Tigard - Cook Park and Pumpkin Scavenger Hunt

 Technically you still have today to do this!

Scattered around Cook Park in Tigard are five posters with pumpkins as part of a family scavenger hunt.

https://www.tigard-or.gov/recreation/index.php

 

We were not interested in the prizes, which I am pretty sure were long gone before we got there, but it seemed like a good way to explore the park, which is huge.

The 36 acre property was first dedicated in 1964 as Tigard Park, but renamed in the '70s in honor of John Cook who had played a key role in getting the land turned into a park in the first place.

We only found two of the five pumpkins. The size of the park means that there is a lot of ground to cover, and we were unfamiliar with it. Someone who knows the park could probably find all five very quickly, as the child-friendly scavenger hunt clues are not hard.

We probably could still have found all of them by spending more time, but there was a bitterly cold and icy East wind blowing on us. Do not let the bright sunlight of these pictures fool you.

Still, we enjoyed what we did see, and hope to go back and explore more under more favorable conditions.

Currently the playground equipment can be used, but masks and social distancing are required.

In the ground we covered we saw several play areas and picnic areas, so there is room to spread out.

There were signs all over with suggested enrichment activities for children. They were also available in other languages. While I am sure the primary purpose of that is to make the park more welcoming, it can also help with early second language instruction for children (or late second language instruction for adults, either way).

We did not make it to the boat landing (that would have been so much colder), but we know in the summer it is a popular spot for paddle boarding.

We will be back.

 https://www.tigard-or.gov/community/cook_park.php

PDX Halloween - Oaks Park Haunted Drive-Thru

Pictures are going to be a little worse for this one. It was night, we were in a vehicle, and I thought I heard not to take pictures inside, so in many cases I did not try.

It was still cool to see the roller coaster lit up.

Haunted attractions are an important part of Halloween, but how to do them in the time of COVID? How about a drive-through haunted house?

There are five different choices. Depending on what you choose, separate but parallel lanes take you to the correct location. In the interests of refraining from contact, the staff tries to guide you like aircraft controllers with light sticks. It assumes a little more ability to follow directions than may be deserved, but we did get to the right spot.

We chose Hill House, ostensibly the least scary. Who wants the scary clown one? (Just kidding; that one is sold out.) We watched a short video and drove in to the first space, experienced some things, drove forward to the next space, experienced some more stuff, and then were done. For each stop you are handed a sanitized speaker that provides the sound resting on your dash.

The obvious question is whether it was scary: no, but I am not sure that is significant. We were in the mildest one, and I don't tend to get scared in haunted houses anyway. Why would this one be different? The scariest part was while we were waiting, and I would catch glimpses of the staff in the car mirrors. They were just going about their business, but that something just outside of easy vision when you are waiting and anticipating... spooky. From a narrative point of view, I think they should have had more of what they had in the first spot in the second spot, but I don't want to give anything away.

But the best part of all - and what I recommend for everyone - is adding the souvenir candy cup. Spilling it out on my bed after we got home, it really felt like I had just been trick-or-treating. That was awesome.

https://scaregroundspdx.com/ 

Oregon Heritage Farms Virtual Field Trip

In addition to focusing on things that can be done safely now, and have not required changes to be safe during a pandemic, we have also been very interested to see how other businesses and attractions have been adapting. What has helped many family farms survive over the years has been field trips and excursions for families. The last post explored an adapted form of family excursion, but schools cannot do regular field trips now.

We had already visited Oregon Heritage Farms last year:

https://sporktogo.blogspot.com/2019/10/oregon-heritage-farms.html

We went to get supplies for their virtual field trip.

https://www.oregonheritagefarms.com/fieldtrips

For no charge at all, you can watch a video tour of the farm and the apple growing process, including pollination and packing. There is also a brief lesson plan with handouts and a tasting activity.

Finally, the store has a field trip pack, which can be ordered online.

The packs are designed for groups of four. The sippy cups are really cute, and you can easily purchase additions for each extra student. For my sister's class we decided to forgo the cups, but to pick up cider and a variety of apples that each student could try. It is easy to adapt.

Of course, there are a lot of other things that can be purchased if you are so inclined.

 https://www.oregonheritagefarms.com/

The Plumper Pumpkin Patch

 In May we went through a farm safari at the Plumper Pumpkin Patch:

https://sporktogo.blogspot.com/2020/05/plumper-pumpkin-farm-safari.html

That was one way of allowing people access to the farm during the pandemic. 

Now you can visit and get out of your car, but there are still various safety requirements in place.

And of course, masks are required. 

The social distancing for the most part worked well. Some of that requires parents enforcing the children's behavior, but also it helps that so much is out in wide open spaces.

You can go out on the pumpkin trail, where you will find clusters of different pumpkin varieties and a choice of sizes, allowing you do find exactly what you want. There are also cute displays everywhere, including many cheerfully painted hay bales.

There is also the animal loop, where you can see the same animals from the safari, but up closer.

You can also purchase food before starting the loop to feed them (but not the pigs; never pet or feed the pigs).

And that might be a concern. Taking home a pumpkin costs extra. Cannons and pony rides are extra. Animal food is extra and human food is extra. Is it worth the $8-10 per person admission?

There is a lot of play available.

I did not take a picture of the slides, because those are other people's children, but the kids on there seemed really happy. Kids could race ducks down these water troughs, and there was a maze, tire playground, and just a lot of things to wear them out. It's a personal decision, but I think it can be worth it.

We were lucky and had simply beautiful weather, and we enjoyed our day on the farm.

http://plumperpumpkins.com

Oregon City - Confluence

This is not a traditional travel post, but as we have been exploring Oregon City, one of the interesting things has been where it is in relation to everything else.

This is not a new concept to us. The way we got to Sherwood when we were kids versus the way we get to Sherwood now doesn't seem to have any logic in it, but we've been over the roads, that's how they are. Some of the roads are new, but with most of them it is just that they are better-paved and with more lights.

For years we have seen the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center on our way to Clackamas Town Center. We had in our minds that Clackamas and Oregon City were close to each other. 

However, it was only when I was writing about Roake's that I realized we had entered into Milwaukie. I have thought of Milwaukie as somewhere between Portland and Gresham. Well, kind of, but not quite that way.

It was when we were looking over some maps and saw Maddax Woods listed that we were really surprised. Without ever thinking about it, when we walked over the Arch Bridge, we had gotten to West Linn. We were not far into West Linn, but we were there.

(We also learned that the stand was for watching a large heron rookery, which is less obvious when you are there at night in winter.)

When we went on the Willamette Jet Boat excursion, we knew that at one point on the river we were passing Lake Oswego on the one side, and that eventually we got to having Oregon City on the other side, but we did not know that it was Oak Grove facing Lake Oswego, and West Linn facing Oregon City. That actually feels a lot more logical than some of the things that the map shows us.

So part of what is interesting about this is how it relates to places we have visited, but even more so how it relates to things we have not seen yet, and how we can combine excursions efficiently.

I am not saying everything is a convenient walk, but we can still do a lot in a day.