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Wide open spaces.


Byline: Randi Bjornstad The Register-Guard

For those who wonder about the natural history of the places they wander, the Eastgate Woodlands Park This article is about the place in New Zealand. For the place in England, see Woodlands Park, Berkshire.

Woodlands Park is a small quiet suburb on the outskirts of Waitakere City, within the Auckland urban area, New Zealand.
 just east of Alton Baker Park's Whilamut Natural Area is a great place to take a trek.

Enjoyable as it is, what you see is not all you get with the Eastgate Woodlands, because it connects on both west and east to additional park areas that add up to nearly 300 acres of relatively unspoiled open space.

The woodlands themselves, which lie along the north bank of the Willamette River Willamette River

River, northwestern Oregon, U.S. It flows north for 300 mi (485 km) into the Columbia River near Portland. Oregon's most populous cities are in its valley. The Fremont Bridge, a steel arch with a main span of 1,225 ft (373 m), crosses the river at Portland.
 just east of the Interstate 5 freeway bridge, occupy 40 tree-shaded acres with plenty of pathways for walking, jogging or bicycling, much of it within view of the fast-moving water.

The most direct route to the park is Aspen Street south off Centennial Boulevard. It also can be reached by traveling through the West D Street Greenway from downtown Springfield.

The park has two main trails. The appropriately named Riverside Trail follows the river's edge, through groves of willow, red alder Noun 1. red alder - large tree of Pacific coast of North America having hard red wood much used for furniture
Alnus rubra, Oregon alder

Alnus, genus Alnus - alders
 and cottonwood cottonwood: see willow.
cottonwood

Any of several fast-growing North American trees of the genus Populus. Members of the willow family, cottonwoods have heart-shaped, toothed leaves and cottony seeds. The dangling leaves clatter in the wind.
 trees, according to according to
prep.
1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.

2. In keeping with: according to instructions.

3.
 a description provided by the Willamalane Park and Recreation District, which manages the park.

The other, the Woodlands Trail, follows the canoe canal through a forest of mostly bigleaf maple trees.

Alton Baker Park Alton Baker Park is located in Eugene, Oregon, United States, near Autzen Stadium. It features duck ponds, bicycle trails, and a dog park, and directly touches the Ferry Street Bridge.  lies just west of the Eastgate Woodlands, with access to either the river or woodlands path. It includes the adjacent Whilamut Natural Area, once home to the native American Kalapuya people.

Pronounced "wheel-a-moot," according to the park district, the word means "where the river ripples and runs fast" in the Kalapuya language. The tribe lived along the banks of the river, hunting, fishing and gathering camas bulbs, before being forced onto reservations in other parts of the Oregon Territory The Oregon Territory is the name applied both to the unorganized Oregon Country claimed by both the United States and Britain (but normally referred to as the Oregon Country), as well as to the organized U.S. territory formed from it that existed between 1848 and 1859.  during the 1850s.

In honor of the Kalapuya people, the park area received its new name during a traditional Kalapuya naming ceremony A naming ceremony is the event at which an infant is given a name or names. They can occur anywhere from mere days after birth to several months afterwards. Some of these ceremonies have religious or cultural siginifcance.  in September 2002.

A walk west along the river from the Eastgate Woodlands passes 11 "talking stones" bearing inscriptions of Kalapuya words and their English translations. Only 140 words of the ancient Kalapuya language still survive. The language

at one time had nearly a dozen dialects, spoken by subgroups that lived along the banks of various rivers and creeks, ranging from the Yamhill Valley in the north to the Yoncalla area in the south.

Although Eastgate Woodlands Park connects the communities of Springfield and Eugene, it is motor-vehicle free. For those who want to drive to the park, parking is available where Aspen Street meets West D Street, along with a playground and picnic tables. Take the road a bit farther, and there's more parking near the boat landing.

Enjoyable as it is, what you see is not all you get with the Eastgate Woodlands.
COPYRIGHT 2007 The Register Guard
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2007, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Title Annotation:Recreation; Eastgate Woodlands Park connects walkers, joggers and cyclists to acres of unspoiled riverfront and parkland
Publication:The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR)
Date:Jun 7, 2007
Words:458
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