Volume Overview: I always lay out a proposed route for each journey before leaving my home base in Billings, Montana. Part of the fun is the months of research and planning prior to departure! This spring’s trip is a bit abbreviated, but the plan is to dash west from Billings to Portland, Oregon, for some business; head down the west side of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada to Yosemite National Park in California; cross the mountains heading east to Reno/Sparks, Nevada; trek through the northern deserts of Nevada up to Twin Falls, Idaho; explore the Jackson Hole area of Wyoming; and then head back to Billings through Yellowstone National Park and Cody, Wyoming. Let’s get rolling!
Silverton, Oregon
As the road approaches the base of the Cascade Mountains the broad valley floor begins to meet the heavily forested foothills. As the early pioneers settled the valley and established farms and small communities, the need for lumber and grain mills grew. James Smith and John Barger established the first sawmill in the area at the mouth of the Silver Creek canyon where Silver Creek emerges from the foothills onto the broad Willamette Valley. The town was first named Milford and later moved a mile downstream to the present site of Silverton in 1855. Nearly 10,000 people now call the area home, many commuting to Salem 12 miles west for employment as the mills in the area are long gone. The downtown area strings along the east side of Silver Creek, hugging the Creekside in a row of shops and services. This series of pictures shows buildings facing Main Street and backing up to Silver Creek.
Note that the rain clouds have finally lifted and it is a partly sunny but cool day. I’ll take it! The reason for stopping in Silverton is not the charming little downtown but rather two of the more outstanding visual attractions in the area. Close to the edge of town is the Oregon Garden and about 15 miles up the canyon is the crown jewel of the truly great Oregon State Park System, Silver Creek Falls State Park.
The Oregon Garden
Standing on the edge of the Apex Fountain looking west across the Willamette Valley, the view of the garden is stunning. I’m still about a month too early for peak spring bloom season, but the garden is designed to bring forth the beauty of Oregon in all seasons, and it does not disappoint.
The concept of a garden celebrating the horticulture of Oregon was first explored in the 1940’s by the Oregon Association of Nurseries but forma development didn’t start until the mid-1990’s when a sponsoring foundation was formed and the site sprawling across a hillside on the edge of Silverton was selected. In partnership with the city of Silverton, a wetlands system runs throughout the park utilizing the city’s recycled wastewater. The planning and planting of various garden areas commenced, with a grand opening in June 2001. The garden actually consists of a number of different specialty gardens woven together by a walking path and tram system that help visitors (including old men!) explore the 80 acre garden.
Sprinkled through the garden are various sculptures by Oregon artists.
An unexpected surprise sits in a grove of oak trees in the garden, the Gordon House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Regular followers know that architecture is one of my “things” and stumbling upon the Gordon House was a highlight of the visit to the garden. The minimalist style of Frank Lloyd Wright really appeals to me as he was the forerunner of the “open design” floor plans of today as well as the school of architecture that creates buildings that emerge from their environment. The Gordon House was originally built on a farm on the Willamette River south of Portland in 1964 (in the current Charbonneau area for Oregonian readers) and is the only Frank Lloyd Wright designed house in Oregon. The house is an example of Wright’s “USONIAN” design. USONIAN is an acronym for United States of North America, and the design exemplifies open spaces that flow into each other as well as lots of floor to ceilings that bring the outside and inside together in a harmonious flow. Unfortunately the house was not open to tour on the day I was there but here are pictures of the front and back of the house.
The 2,133 square foot house was built at a cost of $56,000. After Mrs. Gordon passed away, the heirs to the estate sold the property and did not plan to save the house. The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy stepped forward and brokered a deal that allowed the house to be moved and reconstructed at the Oregon Garden. In 2001 the original building was deconstructed, piece by piece, and then over a period of nine months rebuilt on the Oregon Garden Site. You can’t tell the building was ever disturbed, it emerges from within the oak grave as if it has always been there….
Silver Falls State Park
About 15 miles east of Silverton, deeper in the foothills of the Oregon Cascades, lies Silver Creek Falls State Park. Nearly 9.000 acres encompass the area where the North and South Forks of Silver Creek cut narrow canyons through the hills. The unique geology of the area creates 10 waterfalls within the park. Historically, lava flows periodically reached the eastern edge of the Willamette Valley and covered up the rich soil. Over time Silver Creek has cut canyons that cascade over the lava flows and hollow out the softer soil underneath, which allows current visitors (including me!) to hike down and walk behind the waterfall. I have to note here that this is a very brief description of the wonders of the park, mostly due to the fact that most of the waterfalls are not visible from the road and are reached by hikes of varying length. The hikes range from easy to strenuous, but given my physical limitations, they are out of reach to me. However, I was able to capture the North Falls from a visitor viewpoint high about the canyon floor.
The most developed area is at the head of South Falls. In 1888 Silver Falls City was founded at the head of the falls and served as the center for logging activity in the area. The town was quickly eclipsed by Silverton and faded away but a local photographer, June Drake, took up the cause of Silver Falls in 1900 and began a campaign, bolstered by his pictures of the area, to create Oregon’s first state park. In 1926 the National Park Service rejected the proposal due to the extensive evidence of logging in the area which left immense stretches of stumps cover the vicinity of the falls. However, the Great Depression of the 1930’s gave life to the proposal and in 1935 the federal government designated the area as a National Recreation Area and utilized men in the Civilian Conservation Corps to build trails, the lodge and other outbuildings.
The buildings are located near the South Falls, the most visited falls in the park and the one that I selected for the “up close and personal” treatment. The hike down the canyon begins by following Silver Creek towards the head of the falls.
Here’s my trek down and up the canyon in pictures. First, the view from the top of the trail and then the view from half way down the trail.
And finally, from the base of the trail. The mist was fogging up the camera but if you look closely you can see the trail as it goes behind the waterfall where the mossy green of the lower wall changes to the gray rock of the upper section.
Over the years the water has eroded the wall behind the falls for a considerable distance. I am standing directly behind the water fall looking back into the eroded area in this picture. Turning around, here’s the view from behind the water.
On the way back up (which is waaaay harder than hiking down) I pause to take a shot of the creek through the Oregon rainforest (note the moss on everything).
There are eight other waterfalls in the park, some taller, some smaller, all accessible by hiking through the back country on an 8.7 mile long loop up and down the canyon (that’s about 8.2 miles farther than I was willing to go!) Just an amazing day enjoying Mother Nature and the beauty of Oregon.
Next up: Heading to Gold Country!
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