Portland, Oregon
Gresham, Oregon
Sunday – Tuesday, July 08 - 10, 2018
Cloudy to Clear, 65° to 80°
** Sorry for the backlog of posts but I was sick for a bit and having trouble with my cell phone and no service or internet these last couple weeks.
“There is no better place to find yourself than sitting by a waterfall
and listening to its music.”
We awoke for an early start this morning and were out of the campsite by seven o’clock. The drive north from Redmond was through beautiful large tracts of farmland with cattle ranches and varying types of terrain. The first half of the morning was in wide open land with distant vistas all around. Mt. Hood was off in the distance and grew larger and larger as we got closer on the drive-by.
Mt. Hood
You could see Mt. St. Helens on the horizon in one direction and Mt. Adams in another, all of them snow-capped in the morning sun.
The road turned to the northwest and shortly the terrain changed from farmland to cut canyons. The road descended down to the river to only to climb up the other side; this happened several times. The forest returned as the drive toward Mt. Hood grew nearer. The large cedar and eucalyptus tree forests were on both sides of the road as we climbed in elevation toward the mountain. I wanted to stop and see Timberline Lodge but thought I was short on time to meet up with friends, Colin and Donna-Lee, in Portland. Timberline Lodge was used for the exterior shots in the movie, The Shining.
Driving past Mt. Hood, the mountaintop still maintained its snow cover and there were flowers in bloom as we drove along the base. A few miles down the road, we came across The Whistle Stop Bar and Grill which is owned by several friends of mine. It’s a great place to eat any time of day and their smoked Sturgeon chowder is awesome. The parking lot was almost full as people were inside eating a hearty breakfast. Going down the highway to Gresham where my friends live, there are several small towns and many nurseries growing trees, fruits, and other things to sell.
We arrived around 10:30 in the morning and parked the RV along the curb next to their house. It was easy to plug in the electrical by their fence. We spent the rest of the morning eating a wonderful breakfast at Heidi’s while catching up since I left Oregon two years ago. We decided to spend the day seeing the sights around the Columbia River Gorge.
We first headed up to Larch Mountain which has a great overlook to see the many volcanoes in the area. From there, you can see Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Washington, and Mt. Rainier. As we drove up the road leading to the parking area the road was closed and we had to turn around. For many miles along the gorge, there had been a major fire which started on July 04, 2017. Firefighters were still putting the final small fires out in November. The path was not safe nor had any work been done up there yet so we were not able to get to the overlook on this beautiful day. You could have seen for miles but we headed back down and went to the Vista House near Crown Point.
Vista House sits above Columbia River Gorge
We stopped there for great views of the Columbia River,
Crown Point View
and the mountains all around along with the other people enjoying this beautiful day. Colin was worried that the Multnomah Falls would still be closed as the fire swept through that area as well.
Multnomah Falls Sign
Fire fighters set up to save the Lodge buildings and bridge where you can walk up to view the waterfall cascading down the mountain side. The access road was still closed but we were able to stop on the Interstate 80 access and go under the highway tunnel to access the falls.
Multnomah Falls from I-80
Even with summer in full swing and no more snow runoff, it was magnificent.
Upper Falls Rim View
The water drops down six hundred twenty feet into a pool then cascades down a small fall before it goes on down to the Columbia River.
Lower Falls Pool View
We drove east on I-80 for about 45 miles where Colin showed us the fire damage, the area where it started as a result of boys shooting off fireworks. We stopped off for a great milkshake at Gorge Ice Cream, and then headed to the Cascade Locks, just upriver from the Bridge of the Gods. We also stopped for a glass of wine at the beautiful Columbia Gorge hotel. The hotel sits above the river and has a beautiful waterfall that falls into the river below.
Columbia Gorge Hotel Waterfall
There were about 30 wind surfers across the river from the hotel. Their colorful sails had them gliding back and forth on the winds blowing through the canyon.
Waterfall looking down the cliff
It was a full day of exploring the area. On the drive back to town, we witnessed a beautiful sunset across the River which made for an excellent ending to an adventurous day.
Monday morning had me feeling pretty miserable. It started July 4th and had progressively gotten worse. I had a bad sinus infection I think was caused by all of the fire smoke we drove through in five states these last couple of weeks. It had finally gotten the best of me, so it was time to visit a Doc in the Box at a Walgreen’s here in Gresham, Oregon. It was fortunate as they were affiliated with the Providence Hospital System in Alaska where my medical records are held. When I “checked in,” my information pulled up from Alaska so they could treat me. I called to make an appointment and was on hold for over thirty minutes. We drove over to the Walgreen’s so I could see if they could see me as a walk in or if I still needed an appointment. I made an appointment for 6:20 pm. Since we had time, we headed over to a nice large park with several trails that led to great views of the surrounding area. We took a great hike along several of the trails while we waited for my scheduled appointment. By the end of the hike, I was totally out of gas and felt exhausted. I was glad for the chance to get some relief at the clinic with some antibiotics and pain meds.
The next morning I still felt like crap but I was on round two of the meds so hopefully some relief was forthcoming. We grilled out that night and prepared to depart the next morning. I have missed my friends, Colin and Donna-Lee, so it was hard saying goodbye once again. It is always such fun hanging out and enjoying each other’s company.
Thanks again for a great visit and let’s plan another adventure together, as we all are Traveling Life’s Highways.