Officers Row

See those houses over there? That's where we are going next. . . Some of the houses along this street belonged to famous Army officers and they are now re-furbished in the furniture of the times. Three of the most famous are the O.O. Howard House, the Marshall House and the Grant House. These are opened to the public. One is a restaurant. The rest of the houses on Officers Row are remodeled and used as office space or condos. The city of Vancovuer got them from the Army for ONE PENNY!
This house is open for tours Monday through Friday. Donations are accepted but not mandatory. Only the bottom floors are accessible to the public.

The Grant House is now a fine restaurant open to the general public and very popular for receptions and festivals during which the general public eats there as if it were a big chain restaurant.

This is the Marshall House. It is open for tours also. You can look on your own during certain hours or get the whole story from the volunteer. It has been re-furbished with Victorian style furniture. The upstairs rooms are rented out to businesses. We got to go into the tourret shaped one because the business had moved.

Officers Row Bandstand

Social events like parades, dances and concerts helped the Army soldiers and the people in the neighborhood get along better. Many of these events were held here at the National Reserve which is across the street from Officers Row, a group of houses for high ranking military. We still use the bandstand for special activities that often include school awards from the community.

Sawmill

This is a historical marker along the Old Evergren Hiway betwen Vancouver and Camas to the east. It marks the spot of our first Lumber Mill where many of the historical buildings got their wood. The sawmill was re-located and trees have grown up over the area once again. CLICK on to enlarge to read sign better. All photos will enlarge.

Covington House

This is a historical house that was moved to this spot to make way for "progress." The sign tells the story.

Vancouver has always been a city to preserve its heritage.

As Flat Stanley's journey continues, we will see more historical places because people here preserved them so we can learn about the way it was long ago.

Old Apple Tree Park

We visited this special place because it is part of Vancouver's history. This is the oldest APPLE tree in the whole Northwest. It doesn't have blossoms or leaves on it now because winter is just getting over. Each Fall, we have a special event at the Old Apple Tree park to celebrate.

Things around it have gotten modern . . . to get to this park where the old tree grows, you have to go under the railroad bridge and just behind the tree is the modern freeway. To the left of it is a north/south freeway called Instertate 5. To the right is a LAND bridge most recently built a little over a year ago. It tells the history of Vancouver with photos on stone walls, native plants and sculpture celebrating the "bridge" between land and water importance to people who live here.It is a wonderful place for a short walk between Old Apple Tree Park and Fort Vancouver.

My First Field Trip

MrsS loves to go on walks so I am going to get to see many things in her city. My first big excursion was walking over a long bridge across the Columbia River from Vancouver, WA to Portland, OR. It is called the Glen L. Jackson bridge for the man who was in charge of building it. Most people just call it the I-205. I just arrived and I got to travel to two states!

This was the first time for both of us to walk across this pedestrian bridge in the middle of the I-205 bridge. It was very noisy and I am glad I got to snuggle in MrsS's pocket for part of the walk. She says she likes long walks so it was ok for her and she was excited to finally find the entrance to the walking path on the bridge.
We entered the bridge from under it! Ü See that guy on a bicycle go up the ramp to the walking area? We followed him.
Can you see me standing at the beginning of the ramp?
Here I am at the beginning. MrsS thought a close up on the way to the top of the bridge was called for.
Here is the part for pedestrians and bicycles. There was a fence on both sides of us that we could see over.

One of the things we could see was the Columbia River. See the airport tower on the right side of that tree to the left but on the right side of the photo? The tree is on the Washington side and the airport on the Oregon side of the Columbia.Sometimes airplanes flew right over us because the Portland International Airport is just across the river.

Looking to the east, we also saw Mt. Hood. In the left of the photo is the Camas Marina in Washington and a sailboat in the river just came from there.

We forgot to turn around and take a photo of Mt. St Helens looking north but MrsS told me we will try to find another blue sky day for that before I go back home. I hope so!

We walked on the bicycle and walking path so no cars woulld run us over. It was a long walk for my small legs so I am glad that I got to ride in MrsS's pocket at times. Of course she brought me out when there was something special to see. She held me tight so I would not blow into traffic or the river. It was very windy! We sure had a great walk to Parkrose Transit Center in Portland where we caught a bus back to Vancouver and then another one to go home. MrsS says I am indeed an adventurer!

I'm Here!

See that big building behind me? That's where Mrs. S lives on the 8th floor! I have never been in a high rise before. You can find her apartment if you look to the right --not the top floor windows but the floor just beneath that. There are three apartments there and she lives inside the three windows to the right. She has a really nice view of sunrises and sunsets and I love being here. I get to ride the elevator everyday.

I arrived a week ago but MrsS was too busy to make my blog because of a family emergency. We did go for a walk over the
I-205 bridge but that is for the next post. She says we are going to do lots of traveling before I head back home so be sure to watch this blog and see where we go. I can hardly wait to do some more hiking with her! I am excited to have my own blog!