May 30, 2007 ~ COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE & MT. HOOD, OR


We just got back on Friday from a short little jaunt down to the Columbia River Gorge and around the Mt. Hood Scenic Highway loop.  Very pretty!  After you’ve read the blog, visit the “Columb Gorge-Mt Hood” album to view the photos.  Our first stop was the historic town of The Dalles where we visited the landmark St. Peters Church built in 1898.  Continuing along the gorge took us over the Lewis & Clark route where we stopped at the discovery center, a critical point at which this pioneer group had to make the decision whether or not to continue on.  You’ll see their village in the pictures.  The little town of Cascade Locks was our first overnight stop, right on the Columbia River with the Bridge of The Gods just steps from the hotel.  The gorge going through the Cascades offers incredible scenery with beautiful waterfalls and high mountain vistas, even though it was a bit hazy from way on top at the Vista House.  I couldn’t resist a shot of the big burly old tree stump that looked like some weird animal.  And speaking of weird animals, we ran across an alpaca farm with the cutest baby shaved in such a way he looked like a fuzzy E.T.  He was very shy and tough to photograph.  Traveling down the Mt. Hood Scenic loop brought us through peaceful towns with glimpses of Mt. Hood at almost every turn.  At the base of the mountain is the Timberline Lodge where “The Shining” was filmed, and what an incredible piece of architecture it is.  The best word to describe it is “thick”.  Thick walls made of big stone, thick beams of polished wood, thick, carved corner posts; a very cool place.  Further on down the road we found a breathtaking scene of Mt. Hood from little Trillium Lake.  We headed away from the loop and back east along the gorge route where we spent one more night before making our way back home.

Posted by JILL at May 30, 2007
Categories: Washington,Oregon
 
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