Saturday, April 17, 2010

Camassia - time for a visit NOW!

Looking for results from the Goat Mountain Gallop? Click here! Hint...I had a great time!

The giveaway is all finished, but it's never too late to donate to the Clean Water project.

The camas lilies are in bloom! If you live in the Portland area, run, do not walk, to Camassia right away! The lilies will only be in bloom for another week or two. If you don't go, here is what you will be missing:

Wildflower meadow
Basalt outcroppings in the wildflower meadow
Stay on the paths...the camas lilies are fragile.
Bumblebee working the camas lilies.

Camas lily bulbs were a staple food for Native Americans in our region. Their blue flowers color whole meadows at Camassia right now, mixed with a variety of other wildflowers. 

Camassia is a nature preserve owned and maintained by The Nature Conservancy. If you aren't lucky enough to live near Camassia, go to The Nature Conservancy website and check to see what preserves are near you. You would be surprised to learn how many are nearby--little pockets of wild land in the midst of our urban and suburban areas, all over the globe.

If you're trying to get to Camassia from Oregon City, here are the directions:
Take the OC/West Linn bridge into West Linn.
Turn left, to get to Willamette Falls Dr.
Do NOT turn right to go to WLHS.
Turn right on Sunset Ave and cross I-205.
Immediately, turn right on Walnut St. You will not believe me. It looks like a little, dead-end, residential street - which is what it is, but really and truly, Camassia is waiting for you at the end.
Park in the very small parking area at the end of Walnut St. 
Prepare to enter into another world.

2 comments:

Dorothy said...

Is it that time already? We went last year and it was very beautiful. Nice pictures, Kathy!

Dorothy said...

We did the Camassia walk this afternoon in a light rain. So calm and lovely, and just what I needed after three hours of watching the triple A's today! (I didn't even take a camera. :)