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.

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!