There is a sweet 6+ mile walk along the mighty Columbia River in The Dalles, Oregon. I walked about 1/2 from the Lewis & Clark Discovery Center to mid-point park and back again. This took me past the new Google server farm so I took a few pics with you in mind. The server farm is a stone's throw from the Dam so this view (showing about 1/4 of the operation) shows the power lines coming in.
Their property runs along the path on the river so I captured a double barge (which looked empty since it rode so high in the water) being pushed by a large tug (notice it's white tower above the far corner). The pilot waved as he passed bye.
A mile or two west is a sanctuary for wild flowers and vernal pools high on a thinly-soiled basalt cliff above the Columbia River. A terrific place for a walk. This part of the Columbia floods the ancient Native American Celilo Falls fishing grounds (the rapids went under water in 1957). I buy smoked salmon from the heirs to this place whenever I can.
Really nice shots. The Northwest is the only part of this country I have not been to, but would really like to get there someday before I kick da bucket.
There isn’t any symbolism. The sea is the sea. The old man is an old man. The boy is a boy and the fish is a fish. The shark are all sharks no better and no worse. All the symbolism that people say is ****.
~Ernest Hemingway (describing The Old Man and the Sea)
Foggy: Thank you kindly. This time of year the temp. can go from 90 F during the day to 10 F at night.
Darkfin: Funny. Dixie is on my list of areas to visit b4 I buy the farm. It looks like we will both try to see the elephant until the bitter end. I can recommend Mt. Rainier, near Seattle, with heavy glaciers and altitude of over 14K (it is a national park so lots of wildlife and extreme old growth giant fir trees "Grove of the Patriarchs").
Civilian: There is no visitor's center at this time, there is no signage, there are uniformed guards and it is all fenced and gated. While taking a picture thru the iron fence a guard rolled up on a golf cart and we spoke. He was not allowed to identify the name of the company. The site includes 30 acreas.
Darkfin wrote:Really nice shots. The Northwest is the only part of this country I have not been to, but would really like to get there someday before I kick da bucket.
you wouldn't be disappointed. I've been twice and would love to get back.
Spent a lifetime there one night. Second night of a circumnavigation by bicycle of the state of Washington that started in Portland and ended in Astoria with several Columbia crossings. It was a record year for drought and the heat coming off the blacktop was 120 F. Steve and I were dog-tired, hungry, and thirsty as all get out. We crossed over from the 85 in WA at The Dalles and immediately found we were in hostile territory. The silva industry was in an advanced state of collapse and tourists were despised for being fortunate enough to afford anything. Numerous bumper stickers on passing autos read "Welcome to Oregon - Now Go Home". Steve and I were practically thrown out on our helmets when we tried to eat at a local diner. We settled for camping on the banks of the Columbia and finished off the last of our Rainier beers we saved from the night before in Camas.
From the west where we had just come the steep cliffs on either side of the Columbia drained the tributaries that fed the mighty river with numerous waterfalls cascading from the heights. There was little of that here as the land begain to gently fall toward the the mighty river's level and we knew that tomorow's journey to Umatilla and Walla Walla would be hotter and drier than that day's blistering ride. The Columbia at night is a calming sight as the lights from the dam kick in amid the chorus of native insects and amphibians and the river traffic is marked by faintly winking lights as they ply through the waters. You can watch the traffic stretch out east and west along I-85 on either side of the Columbia supplanting the arterial flow of the great river. But I digress.....
Oregon has changed and the attitudes are now more conducive to tourism. The Dalles is now a portal for people seeking outdoor experience on the Columbia and the Deschutes - which enters the Columbia at The Dalles - and the central interior of Oregon. It's a nice place to visit and has a couple of great parks by the rivers. It is however, not your typical stereotype of the mightily forrested Pacific Northwest. The Dalles marks the beginning of the gently rolling hills to the east and is more of a riparian zone nestled between the rivers. It yields gradually to the plains and deserts of eastern Oregon and Washington and has a unique beauty and attraction of its own.
Nice shots and thanks for bringing back the memories, Oregon.
:D
j
When I said that mercy stood
Within the border of the wood
I meant the lenient beast with claws
And bloody swift dispatching jaws.
Death Before Decaf!! :spyder:
Unfortunately, there are still bone heads residing in Oregon. Some holler or honk from passing pickups and some fill your lane with their speeding rust-box littered with empty beer cans. You get this road riding.
You mentioned the Deschutes. Two years ago I took the left bank, on a fat tire, to the 25 mile mark (where the huge washout is and the RXR ties are yet to be removed, you can see this with google earth). Climbed up out of the Deschutes River gorge and returned to the confluence of the Deschutes with the Columbia. It was at least 105F that afternoon. Laid in the river for a bit on the return trip.
Didn't see any bumper stickers, motorized vehicles or bone heads. This is a rail-to-trail ride I can recommend. I am going to have to do it in winter next time to beat the heat. Got some pics around here somewhere.
Man yer killin' me.. I miss OR so much, I lived in Portland from 1999 thru 2006 and I can't wait to get back. I miss the sunday drives up the gorge, over the mountain and back down again. Oregon is a great country.
bluemist wrote:Man yer killin' me.. I miss OR so much, I lived in Portland from 1999 thru 2006 and I can't wait to get back. I miss the sunday drives up the gorge, over the mountain and back down again. Oregon is a great country.
A nail in your coffin my friend: The foreground of the Google pic shows the edge of a pond. The pond was made by beaver because I saw two lodges, a dam and fresh-chewed willow sticks. The creeks along here will soon, the spring run is beginning, have salmon spawning in them.
I went from Portland, or rather skirted to the east and cruised the Gorge with its myriad waterfalls and misty pullouts with overlooks of the Columbia on 3wheeler motorcycles with Corvair engine/transaxles pulling small trailers. Had relatives in the Dalles. What an abrupt climate change it was, drizzle/mist/rain in the gorge to T-shirt/shades just a few miles before we hit the Dalles. My cousin had the biggest sunflowers outside of Kansas I've ever seen.
The ride down the Deschutes thru Redmond/Antelope/Bend was antithesis to our ride up the coast on Hwy1/101. The eastern Oregon experience includes high desert/lavafields/mountain ski resorts/scrub and lodgepole pine and lakes galore. I must go there this weekend to say goodby to an aunt in La Pine just south of Bend. Weather looks to be ice/snow on the pass back over to Eugene on saturday.
There is no better place on earth than the great northwest.
(unless maybe Golden during the Spyderco parking lot sale)
Nice pics oregon. I grew up in Ontario, Oregon and I also lived in Portland and surrounding area for a few years. There are some pretty places in Oregon. On e of our favorite places to go is still the Oregon Coast. I love it there. If I could find a job there, I would move in a heart beat!!
chinook wrote:There is no better place on earth than the great northwest.
(unless maybe Golden during the Spyderco parking lot sale)
I lived in Honolulu for two years, right out of HS, and came back to live in the PNW. I agree with you chinook. The 3 wheeling sounds like the way to tour.
ront wrote:Nice pics oregon. I grew up in Ontario, Oregon and I also lived in Portland and surrounding area for a few years. There are some pretty places in Oregon. On e of our favorite places to go is still the Oregon Coast. I love it there. If I could find a job there, I would move in a heart beat!!
Ron
Thank you for the kind words ront.
We passed thru Ontario last October. Lots of huge farms. I like the idea of telling time by the seasons: plow, plant and harvest. I need something to help time slow down. Living in rural Washington county hasn't done it for me. Time seems to move forward like it was shot from a gun as I get gray.
I used to dream about having a small place on the Alsea river just inland a few miles from Waldport on the coast. Fishing, living by the tides and the weather. Heck, it was a dream of my father's. Perhaps my son will make it happen.
jaislandboy wrote:sweet pics Oregon, thanx for sharing.... :)
Thank you for the kind words and thank you for looking. It is my pleasure. I really appreciate this forum.
I sincerely enjoy the captioned pictorial content from the Spyderco enthusiasts. This is a terrific forum. Thank you members for your content contribution.
