Columbia River Gorge

WOW ! We have been busy going to puppy parks, puppy play days and the Columbia River Gorge !  If you have never been there it is really worth the trip.  We were there on a fairly cloudy day and it was still AWESOME !  Here's just a few pictures of what we saw:

It is hard to capture the enormity of the Gorge!  The building above is the Vista House - Samuel Lancaster, Assistant Highway Engineer for Multnomah County in 1913, supervised the Columbia River Highway project. Lancaster’s proposal to construct a building on the summit of Crown Point was another reflection of his desire to inspire the traveler along the highway and to make the wonders of the gorge accessible.
As Lancaster described it, the Crown Point promontory was the ideal site for “an observatory from which the view both up and down the Columbia could be viewed in silent communion with the infinite.” Such an observatory would also be a fitting memorial to “the trials and hardships of those who had come into the Oregon country.” And it could “serve as a comfort station for the tourist and the travelers of America’s greatest highway.” He suggested it be known as the Vista House.
Majestic! It’s the only word to describe Crown Point capped by its venerable Vista House.  Described by its architect, Edgar M. Lazarus, as “a temple to the natural beauty of the Gorge,” Vista House has long been recognized for its historic significance and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.  Here is Vista House today which is now maintained by volunteers:

View to the West:

View to the East:

And of course there are always beautiful flowers to be enjoyed:

 

Once we were finished enjoying the amazing views from Vista House we continued down the path of the river.  Columbia River Gorge is a National Recreation Area so there was a ton of beautiful, magnificent nature to see.  Like this water fall that seemed to "fall" forever!

 

 

 

We went for a hike up this mountain so we could see the falls closer to the top.....that was a workout!!

 

 

And these mountains have REALLY TALL trees!!

From here we journeyed to another water fall that was actually 2 falls in one.  This is Multnomah Falls - stunningly lovely.

Moving on to Cape Horn Conservancy which is an all volunteer non-profit dedicated to providing thoughtful stewardship of this trail and  Columbia Gorge ...stunning!

And Cape Horn Bridge - impressive considering it was built in the 1920's.  It just seems like things built in the early 1900's last so much longer than some modern day items, and the machinery back then was way more limited than it is today.  People complain today of a back ache if they just mow their yard...imagine building this bridge!:

 

Okay, back in the truck and off we go again.  This time we end up at the Bridge of the Gods, which is actually a toll bridge that spans the Columbia between Oregon and Washington:

 

 

From the bridge we saw the Bonneville Locks:

 

 

 

 

 

And graceful views of the river both left and right:

 

 

 

 

And to close our visit to the Gorge...some wild Irises we found:)

More Later

A Day at Crater Lake

On the road again.  We are definitely in total Christmas Tree Country!!  Everywhere you look it is beautiful...imagine this shot with thousands of tiny Christmas Tree lights on a Christmas Eve !

 

 

As we drive along through the twisting and turning of the mountain roads suddenly there is this beautiful lake.  The Goldens of coarse would love to get out and go for a swim but the temperatures up here the mountains prohibit swimming today!  Have a look at Honey Lake:

 

 

Then....back into the beautiful mountain views....

Once we were settled into our new campsite we ventured off into the wilderness

in search of Crater Lake.  We found it of coarse and ya'll may get tired of me always using the same words to describe what we see, but really....you tell me...what words would you use???  Enjoy below and let me know!

See what I mean?  Beautiful! Awesome!  Gorgeous!  Unbelievable!  You know Crater Lake was created from a volcano and is actually the inside of the cone shaped after this volcano erupted 7 thousand 7 hundred years ago!  The water is crystal clear and only fed by snow melt and rain water so it is very clean.  The small island called Wizard Island is also the result of a volcano and you can just barely see inside the cone which shaped as the volcano cooled.

 

 

 

 

There is a rock formation which they say resembles a "Phantom Ship" but I had a hard time getting to a place where I could really get a good shot .... it is the smaller rock formation below but to me looks more like a castle...

 

 





The only wildlife we spotted was this friendly bird...

As you probably noticed in some of the previous photos if was cold and there is still a fair amount of snow and ice around creating some captivating images:

Once our toes and noses were completely frozen we found that
the Crater Lake Lodge was a warm and inviting place to defrost!

Then we said 'good-bye' to Crater Lake....for now...

Keep an eye out...more to come...