Harlow House Park
by glabah
Originally built by the son of Troutdale's founder in 1900, the original farm has now become surrounded by suburban developments. To preserve this locally historic farm house and property (though most of the farm land has been turned into housing) the city of Troutdale purchased the house in 1979 and sold the house to the Troutdale Historical Society for use as a museum.
The grounds around the house remain as a public park.
This is also the trailhead for the Strawberry Meadows Trail.
The grounds consist of ponds and a few benches, and would be a pleasant place to rest on your way to the Columbia River Gorge.
The photo was taken from the top of the hill, from the trail that leads up to the top from the house itself.
Bird Blind (part of Confluence Project)
by glabah
The Confluence Project was part of creating artwork for the 200th anniversary of the Corps of Discovery (Lewis and Clark Expedition). It is located on the Sandy River Delta park property, and at the end of an approximately 1.2 mile (2 km) trail that winds northward from a gravel parking area near Interstate 84.
The bird blind is not just a blind useful in watching wildlife without scaring it away. It is also educational in nature, as most of the slats in the bird blind feature the names of various birds and other wildlife that were in the area during the time of the Corps of Discovery, and their current status. Many of these species are threatened, and several have gone extinct.
The names feature Lewis & Clarks's names for the birds, the date they first encoutered it, the current common name for the birds or animals, the scientific classification for the bird, and if they are threatened, extinct, a species of concern, or if blank then no problems with their status are known.
Witness, for example, the May 10, 1805 sighting of the "Moos Deer", which we now call Shiras Moose, Alces alces shirasi.
Getting Here:
This is a little complicated. East of Troutdale there is a small state park called Lewis & Clark State Park. From here go North on the Columbia River Highway (narrow paved road past the park) and act like you are getting on Interstate 84 going west. Just before you make the 180 degree turn from going east to going west and enters the Interstate, you will see that you can also continue straight into a gravel parking lot. That is the place where you need to park your car. You will then need to find a map of the trail system of the park area. On the east side of the parking area is a fairly wide trail that will lead you to the Bird Blind.
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Current Name + Lewis & Clark name of Wildlife list
Map of the Trails at the Sandy River Delta
Rip Caswell Gallery: temporary home during remodel
Taste of Village: historic photos, Chinese decor
