Oxbow Loop, 2026

 

 

 

 

 

Oxbow Loop sign by larger parking area

 

This was not a good snow season for us.  Most cross-country ski areas opened late and closed or stopped grooming early, hence we did not get out as many times as desired.  Bob was able to do some downhill skiing at Snoqualmie using his new skis.  But we hung up the skis and got out the boots and packs a little sooner than expected. 

 

For the past few years, we have hiked the Oxbow Loop first as a warm up hike.  It is an easy approximately 2-mile hike located on the road to the main Middle Fork Snoqualmie trailhead.  There are two places to park, one by the junction where the loop connects, and the other larger space by the outhouse.  There is a short connector trail from the larger lot to the loop junction. 

 

It is still a little too early for most flowers but we saw a few.  There were hundreds, if not thousands, of coltsfoot plants along the roadside ditch and around the parking areas.  It is an interesting flower that starts out like a ball with distinct pink and white colors.

 

  

Coltsfoot just beginning to bloom

 

As the flower opens and matures it changes to a much larger head that is mostly white.

 

 

  

Coltsfoot in full bloom

 

A view of the river from the connector trail between the parking area and where the loop trail begins.

 

 

View of the river

 

We saw some Indian plum and a few salmon berry blossoms.

 

 

Indian Plum 

 

Salmon berry

 

Here and there we also spotted the small yellow stream violets.

 

  

Yellow stream violet

 

Most of the trees are covered in heavy moss just like those in the Olympic Rain Forest.

 

 

 

 

Moss covered tree

 

  

About half-way around the loop is a bridge with this view

 

 

Downed branch with fungi

 

 

The trail is in good condition.  Although there are several trees and branches down along the route, the trail is clear all the way round.  It is packed dirt and gravel but also has one spot that looks like water damage or erosion.

 

 

  

What looks like water erosion on the trail

 

What else did we see?  

 

 Elk hoof prints with the tip of my boot for size comparison

 

 A pair of hooded mergansers.  Later we also saw a pair of mallard ducks.

 

 

Garter snake slithering into the leaves
 

   

We also encountered two garter snakes along the way.  They are harmless and very shy.  We rarely see them when hiking.  The first one was gone almost before we saw it.  This one had been coiled up at the base of a tree trunk.  Our movement must have startled it and it was moving fast by the time I got the camera out. Looking very closely you can see its head mostly hidden in the leaves with the tail rapidly following. 

 

 A cool sunny day, perfect for walking in the woods.  There is a branch of the trail that goes down to the river bank that we always visit too.  

 

Count for the day:

1 person, 1 dog

RT, 2 miles

Discover Pass required 

 

 

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 758

 

 

 

 

 

Muir Woods National Monument, ca 1980s

 

Featured on this unused color postcard is a section of the Muir Woods Loop Trail found in the Muir Woods National Monument. Part of the Golden Gate National Recreational Area the Monument is about 12 miles north of San Francisco, California.  It is one of the few remaining stands of old-growth coast redwood forests.  The card was published by Muir Woods Inn, Mill Valley, California.  At the bottom of the center line on the reverse is:  MW-13.  At the upper left corner on the reverse is a blurb:  “The Muir Woods Loop Trail.  A familiar sight in the Muir Woods National Monument is the amazement and grandeur of the oldest living trees in this area.”  The photographer is not identified.  The card is one from Bob’s scrapbook and probably dates from the early 1980s. 

 

Before the Gold Rush and commercial logging began here in the mid 1800s, redwood forests extended from Oregon south to Big Sur.  That was an estimated 2 million acres of trees.  In the 1880s the redwoods were heavily logged due to building in San Francisco and later in 1906 to rebuild the city after the earthquake and fire.  By 2023 only about 5% of the historic range remains as an old-growth forest.  Trees now in the coast redwood forests are younger second-growth, not as old nor as large.  The redwoods in Muir Woods survived because they were too difficult to reach for logging. 

 

Concerns about preserving the redwood forests were raised in the early 20^th century by a U.S. Congressman, William Kent, his wife, Elizabeth; a banker at Bank of California, Lovell White and his wife Laura; and a Canadian-American botanist and conservationist, Alice Eastwood.  Six-hundred-eleven acres of land were purchased from the Tamalpais Land and Water Company with the goal of protecting the redwoods and the mountain above them.  Originally it was suggested that property be named after Kent, but he insisted it should be named after his friend the naturalist, John Muir.  Before the National Park Service existed, the redwoods became a national monument signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908. 

 

As a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods is a park that caters to pedestrians.  Parking is limited and found at the entrance to the park.  Hiking trails vary in difficulty and distance.  Camping, picnicking, and pets are not allowed in the park.  About 6,000 visitors per day use the park from April to October, Thanksgiving weekend, and Christmas through New Years.  Hours are from 8 AM to sunset.  There are entry and parking fees.  There are tour buses and a shuttle service from neighboring communities.

 

Thanks to Bob for sharing the card.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muir_Woods-National_Monument

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 757

 

 

 

 

 

Easter Cake “Kulich”

 

Happy Easter!

 

This used postcard featuring an illustration of a Russian Easter Bread called Kulich was published by A. Yaremenko, New York City.  The identifier:  A.Y. 181 – Y- 11377 is found at the bottom of the center line on the reverse.  There is a written message on the divided back of the card but no addressee is named.  At the upper left corner is: “Easter Cake ‘Kulich.’”  The illustrator's initials "T.H." are found under the right side of the plate.

 

This festive cake, or bread, is baked in a tall cylindrical tin, such as a coffee or fruit juice tin.  The cake, or loaf, has a white icing that drizzles down the sides and is decorated with colorful flowers, eggs, and sometimes flags as seen on the card.  The cake is a type of Paska bread and is a traditional cultural part of Eastern European Orthodox Christian countries like Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Romania, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, North Macedonia and Serbia.  

 

After Easter services the kulich is blessed by the priest.  Blessed kulich is eaten before breakfast each day between Easter and Pentecost.  It is sometimes served with cheese paska and includes the symbol XB [Khristos voskres, “Christ is risen.”  Any leftover kulich that is not blessed is eaten as dessert.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kulich_(bread)

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 756

 

 

 

 

 

McCullough Bridge, North Bend, Oregon

[Photo by Mike Anderson]

 

Featured on this unused color postcard is the Conde McCullough Memorial Bridge that spans Coos Bay on U.S. 101 near North Bend, Oregon.  The card is an André Print with CB-11 and a blurb found at the lower left corner on the reverse.  The blurb states:  “Quiet waters on Coos Bay capture the reflection of McCullough Bridge, Highway 101, on the Oregon Coast.  Photo by Mike Anderson.  J.&H – Portland, Oregon…Printed in Australia by Colorscans.” The deckled/scalloped edges date the card to the 1960s or earlier.

 

This bridge was completed in 1936 and named the North Bend Bridge.  It was renamed the Conde B. McCullough Bridge in 1947 in honor of McCollough who had passed away in 1946.  There are ten other major bridges on the Oregon Coast Highway that were designed under the supervision of McCullough.  The bridge replaced ferries that formerly crossed the bay.  It has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

 

The bridge has a cantilever through-truss design with the main piers supported on piles driven into the bay’s bed.  The piers and concrete structures were built by the Northwest Roads Company of Portland, Oregon.  The Virginia Bridge and Iron Company built the steel sections of the bridge.  The main towers of the cantilever section were made off-site and moved to the bridge site in sections.  The cantilever design was preferred due to the long spans and heavy traffic in the shipping channel.  The main towers rise 280 feet or 8.2 meters above the water.  The overall length of the bridge is 5,305 feet or 1,617 meters.  The main span has 145 feet or 44 meters of vertical clearance.  There are pedestrian viewing plazas  at both ends of the bridge.

 

 Thanks to Bob for sharing the card.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conde_McCollough_Memorial_Bridge

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 755

  

 

 

 

 

Battle Rock, Oregon coast

 

This is an unused color postcard featuring a photograph of Battle Rock also called Battle Rock Arch found on the Oregon coast inside the city limits of Port Orford.  It is “Another André Original” printed or published by Anderson’s Scenic Postcards of Portland, Oregon.  At the bottom of the center line on the reverse is “DBN-1 A, Mike Roberts.”  In the designated area for a stamp is also written B35.  The edges of the card are scalloped or deckled which help date it to around 1960 or earlier.  The blurb at the bottom left side on the reverse: “This unusual rock formation is at Port Orford, Oregon, the most westerly town in the continental United States.”  The blurb is not entirely correct and should have said “one of the most westerly.”  Battle Rock is in the Otter Point Foundation which is in the boundaries of the Cape Blanco State Park.  It is the cape that extends farther west than any point of land in the contiguous United States, except some places on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. 

 

The rock is mainly basalt.  At low tides it is connected to the mainland but at high tide it is not.  It is about 300 ft or 91 m long and approximately 60 ft or 18 m high.  It has some trees and other vegetation growing on it.  Geologists have estimated most of the land in the Otter Point Formation can be dated back to the Jurassic period. 

 

How did Battle Rock get its name?  In 1851, nine men were left at Port Orford by captain William Tichenor as part of the western expansion to the Pacific Coast.  That same year a skirmish broke out between the white settlers and the indigenous Quatomah Tutunis, Athapaskan people, who lived in the area.  The settlers eventually fled but later returned in greater numbers.  The leader of the nine men left by Tichenor, J.M. Kirkpatrick, published an account of the skirmish which inspired the name of the rock.  His account has become a local legend and part of Port Orford’s community celebrations and folklore.  Several native chiefs and a member of the nine-men expedition, who later died, are buried on Battle Rock. 

 Thanks to Bob for sharing the card.

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Rock

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 754

 

 

 

 

 

Sand Dunes, Oregon

 

The title on the front of this unused color postcard identifies the scene as the Sand Dunes, Oregon.  On the reverse center line at the top is “Another André Original.”  Printed on the center line is:  “Anderson’s Post Cards, Portland, Oregon, Curteichcolor.”  The code:  DFL-1A appears at the bottom of the center line.  At the bottom left on the reverse is a blurb:  “Miles and miles of drifting sand.  Dune riding is a thrilling sport.”  The card has deckled or scalloped edges dating it to between the 1930s and 1960.  

 

The Oregon Dunes are a National Recreation Area administered by the U.S. Forest Service.  The dunes stretch about 40 miles or 64 km north of Coos River in North Bend to the Siuslaw River in Florence, Oregon.  At approximately 7,000 acres of sand, it is the largest expanse of coastal sand dunes in North America.  Some of the dunes reach 500 ft or 150 m above sea level.   

 

The Dunes are estimated to be over 100,000 years old.  Erosion by wind and water formed the dunes.  Storm winds have been known to reach up to 100 miles per hour (160km/h).  Waves and tides carry sand from the ocean floor up on the beaches where the wind takes over and blows it into dunes. 

 

There are native plants that grow in the area that are vital to the ecosystem.  Things that grow here are: a type of grass called Red Fescue; Port Orford cedar, evergreen huckleberry, seashore bluegrass, shore pine, hairy manzanita, bearberry, bog blueberry, tufted hairgrass, slough sedge, Sika spruce, and skunk cabbage.  Many species of birds can also be found here in the wetlands; tundra swan, marsh wren, Canada goose, yellow rumped warbler, red-tailed hawk, sanderling, long-billed curlew, and sandpipers.  Other birds, like the great blue heron, American bittern, green heron, Virginia rail, cinnamon teal, common yellowthroat, common merganser, bald eagle, and osprey to name just a few are also seen here.  A patient bird watcher could see many different birds. 

 

There are numerous recreational activities available in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, such as off-highway vehicle use, hiking, fishing, canoeing, horseback riding, and camping.  We did not see or hear dune buggies when we visited but there are places where they can be used.  Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel Dune was partly inspired by these dunes. 

 

Bob and I were here in 2018 and took a couple of pictures.

 

 

 This sign is posted near the trail and has information and a map of the marshlands, and the beaches as well as the dunes.

 

 

This picture was taken from a viewing platform not far from the sign with the map.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Dunes_National_Recreational_Area

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 753

 

 

 

 

   

Bloedel Conservatory, Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, ca 1970s

 

Two postcards from the same place are shared this week.  The top card is identified as a Première postcard published by Natural Color Productions, Ltd. Richmond, B.C., Canada.  The unused card features a color photograph by Marty Sheffer of the Bloedel Conservatory.  There is a blurb at the lower left corner on the reverse:  “AW 80B … Queen Elizabeth Park features many colorful walkways.  This photo was taken from above the Quarry Gardens with the Bloedel Conservatory in the background.”

 

The Bloedel Conservatory is located at the top of Queen Elizabeth Park.  One of the Canadian centennial 1867-1967 projects, it opened in 1969.  The architectural design is a triodetic dome.  It is both a conservatory and an aviary, with around 500 different species of plants and 200 birds.  Three habitats are represented: tropical rainforest, subtropical rainforest, and desert.

 

Because the city of Vancouver already held a lease and had built an open air water reservoir on the proposed site for the conservatory on top of Little Mountain in the park, the project faced complications.  A lid was constructed over the reservoir, and conditions were attached to the conservatory, such as, it could not detract from the natural beauty of the site nor jeopardize the quality of the potable water supply to the city.  In 2009 the Vancouver Park Board voted to close the conservatory due to a budget shortfall.  Several groups lobbied to keep it open.  In 2010 the Friends of the Bloedel Association and the VanDusen Botanical Garden Association submitted a proposal to run the Bloedel Conservatory as part of the VanDusen Botanical Gardens.  A joint proposal was accepted.  In 2013 the Friends of Bloedel won the City of Vancouver Heritage Commission Award of Honour.  VanDusen Botanical Garden Association later changed their name to the Vancouver Botanical Gardens Association to reflect the joint management. 

 

The second card is a Majestic postcard also published by Natural Color Productions, Ltd., and printed by Lawson Graphics Pacific Limited, KS 6633.  There is a blurb at the lower left corner on the reverse:  “KM-91  Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.  This beautiful floral garden was the outcome of a transformed stone quarry.  To add to the beauty and interest the unique Bloedel Floral Conservatory was constructed.  The Conservatory and Gardens are only a portion of the reason thousands of people visit the park each year.  It features tennis courts, a pitch and putt golf course, walking trails and as the highest point in the city, an excellent view.  Photo by Gammarax Studios.”

 

 

 

Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, ca 1970s

 

Queen Elizabeth Park is a municipal part located on top of Little Mountain in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  It overs 130 acres and was once the site of basalt quarry. 

 

The park land was an old-growth forest and spawning ground for salmon before the European settlement.  By the 1870s settle population began exterminating the grey wolves, elk and bears, chopped down the old growth forest and paved the salmon creeks.  In 1936 the B.C. Tulip Assocation suggested sunken gardens could be created in the old quarries.  By the 1940s the site was turned over the Vancouver Park Board and became a park and recreational area.  A gift of $1.25 million by Prentice Bloedel funded open reservoirs and built the domed conservatory.  There are covered walkways, lighted fountains, and a sculpture by Henry Moore, “Knife Edge Two Piece, 1962-65.

 

Both cards come from Bob's scrapbook collection.  Thanks for sharing.

 

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloedel_Conservatory

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_Park,_British_Columbia