Sept 30 - Mt Hood, Oregon

  Today we explored the west and south side of Mt Hood.  This mountain is 11,235 feet tall, and dominates the area.  The Oregon Trail had to either go north of the mountain, down the Colombia River, or skirt the mountain, going east to west on a pass over the south side of the mountain.  When we started out, the day was cool, but sunny, with a few fluffy clouds.  We followed a portion of the Oregon Trail.
  Our first stop was a the Jonsrud Viewpoint.  This is on a bluff, overlooking a valley with Mt Hood in the background.  Snow covered and towering over the landscape.  Impressive.
  Next we stopped at the Wildwood Recreation Area.  This park had a very nice paved trail that went along the Salmon River.  It also had a unique viewing station that showed you an underwater chamber.  You could see above and beneath the stream--very interesting.  Apparently, salmon run in this river at appropriate times of the year--however, not today.
  Following the scenic highway, we came to the town of Government Camp.  This is a ski resort town, fairly high up the mountain, which also has a lot of summer activities.  We went to the Historical Museum, and learned about the Oregon Trail and the early settlers to Oregon.  I'm glad I was able to travel this mountainous area in a car, and not a covered wagon.  We ate lunch at a very cool little sandwich shop.
  The highlight of the trip was the Timberline Lodge, up at around 6,000 feet.  As we drove  up, and up, and up the mountain to the lodge, the roadside and the mountain became snow covered.  A good 3 inches covered everything.  The last loop to the lodge was completely fogged in, with icy parking lots, and 28 degree temps.  And here I thought I'd left New England winters!  It was like we had entered into an alternate universe.  The lodge was anticlimactic, since we couldn't see a thing.  So, we went back down the mountain.  As soon as we got a little lower, we could see the valleys with their snow covered pines.  It was breathtaking!  By the time we got to the bottom and back onto the scenic highway, it was 51 degrees, no snow, and fairly clear. 
   Our final stop on the scenic route was at ZigZag Falls.  This followed the old scenic highway, built in the 1920's.  Then a half mile trail went uphill through a beautiful rain forest, along the ZigZag stream.  As soon as we started on the trail, we saw a black bear on the hillside across the stream from us--fortunately going in the opposite direction!  The trail ended at the ZigZag Falls, a truly exquisite falls, stream and forest.  The sign at the beginning of the trail explained it all--saying how the falls creates negative ions, which stimulates serotonin, which makes you feel uplifted.  Indeed you do!
  By the time we returned to the Portland area, it was 51 degrees, with no clouds in the sky at all!  We decided that since Oregon is so noted for their craft beers, we should stop in for a beer. We found a really nice pub/restaurant/brewery and had a good craft beer to finish out the delightful day.

Mt Hood photos:

Jonsrud Viewpoint photo:

Note Mt Hood peaking out at the top of the photo

Timberline Lodge photos and road to and from photos:

ZigZag Falls photos:

Sept 29 - Rainy hangout day, Portland, OR

  We needed a day off, and since it was due to rain all day, we stayed "home".  I did the laundry in the morning, wrote bills in the afternoon,  trimmed Peter's beard, and made dinner for tonight and with some to freeze.  Had a nice Hangouts call with the kids.  Overall, a relaxing, easy day.

No photos today.

Sept 28 - Portland City tour and Larch Mountain/Sherrard Viewpoint

  We decided to do an official tour of Portland.  Our tour guide was a very knowledgeable young man.  There were 6 of us in the tour van.  It was 4 hours, so we got to see a a lot of Portland.  This is a very "hip" city, that is really concerned about being "green".  They have a new bridge over the River that is only for pedestrians, bicycles, buses and the electric trolleys.  Some of the sites we stopped at were the Rose Garden, the Lan Su Chinese Garden, the Pittock Mansion, and Forest Park. 
We saw several neighborhoods and saw how the city is growing, and becoming a very expensive place to live.  He talked about the "old" Portland of the 90's and the "new" Portland of today.  "Punk-rock grunge" vs. "hipster".  The city had a nice feel to it, and I don't care for cities.  They do have a homeless population which is a major issue.  He said that many of the homeless folks actually have regular, steady jobs, but just can't afford a place to live.
  The Lan Su Chinese Garden was really impressive.  They definitely know how to create an energy in a room, and pay attention to detail.  The Pittock Mansion, built overlooking Portland, by a timber baron in the early 1900's, was also impressive.  After the tour, we had lunch at a popular pizza place.  Then stopped at the Powell's Book Store.  This was a huge bookstore, that was super busy.  I was impressed, when other bookstores around the country are having difficulties. 
  Since the sun was shining, we decided to stop at a scenic lookout on our way back to the RV.  We went up the Larch Mountain Road, to a summit called Sherrard Viewpoint.  Of course, we then had to hike up to the summit.  I counted 101 steps, some spaced out a bit, but all up a steep trail. The trail was on the north side of the mountain, and it had just rained here, so there was splotches of snow.  The trail through the woods was really somber--the energy was really neat--cool and quiet. 
  The view from the top would have been spectacular, if the clouds hadn't moved in and obscured some of the view.  As it was, it was still breathtaking.  From this viewpoint, you could see five mountain peaks:  Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier, Mt Adams, Mt Jefferson, and Mt Hood.  All volcanic mountains in the Cascade Mountain range. 

Portland City Tour photos:

Bridge that doesn't allow cars

Rose Garden

Pittock Mansion

View from Pittock Mansion of City of Portrland

Lan Su Chinese Garden

Stone floor mosaics at Lan Su Chinese Garden

 Sherrard Viewpoint photos:

Sept 27 - Columbia River Gorge, Oregon

  What an incredible day of sightseeing!  Nature at its best.  We drove the Historic Columbia River Highway from Troutdale to Ramona.  This was originally one of the first Scenic Highways created, back in the 1920's.  It was an amazing engineering and design feat, as it follows the River on the side of the mountain's canyons.  I'll give a summary of all of the stops we made:

1. Portland Women's Forum State Scenic Viewpoint --delightful overlook of the Columbia River and upstream, with the mountains on each side of the river.  Washington State is on the north side, and Oregon State is on the south side.  
2. Crown Point, Vista House -- this is a really neat crown-shaped building, standing out on a towering point, on a huge mountain peak.  The peaks jut out from the main mountains, so you could see Vista House from the Portland Women's Forum Viewpoint.  If you look closely, you can see it in one of my photos below.
3. Latourell Falls -- these beautiful falls were a short walk from the parking area.  You could walk behind these falls--if you were brave enough.  Each of the waterfalls in the Waterfall Corridor had its own unique, beautiful features.  You could stand there watching the water fall, breath in the ionized air, and just appreciate each one.  Then move on to the next one!
4. Bridal Veil Falls -- these delightful falls required a 3/4 mile hike through the woods, uphill, and up a bunch of stairs, but they were worth it.  Waterfalls tumbling into a small pool. 
5. Roadside Overview-- I liked this one because you could see how important this river access is to Oregon, and has been throughout history.  But the photo shows the river, the highway, and the railroad, all next to each other.  
6. Multnomah Falls -- WOW!!!  We had to wait in line to park the car for 1/2 hour.  Then, we had lunch at the very nice lodge.  We climbed to the viewing point, and what an amazing view.  The two-tiered 620 foot water fall, with a bridge partway up.  Of course, I needed to climb up to the bridge.  Spectacular!
7. Horsetail Falls --these are just very sweet falls.  They fall into a little pond, set in a very nice area.  I learned that horsetail falls is a type of waterfall.  The water in these falls don't cascade over a ledge and tumble to the bottom.  Instead, they slide all the way down, touching the rock beneath them all the way into the pool of water below.  
8. The final section was the scenic drive from the town of Mosier to Rowena.  It climbs and winds, and has three overlooks -- Memaloosa Overlook, Mitchell Point and Rowena Crest Overlook.  They were all really beautiful vistas, but the Rowena Crest was phenomenal.  There was a 300 degree view, overlooking the river, and the switchback roads to get there.  From Mitchell Point, you could see the people on skateboards in the water with a parasail. 

Columbia River Gorge Historic Highway photos:

Vista House 

Portland Women's Forum Scenic Viewpoint

Portland Women's Forum Scenic Viewpoint

Portland Women's Forum Scenic Viewpoint-note the Vista house on the bluff

Latourell Falls

Latourell Falls

Latourell Falls

Historic Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway

Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil bridge to Falls

Multnomah Falls 

Multnomah Falls --Note the Bridge above us

Multnomah Falls -- view from the Bridge

One of the original tunnels from old scenic highway

Horsetail Falls

Horsetail Falls

Mitchell Point Overlook

Memaloosa Overlook

Rowena Crest Overlook--road up to the top

Rowena Crest Overlook

Rowena Crest Overlook

Rowena Crest Overlook

If you look closely, you can see the Columbia River, I-84 Highway, and the railroad. Three extremely important ways to move people and goods.