and the role of salmon as a source of food and cultural sustenance, settlement by european-americans in search of land and a better life, exploitation of the apparently endless abundance, awareness of and attraction to the gorge by visitors, and celebration and protection of the gorge running in parallel with political wrangling over the river’s future.

The most recent story concerns the Confluence Project, a donor-supported effort that connects people to place through art and education. It works in collaboration with Northwest communities, tribes and celebrated artist Maya Lin to create reflective moments that can shape the future of the Columbia River system. Six public art installations, plus educational programs, community engagement and digital sites focus on a series of places visited by Lewis and Clark, what they meant then, and what they contribute now. These six projects span 438 miles from the mouth of the Columbia River to the gateway to Hell’s Canyon, with sites in both Oregon and Washington (so technically there are only two, Sandy River and Celilo Falls, within the gorge itself).

Currently, four of the six sites are complete:

• Cape Disappointment (Ilwaco, Wash.)
• Fort Vancouver (Vancouver, Wash.)
• Sandy River Delta (in the gorge at Troutdale, Ore.)
• Sacajawea State Park (Pasco, Wash.)

Two more are in the works:

• Chief Timothy Park (Clarkston, Wash.)
• Celilo Park (in the gorge near The Dalles, Ore.)

These are “teachable places,” transformed and reimagined to explore the confluence of history, culture and ecology in our region. Each work references a passage from the Lewis and Clark journals as a snapshot in time, while comparing it with the deeper story. Since our first night at McMenamins was in Troutdale, we walked out along the Sandy River to see the area and the Sandy River Birdwatch Blind.

The initial part of the walk goes through a floodplain zone currently being left to recover from clearing and farming. These areas were obviously attractive for settlement.

The soil was rich and the land essentially level. Unfortunately they were also subject to devastating floods and erosion due to extensive clearing. A number of these conservation areas have been established in the gorge; but they are also a subject of much contention. Some elements, such as the power line swath will remain.

The river itself seems modest and tame.

When Lewis and Clark passed this point they noted the extreme amounts of sand and gravel being deposited by the river (and therefore the name given) which we now know resulted from a late 17th century eruption of Mt. Hood.

Maya Lin’s Bird Blind pops up almost as a surprise.

It was undoubtedly more exposed during construction; but the new growth encouraged by the restoration process has surrounded it completely. It sits above the water for flood protection and also to go lightly on the land. These days, of course, with all the dams on the Columbia, flooding rarely causes major problems in this area.

The design of the bird blind runs counter to the perceived wisdom of the birder community. It’s open to the sky which illuminates the birders and has vertical slats instead of horizontal slots in more solid walls. These make it difficult to use binoculars or a scope and also telegraph any birder movements to the sharp-eyed birds.

In many ways, the pavilion focuses more on commemorating Lewis and Clark’s passage and the copious studies they made of flora and fauna, including the many species of birds – noted one per vertical on the slats of the enclosure.

On a contemporary note that would not have applied to Lewis and Clark there were signs posted that dogs were to be on leashes to protect wildlife. There weren’t a lot of people there the morning we walked in the park; but every one of them had a dog or two – and none of them were on leashes. The message of the park – “great place to let your dog run” – clearly overwhelmed the restoration signs.

2 McMenamins Edgefield and the Poor Farm

Just outside of Troutdale, we stayed at the McMenamins Edgefield Lodge, one of about eight hotels that the McMenamin Brothers run – along with a slew of pubs – in the Northwest. This was their first venture beyond pubs; and today it includes a brewery, a winery, a handful of dining opportunities in various buildings, and several pubs.

There’s a long story attached to the place – here’s the short version of a longer History of The Multnomah County Poor Farm by Sharon Nesbit.

Sponsored by social welfare pioneers, the Multnomah County Poor Farm, built in 1911, provided a place to live and to work for poor people until the late 1940’s when Social Security and other support programs were instituted. At its opening, 300 residents ran a farm that provided for themselves as well as other county facilities.

The original home included its own power plant, and eventually a water tank and other outbuildings with which to keep the place relatively self-sufficient. During the 1920’s and into the Depression, things changed dramatically. The original population aged and the demand for space for the sick and war-wounded increased the number of residents to over 600, many of them there as nursing home patients. In the 1970’s, county administrators facing high costs to bring the Edgefield Manor, as it was then called, up to current medical standards, decided to close it down. Attempts to demolish it were frustrated by the Troutdale Historical Society though; and after a lengthy for-sale period the McMenamin brothers bought it for a brewery and pub.

Starting with a brewery and pub in the old power plant, and gradually adding more and different types of activities, such as the smaller pub in the main building (above), the McMenamins gradually built out the entire farm into what it is today, in their words, “a down the rabbit hole experience” of a village complex of music, food, and lodging, “a place where your mother can go and find her friends”. Not your average hotel.

Our room, complete with 42″ wide door (and bathroom down the hall) projected a loose-Craftsman character, friendly but not overly historic or serious.

Just down the hall, a gracious porch offered a place for warm-weather gathering

As I explored the grounds, I came across an outdoor terrace tucked into a courtyard framed by the lodge and a couple of outbuildings – also a winner in the summer.

The old water tank remains as an historic sculpture,

but under it, the outdoor Loading Dock Grill offers another dining – and drinking – opportunity. You can’t avoid noticing that every gathering space includes a bar, one of the logical consequences of basing your business model on breweries and wineries. Not unpleasant at all but definitely ubiquitous.

Here’s a look at the rear of the main collection of buildings, each with its own personality and activities.

Speaking of which, there’s also golf at Edgefield, inspired by a trip to Scotland. In the spirit of ‘links’ golf as created on the sandy shorelines of Scotland, the McMenamins developed a short par-3 course that fits to the landscape (mostly) not the other way around as is the case at most American courses.

I didn’t have time to play; but I walked around a bit and concluded that despite its short distances, the course would be devilishly difficult. The greens are tiny, the landscape slopes every which way and the rough is thick. And though short holes may seem simpler to non-golfers, most of these did not require a full swing with a short iron, meaning they were all about having the right touch for odd distances on every shot.

Of course, there was a small pub at the end – with a distillery and some Buster Simpson style plumbing to complete the furnishings.

Speaking of furnishings, the interiors of the buildings contained a lot of art, some done as conventional paintings and then some done as integrated murals, like this one in the stairway leading to the third floor.

Each of the guest rooms had its own name and artwork, like ‘Amazing Grace’

Some were portraits of people who had been there

Hard to tell if this lady was standing in front of the flowers or wearing them.

Here’s a collection of folks – would like to have learned their story.

And finally, a little help in exiting.

We had breakfast the next morning in the main dining room, a pleasant though bit dark space. Luckily we had a window table.

And in true social communications these days, you have to show your plate – so here’s breakfast – a basic Denver scramble with an excellent cappucino to go with.

On to the gorge !

1 Columbia River Gorge Overview

We just spent four days in the Columbia River Gorge, a canyon of the Columbia River that stretches for over 80 miles as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range forming the boundary between the State of Washington to the north and Oregon to the south. Extending roughly from the confluence of the Columbia with the Deschutes River down to eastern reaches of the Portland metropolitan area, the water gap furnishes the only navigable route through the Cascades and the only water connection between the Columbia River Plateau and the Pacific Ocean. We had both crossed and traversed the gorge before, but hadn’t taken the time to stop along the way to experience it and learn its history.

The gorge holds federally protected status as a National Scenic Area called the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area and is managed by the Columbia River Gorge Commission and the US Forest Service. The gorge is a popular recreational destination.

The wide range of elevation and precipitation makes the Columbia River Gorge an extremely diverse and dynamic place. Ranging from 4,000 feet to sea level, and transitioning from 100 inches of precipitation to only 10 inches in 80 miles the Gorge creates a diverse collection of ecosystems from the temperate rain forest on the western end—with an average annual precipitation of 75 to 100 inches to the eastern grasslands with average annual precipitation between 10 and 15 inches, to a transitional dry woodland between Hood River and The Dalles. Isolated micro-habitats have allowed for many species of endemic plants and animals to prosper, including at least 13 endemic wildflowers.

The Gorge transitions between temperate rainforest to dry grasslands in only 80 miles, hosting a dramatic change in scenery. In the western, temperate rainforest areas, forests are marked by bigleaf maples, Douglas Fir, and Western hemlock, all covered in epiphytes. In the transition zone (between Hood River and The Dalles), vegetation turns to Oregon white oak, Ponderosa pine, and cottonwood. At the eastern end, the forests make way for expansive grasslands, with occasional pockets of lodgepole pine and Ponderosa pine.

We drove initially to the town of Troutdale, on the Oregon side and at the west ‘end’ of the gorge where the Columbia slides out of the grasp of the Cascade Range. From there we drove east on the Oregon side, then crossed over and came back west on the Washington side. Here’s a map.

Along the way we stopped at a number of waterfalls, had a tour of the Bonneville Dam, stopped in Hood River (though too early to see any kiteboarding), drove historic Columbia River Highway (now route 30), visited the Maryhill Art Museum, treated ourselves to a night at Skamania Lodge, climbed Beacon Rock, and visited a couple of regional history museums. We’ll give you a look in the next series of posts.