Columbia Gorge... Part 3

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Driving an RV on the Gorge...

Yesterday was gorgeous (no pun intended. Really). And, I spent the entire day driving the RV along the Historic Columbia River Highway from Bonneville west to Troutdale, and then back east to Multnomah Falls.

It's a lot easier said than done, let me tell you. It’s best to do it in a car or on a motorcycle, but I had to do it in the RV. It’s about 25 miles of two lane blacktop that traces the original Oregon Scenic Highway laid out just after the turn of the century. In most places, it’s simple winding backroad. But, in some places, it gets very narrow. Some of the old bridges were actually too narrow for the RV and a car to pass at the same time. It got pretty hairy. And, to top it off, on one side was sheer rockface, and on the other – sheer cliff (often without guardrails). One wrong move, and you’re either shearing off chunks of the Columbia River Gorge or you’re sliding down it into the river. It’s a pleasant drive… in a car. But in an RV… it's not for the faint of heart.

But, believe me, even in the RV it was worth every hair-raising second. The views are spectacular, the bridges are incredible, and the scenery includes some of America’s most beautiful waterfalls – right along the highway. And, that’s what it was originally built for. As Highway architect Sam Lancaster stated,

“Our first order of business was to find the beauty spots, or those points where the most beautiful things along the line might be seen in the best advantage, and if possible, to locate the road in such a way as to reach them.”

Well, kudos to you, Mr. Lancaster. You accomplished your goal with resounding success.

Of course, I met some great people on the way. What would this trip be if I didn't make new friends. At Multnomah Falls, I met a fantastic couple from the LA area who came up here just in time to escape the fires raging through Southern California. (If you guys are reading this, you'd better email me. I have a couple of pictures for you!)

You know, sometimes I feel bad, keeping the cats cooped up in the RV the whole time. But, I can't really let them out to roam on their own. That's how pets get lost or get run over (or, if you're in coyote country -- eaten.) Have you ever seen a cat on a leash? Well, that's the only way the kids get to go outside. Reggie does a pretty good job on the leash. I can't "walk" him like I could walk a dog, though. He has to explore at his own pace, in his own direction. So, I keep him tethered and just follow along like a good daddy.


After the sun went down, I popped in to a nearby RV park, made a fire, cooked some soup, and had a very relaxing evening. I can still smell the smoke on my clothes...

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Today was another great day. A beautiful, warm, sunny day, just like yesterday, to hike and take in all the vistas that I could. I made the drive from Bonneville east to Hood River and on to Mosier (population 430), to see the Mosier Twin Tunnels. These tunnels were part of the original Historic Columbia River Highway and were built sometime around 1920. There are actually inscriptions carved into the rock from when a group of travelers got trapped in the tunnels during a snowstorm shortly after they were built. When the new freeway came through, the tunnels were filled in (fortunately, they weren't destroyed, like some of the other tunnels along the route.) They were recently restored (and fortified, of course) to further the extent of the Historic Highway and are used today as part of a walking and biking path that runs from Cascade Locks to Mosier. The pathway runs along the ridgeline overlooking the Columbia River, so the renovation included steel gating to protect ambitious thrill seekers from getting hurt. But, if you peek through the gates at certain points in the path, you can still see the stonework stairs that were part of the original road. Now, don't misunderstand me here... Oregon protects it's beauty, but it also allows people certain access to that beauty. Otherwise, what's the point? The gates don't cover the whole stretch of the pathway. There are numerous places where you can walk out to a vista point (or, if you're brave, even to the very edge of the cliff looking over the freeway a thousand feet down). And, that's what I did. Well, I didn't go to the very edge. I'm afraid of heights. But I did get within about 5 feet of the edge. That was as close as I dared, and even at that distance, I was still uncomfortable. Uncomfortable? No. Scared is more like it.

Tonight I'm in a town called The Dalles. And, tomorrow, I head east to Arlington to see the windmill power generators on the Gorge.

How do you like the Gorge so far?

(Forgive me if the fonts seem mismatched and the photos don't line up right. Blogger is a very powerful tool for writing blogs, but it still has some bugs.)

Columbia Gorge... part 1 1/2

Stardate 2007. Saturday, October 20. Bonneville Dam. Columbia River. Oregon.

(Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

I can't really call this entry "Part 2", since I'm not actually able to get out and explore the Gorge. The rain has been constant since last night, so I'm catching up on my research, and taking advantage of the internet connection while I still have a sky unblocked by trees or mountains.

I shot at the Bonneville Dam all morning yesterday, taking my time, composing, thinking… being creative as opposed to reactive. As I might have mentioned, I've been slowly drifting away from my artwork and find myself shooting more and more "picture postcard" images to help illustrate my blog. But, since Fine Art is what I'm best at, I'm trying to turn that creativity around and focus more on my artistic images.

I was getting some great shots at the Dam (finally!), but around 1:30pm, a slight storm (slight for Oregon) began to move in, so I took shelter in the RV. As I sat there writing, a howling wind was rocking the bus back and forth, like a sleeper car on an old cross-country train. It sounds scary, but it was really no big deal, and very soothing. I couldn't put up the satellite dish because of the high winds, so took a brief nap while I waited for the storm to pass by. After things cleared up, I headed across the freeway to the Old Historic Highway where there are old remnants of the 1930s-era highway: stonework, bridges, trails, tunnels, etc.

And, if the weather holds out this weekend, I may make it to Mosier, near the Hood River, where there are highway and train tunnels with some great history -- two of the tunnels were used as shelter by travelers who got stuck in a snowstorm. Some even left inscriptions on the walls (sort of an historic graffiti).

While waiting out the storm, I finished checking the shots I took at the dam. Great compositions! Boy was I happy. But wait, there's more... Unfortunately, many of them had motion blur due to the high winds. They look great at 5x7 or smaller, but when they get larger than that, you can begin to see the lack of detail. Now, I'm shooting with some of the biggest and best gear available, but even the best of tripods can’t stabilize the heaviest of cameras when the wind picks up. So, it looks like I may have to go back and reshoot. And, reshooting was what I was hoping to do today. But the rain hasn't let up since last night, so I doubt I'll be getting out of the RV.

Yesterday, after the rain stopped, I drove under the freeway to the Toothrock trailhead parking lot and hiked up the trails to find the remnants of the old highways. There were several trails to choose from, but no directions or maps, so after a little wandering around and exploring just like I did back in Alpharetta as a kid, I came back to the RV to do a little research on the trails. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a satellite signal there in the lot, so my research had to wait until I got back to the Dam today, where I sit awaiting a clear sky.

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So, that's what happened yesterday.

Today, Sunday the 21st, it finally cleared up enough to get my tail out and shoot. And shoot I did! I finally found the right trails, met some great folks, and thoroughly enjoyed my day of hiking, riding, and shooting. I have to edit the images tonight, but I'll post them either tomorrow or Tuesday.

Columbia Gorge... Part 1

What a beautiful place!

Even in the rain with dark, heavy clouds in the sky, the Gorge is a sight to see. I got a late start today, so I only made it as far as the Bonneville Dam (about an hour East of Portland). It's a major operation, providing not only electricity to the surrounding cities, but also providing a series of locks for river-bound freight travel, and "ladders" to help the salmon navigate upstream to spawn.

Now, you may be saying, "What does a dam have to do with Vanishing America?" Well, I'll tell you...

There are many different opinions about this dam, ranging from its effect on the salmon run to the "construction" techniques used to add a new "island" to this part of the Columbia River. Some of the opinions are positive, and some are negative, (and I'm sure this holds true for numerous other dams around the country), but I'm not going to get into that. I'm here to take pretty pictures, tell stories about my trip, and whenever possible, provide enough information from both sides of an important argument so that my readers might be able to form their own opinions. Right? So, here are a few pretty pictures...

I'll be going back to the dam tomorrow for more shots.