Oregon Daily Emerald
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
“Van Gandy flat-out lied to the public... The matter
will truly be closed only when Van Gundy is fired. ”
The National Basketball Referees Association on Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy
after he claimed a referee told him Yao Ming was targeted by officials
■ Outdoor recreation
good time
Mount Pisgah Arboretum, home to many species of
plants, will hold its Wildflower Festival on Sunday
BY ASHLEY GRIFFIN
OUTDOOR RECREATION REPORTER
Eugene is one of the only
cities around that has a
place where visitors can find
67 different families gathered in
209 acres. The catch: These aren’t
human families but families of
plants, and they can be found at
Mount Pisgah Arboretum, one of
Eugene’s greatest hiking and out
door recreation spots.
Mount Pisgah Arboretum is a
stunning natural park that lies
between the Coast Fork of the
Willamette River and the slopes of
Mount Pisgah. Less than a
15 minute drive from Eugene, the
park provides hiking trails in a di
verse setting everyday from sun
rise to sunset. Admission is free
and paths, picnic tables and
homemade benches are strewn
throughout the park, providing
visitors ample opportunities to
appreciate nature.
At a park this large and this
diverse, nature has a lot to offer.
“It’s close to town, a good
workout, has a variety of ecosys
tems and views, a good variety of
trails and my dog loves it too,”
said Outdoor Program Coordina
tor Dan Geiger. “The variety of
habitat — river, meadow, wooded
etc. — make Pisgah an excellent
place to see a large variety of na
tive species in a single walk.”
At Mount Pisgah Arboretum,
nature emerges as something real,
tangible and continuously inter
esting. Visitors can expect to see
various forms of plant and animal
life. The arboretum is home to
deer, foxes, coyote, bats and a
large population of bird species.
Bird watching is a main attraction
at the park, especially during the
early morning hours. Resident and
migratory song birds and fowl fill
the arboretum’s four distinct habi
tats. In the spring, Red-eyed Vireo
rest in the Riparian habitat while
Chestnut-backed Chickadee chirp
their way through the seasons in the
Coniferous area.
The arboretum is also well
known for hosting nature walks
that showcase the park’s abun
dance of wildflowers. Located in
the River Meadow area, the two
acre Patricia M. Baker Memorial
Wildflower Garden is an especial
ly large draw.
On Sunday, the arboretum will
celebrate these blooming beauties
at the park’s Wildflower Festival
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festival
will feature a wildflower display,
music, arts and crafts, a children’s
activity area, a plant sale and
guided hikes every half hour.
The hikes will take place on
the park’s elaborate maze of trails
— eight miles in all — that wind
through its ecological habitats.
On any given day, visitors can
walk on broad dirt trails along
side a river, a small trickling
creek, a riparian meadow and a
wildflower garden. Near the top
of the park, paths become rocky
trails that guide hikers through a
white oak savanna.
Hikers looking for a challenge
can attempt Mount Pisgah’s steep
summit climb. This path winds
up the mountain and spits hikers
out on an airy grass hill with
great views of the surrounding ar
eas. While this route averages
about one to two hours round
trip, the view at the top is well
worth the exertion.
The Outdoor Program hosts
a Mount Pisgah hiking group
every Wednesday from 4 p.m.
to 6 p.m. Geiger said dogs are
also welcome.
The natural beauty of Mount
Pisgah is obvious the moment visi
tors arrive. But the real beauty of
this location is in its ability to offer
something new with each visit.
“I go about once a week,”
Geiger said. “I love to watch it
change over the seasons and
there’s a lot a variety, so I don’t get
bored with the same old road to
the top.”
ashleygriffin@ dailyemerald, com
Tim Bobosky | Photographer
The trails at Oregon’s Mount Pisgah Arboretum, about 15 minutes from Eugene, wind through a variety of ecological habitats.
■ Club Sports
Women's water polo finishes 8th at Nationals
Amanda Fay, Becky Bland and Courtney Ashford finished the weekend
with a combined 16 goals, but the Ducks came away with only one win
BY LUKE ANDREWS
DAILY EMERALD FREELANCE REPORTER
The Oregon Club women’s water polo team
finished its season at the Collegiate National
Championships last weekend with an eighth
place finish.
Despite an opening-game victory over Penn
State, the seventh-seeded Ducks lost their last
three matches to finish the tournament with a
1-3 record.
Amanda Fay, Becky Bland and Courtney
Ashford paced the Oregon attack. Fay and
Bland finished the weekend with five goals, and
Ashford finished with six.
“We felt that we played really well, just not
as strong as we needed to,” team coordinator
Kristen Laird said. “But Nationals is an awe
some place to get to, and we are pleased with
the outcome of the season.”
Oregon advanced to the tournament after fin
ishing with a 13-3 record in the Northwest Inter
collegiate League. The Ducks then secured first
place at the regional qualifier, earning a trip as the
seventh seed to the Nationals at Texas A&M.
The Ducks met lOth-seeded Penn State in
the first game and jumped out quickly to a
three-point lead after the first quarter, which
proved to be the game’s final margin of victory.
The Nittany Lions kept the game close, but Ore
gon prevailed with a 9-6 win and advanced to
take on Dartmouth in the second round. Ash
ford finished with five of Oregon’s nine goals.
“We played phenomenal defense,” Laird
said. “We pretty much shut down any offense
they had.”
In the second game against second-seeded
Dartmouth, the Ducks battled to a 2-2 tie at
halftime but could not overcome four unan
swered goals in the third quarter by the Big
Green and fell 8-4.
The loss matched Oregon with the MIT Engi
neers. Again, the Ducks were able to keep the
score close until MIT halted the Oregon attack
and added six goals of its own in the last three
quarters to overwhelm the Ducks 9-3. Ashford
and Bland accounted for all Oregon goals.
The final game of the weekend pitted Ore
gon against the Air Force Academy. Despite a
5-3 advantage at halftime, the Ducks could
not fend off a furious second half by the Fal
cons in which the team scored four goals.
Still, Oregon entered the final quarter clinging
to a one-point lead, but the Falcons managed
to tie the game and send it into overtime.
In the first of two extra quarters, Air Force
took a three-goal advantage and hung on
after the second overtime to escape with an
11-10 victory.
“We had a high number of shots taken, but
we were not executing,” Laird said. “It was
definitely bittersweet because we knew we
played well and had a great season.”