By Ella Andrewjeski

Did you know that Paul Kane painted the the first pictures of the Pacific Northwest?  Well, I learned this and much more at the Washougal Waterfront Park.  At the Washougal Waterfront Park we observed and learned many new things.

The first  observation I made was that Paul Kane the first artist to make images of this region.  These paintings were the first ever made of the Pacific Northwest.  Some of these pictures were of the Columbia River Gorge area.  Others were of the Camas/   Washougal area.  As you can see, Paul Kane’s paintings were a very important thing I learned about.

The next thing I learned was that a rock called “Eric the Erratic” is at home in the Washougal Waterfront Park.  Eric came on an iceberg floating down the Columbia River during the catastrophic Missoula Floods.  This Ice Age granite rock is erratic, or brought to its current position from glacial movement.  In this case, Eric floated down to Washougal all the way from Canada.

The third thing I learned was that the Washougal Waterfront Park rented goats to mow down the out-of-control grasses and other plants.  After last year’s flooding of the the Columbia River, plant life went wild and the goats were used to control it.  Also, invasive species began to take over native plant life, so the goats were used in that aspect as well.  Another reason for using goats was that they are ecologically friendly and are like green lawnmowers!  Lastly, goats were an all around good choice for the park.

Clearly, my class and I learned several new things at the Washougal Waterfront Park.  Some of these things were artist Paul Kane, Eric the Erratic, and goats mowing grasses at the park.  I had fun at Washougal Waterfront Park and hope you can visit there soon, too.