Category Archives: Lower Columbia Trails

Information pertinent to trails in the Lower Columbia corridor.

Metro: Stop banning dogs from our regional parks!

In 1995 and again in 2006 Metro proposed two bond measures to acquire land for future parks. Portlanders enthusiastically supported these acquisitions. Unbeknownst to most of us, the Metro Council then took the unusual step to ban all dogs from … Continue reading

Posted in Lower Columbia Trails, Misc Trails & Trips, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

What’s up with building the Salmonberry Trail?

It’s been several months since I have posted any significant new additions to this site. The reason for my absence? I was totally engrossed in completing the manuscript for my next book, “Trails and Tails – Exploring Oregon’s North Coast … Continue reading

Posted in Lower Columbia Trails, Salmonberry Trails, Trails, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Excerpt from coming book on NW Oregon: What was Illahee?

Some of you may be aware that I am writing a book about trails between Portland and the Coast for the Oregon University Press that will probably be released in early 2016. As part of that exercise, I have been … Continue reading

Posted in Indian lore, Lower Columbia Trails, Pioneer Lore | 4 Comments

The river that connects us; the river that divides us.

My fascination with history derives from the fact that in immersing myself in the accounts of long gone days, I am occasionally confronted with perspectives and insights that literally twist our world around. Today the landscape near the confluence of … Continue reading

Posted in Lower Columbia Trails, Railroads, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Moonshining along the Lower Columbia River.

Usually the banks of the Nehalem river are the very picture of pastoral peace and quiet, especially down on the old Warren Smith Farm near Pittsburg. In particular, the chickens sauntering around their pen in the small clearing along the … Continue reading

Posted in Lower Columbia Trails, Misc Trails & Trips, Moonshine Trails and Tales, Pioneer Lore, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Kerfuffle in the St. Helens Schoolyard.

When Judge McBride became the St. Helens schoolmaster in 1866, the school was a  low-slung log cabin located alongside a swamp which, according to the pupils, “was prolific of green slime, mosquitoes and ague”. At the time, St.Helens had only … Continue reading

Posted in Animal lore, Lower Columbia Trails, Pioneer Lore, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Be careful what you ask for.

In the mid- 1800’s when the settlements on the lower Columbia River and in the Nehalem Valley were just beginning to proliferate, it was the practice to bring in a preacher to officiate at local marriages – and thus the … Continue reading

Posted in Lower Columbia Trails, Pioneer Lore, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

The Grange movement – the Internet of its day.

The national Grange Movement was founded in 1867, immediately after the conclusion of the Civil War, when the country’s agriculture was in dire shape. Six years later the Oregon State Grange organization was established to help rural communities work more … Continue reading

Posted in Indian lore, Lower Columbia Trails, Nehalem Valley Trails, Pioneer Lore, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Shoot-out at the Sophie Mozee homestead!

Here is is an excerpt from a piece I just completed and added to the roster of  trails listed under the geographic tab for the West Hills. In this “historic trail” description I try to use nuggets of contemporary opinion … Continue reading

Posted in Indian lore, Lower Columbia Trails, Pioneer Lore, Trails | 1 Comment

Hindu gems hidden in the hills above Scappoose.

  It is unknown, but to a few, that in 1936 the Vedanta Society of Portland purchased 120 acres of newly harvested hillside in the Tualatin range to house their future spiritual retreat. This acquisition is all the more surprising … Continue reading

Posted in Lower Columbia Trails, Pioneer Lore, Trails, Uncategorized | 37 Comments