Frozen!

 We didn't go far today, but we came across some captivating winter phenomena. It's been so cold here for several days — the lowest temp on my outdoor thermometer was 15 degrees. The Columbia River Gorge has numerous waterfalls. There are the bigger, more well-known ones like Multnomah Falls and Horsetail Falls, all farther east along the old highway, but we saw many smaller ones, all frozen like this one on Stark Street, just out of Troutdale.

 The highway here is bordered with high cliffs on one side, water cascading down from the top, making its way through the clefts in the rocks. On the opposite side of the street we looked down on the Sandy River.

Just before we got to the bridge spanning the Sandy River we saw this very delightful falls coming down from the cliffs in what appeared to be a large private preserve. The grounds were surrounded by a high steel fence — no entry here! Beside the charming, completely frozen cascade there were light posts and a bench or two, undoubtedly someone's sanctuary in the midst of very old and large firs. I could imagine myself taking a book and perhaps a picnic lunch and sitting here on a warm spring or summer day!

 There are two ways to enter the historic Columbia River Highway heading east, one by coming through Troutdale and crossing a bridge over the Sandy River declaring itself to be "The Gateway to the Columbia River Gorge", and the other by crossing over the Sandy River at the ending of Stark Street. Both bridges are quite ancient.

 As I said, we didn't go far. After crossing the Stark Street Bridge we headed back towards Troutdale. We saw these lovely frozen falls all along the way, some of them just seepage from the rock walls. This water may not be noticed or even be present in the warmer seasons.

One last shot, approaching the "Gateway" bridge taking us back into Troutdale. I wonder how the bigger falls farther up the road to the east are looking in the freezing temperatures. They are probably not completely frozen, as are these smaller streams, but I can imagine they are even more stunning. We may take that longer drive on another frosty winter day!

The Beautiful Gorge

 Today we had planned to go up the Columbia River as far as the town of Hood River, crossing over the bridge there, and coming back on the Washington side. We saw this sign naming a waterfall we hadn't stopped to see on previous trips. It looked too intriguing to pass up this time.

The stream was broken into several stair steps or benches as it dropped from high above, according to the 'lay of the land', and made several waterfalls. The 'Dell' was actually a sort of high sided bowl made up of moss and fern covered rocky cliffs, very beautiful.

 I love this old and mossy walled trail. It's obviously been there a long, long time.

 Mr. Keith at the bottom of the trail.

 The Old Columbia River Highway is so beautiful! As we drove along in our little Focus we tried to picture the model T's and similar ancient autos that must have been the first vehicles to travel this route. It's narrow and curvy and shadowed by huge firs and maples along the way, though very well kept up for the modern travelers.

 On the Washington side we cruised into White Salmon, a quaint little town right across the river from Hood River. I love this old Catholic Church.

 

And last, this photo shows why we can never drive our 5th wheel on this highway, the one on the Washington side! At 13 feet 9 inches we'd lose part of our roof. There were 4 or 5 tunnels bored through the rock walls at river's edge, some lower than this 13 foot 6 inch one.

Five Mountains

 We'd heard about a drive that would take us to a lookout point where we could see 5 mountains, so when we saw the day would be sunny and fairly clear, we headed out to the road to Larch Mountain, up the Gorge a ways. This picturesque bridge is just east of Troutdale, the "Gateway to the Columbia River Gorge".

  The highway took us through some incredibly huge trees, if not "old" growth, at least quite old. I didn't have anything for comparison so in the picture you can't really see how big this tree is. I was impressed! There were lots of trees this gigantic, and in some places the forest was so thick and dark it almost looked like evening, though we were making our trip in the brightest morning light.

The highway ended at the top of Larch Mountain, an old volcanic crater. I had been looking for larches (tamaracs) all the way up but didn't see any. When I read the sign at the top it said the old-time loggers had actually cut down Noble firs and claimed they were larches, fooling the mill operators, because the larch tree was more profitable. What a trick! So, there were no larches up here, ever! After parking the car we headed up a pretty trail composed mostly of old railroad ties.

The clouds did not co-operate entirely, but we did see 4 mountains. Mt. Hood to the south was a gorgeous sight and was, of course, the closest. Mt. Jefferson appeared a little further on, at least the tippy top of it.

To the north we saw the tips of Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens. Mt. Rainier was nowhere to be seen, but we knew it was there!

The lookout platform on Larch Mountain is 4056 feet high. It was a fairly steep drive up from the river, about 25 miles from our park. We will definitely need to come back here on a cloudless day, but that may not happen any time soon. The snow will come, making the road as well as the trail up difficult to travel. We are so glad we were able to see this beautiful place and our breathtaking mountains on this lovely fall day.

Company and Sights to See!

 We've only been at the Portland/Fairview RV Park for barely 2 weeks and have already been blessed with 2 sets of company, each for several days. John and Sue, fellow workampers, came in their 5th wheel to see the Columbia River Gorge, and us, too! We went to dinner at a quaint old restaurant at the beginning of the Old Columbia River Highway called "Tippy Canoe", and we took some photos out side where there a bunch of inflatable Halloween displays. We've worked with John and Sue, native Floridians, at the Denver East/Strasburg KOA and the Cheyenne KOA. They had never been to Washington or Oregon.

 This is the breathtaking view of the Gorge from the Vista House. The weather in the Pacific Northwest has been beautiful and sunny, great for sightseeing. An added bonus for us — fall colors! I was so thankful that on John and Sue's first visit here they got sunshine!

 A couple of days after John and Sue left, our close friends of many years came for a 2 day visit. Once again we drove up to the Vista House, built in 1918. It was incredibly windy on this day, so much so that we could barely stand up straight. The day and the view were both gorgeous.

 I had been past Multnomah Falls many times and had stopped at the Lodge, but had never climbed up to the bridge. We decided amongst us that today would be the day. Here Dawn, Ted and Keith and I are approaching the trail. Even though it is the autumn season and tourists are not so plentiful, there were still lots of people there.

 A closeup of the beautiful falls and the bridge. From Wikipedia,  "Multnomah Falls, 620 feet, is the tallest waterfall in the state of Oregon. It is credited by a sign at the site of the falls, and by the United States Forest Service, as the second tallest year-round waterfall in the United States." There are clear pools at the bottom of each tier inviting waders. I imagine that wading is not allowed, due to the very large numbers of tourists who come here.

 Mr. Keith stayed below so he could get a picture of the three of us on the bridge. The whole area is an awesome sight with moss covered cliffs, huge trees and clear streams. I read that the bridge was built in 1914. Had we continued on up the other side we'd have come out at the top of the falls. No one felt like attempting that much steeper climb today!

 Driving on, we had a little argument. I said there were no more falls and Mr. Keith said, yes, there were. Well, he won when we came upon this lovely spot, Horsetail Falls, right at the side of the highway. It's hard to be wrong, but so worth it when we got to see this beauty!

 Mr. Keith has a silly obsession — he likes to find "doodoos". Here he is yelling "doodoodooo" into this old restored tunnel. It was formerly part of the old highway. 

While Keith was investigating the tunnel, Ted climbed up to explore this cave in the side of the cliff. We had a wonderful day, full of fun, full of wonderful things to see. We won't soon forget our travels up the Columbia River Gorge!

Wenatchee WA to Fairview OR

It is always with sadness that we leave Wenatchee and family and friends there. Here we are, looking at the mountains ahead towards Cashmere and Blewett Pass.

We can't keep up to the speed limit while climbing so here we needed to pull off to let the line of vehicles behind us go by. The morning was a little foggy on Blewett Pass, but the scenery was as beautiful as always with the fall colors beginning.

We made it through Ellensburg and headed up the hills between that university town and Yakima. That's quite a climb, too. If I remember correctly, Manashtash Ridge is about 2600 feet in elevation, rising quickly, but there are two lanes both sides.

Safely through Yakima and the Yakima Indian Reservation towns of Wapato and Toppenish, we are going on towards Goldendale.

Approaching Satus Pass we drove through miles of scorched and dead trees. It's always so sad to see the devastation caused by forest fires.

At a rest stop for lunch we were treated to this magnificent view of Mt. Adams. We also saw the tips of Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens from this vantage point, but Mt. Hood was hiding today.

On the road again — surprised to see that since our last trip through here several years ago, windmills have sprouted up all along the ridge leading down to the Columbia River. I love these huge windmills. They look so imposing and powerful, and somehow, friendly. We also saw large numbers of them marching up the ridges around Ellensburg.

Our first view of Oregon, the cliffs on the other side of the Columbia! We are ready to begin the steep incline down to river level at Biggs Junction.

I wanted to snap the sign saying "Welcome to Oregon", which I did, but I was disappointed that it doesn't show up in the photo unless it is enlarged. (Click to enlarge.) It's right above the 5th wheel.

The Columbia River Gorge is breathtaking, all along the way. I-84 runs right along the river the whole way till it reaches the metropolitan areas. We were getting excited, knowing our journey was almost over.

Home at last, at least for many months. Our site is pretty, right there on the end of the row. The Portland/Fairview RV Park is the largest in the Northwest and kept very nicely. We will like it here! There will be many day trips we can take from here as we explore this awesome part of the world, giving me lots more blogging material. Stay tuned!