Oregon - Columbia River Gorge and the Oregon Coast - And Home

Columbia River Gorge

After Portland we spent two weeks on the Washington side of the river across the bridge from Hood River, Oregon.   Our site at the RV park overlooked the river and we had beautiful weather.

We took scenic drives along the river; visited the Bonneville Dam and the salmon runs created there to assist the salmon in swimming upstream; hiked in the Washington hills above the river for spectacular views; took a ride on a stern wheeler along the river; drove down Historic Route 30 which parallels I 80 traveling west along the river where there are many beautiful waterfalls and great views of the gorge; and watched the sail boarders on the river where a stiff wind is almost a constant presence. 

View of the river from our RV

 

The famous Bonneville Dam, built as one of the WPA projects under Roosevelt's New Deal in the 1940s.  The dam was built to take advantage of the falls of the river at this point to provide electric power.  In addition, locks were built to allow barge traffic to move easily up and down the river.

 

 The image above and below are of the salmon working their way up the artificial fish ladder built around the dam and the locks to allow the salmon realize their annual push up the Columbia River from the ocean to lay their eggs.  These fish were large, most of them two feet long or larger.  This was the prime season for the fall migration and over 40,000 fish had been counted the day before moving up the ladders!  

We could view the fish from above or underground through these windows placed next to the ladders.

 

This is the stern wheeler we rode for a 3-hour tour of the river.  It is the same kind of boat used to navigate the river back in the 1800s and early 1900s.

 One of several beautiful waterfalls along the Historic U.S. Route 30 paralleling I 80 along the river.

 Another of the falls.

The whole family tours the falls.

Panoramic view of the river from a high point along Historic U.S. Route 30.

 Another view of the river from the same high point.

 One of our favorite experiences was a 5-mile hike that took us well above the river for some spectacular views.  This hike was farther East than the views seen above.  As you go East, the landscape quickly becomes much drier.

Note that Pepe always goes with us on our hikes, usually on Harold's back in a backpack. He doesn't complain.

 Panoramic view of the surrounding hills on the hike.

 Another view of the river as we climbed above the river.

 A sail boarder leans against a stiff afternoon wind on the river.

This sail boarder horses his sail up the beach.  He said it was too big for the stiff wind that day on the river and he had to change it for a smaller one.  He handles the big sail easily because it's very, very light weight, but powerful when it catches the wind.

 Wine and cheese is a frequent late-afternoon ritual after a hard day's touring.

Charleston on the Southern Oregon Coast

The southern Oregon Coast provides wonderful vistas.  Huge rocks that rise out of the ocean litter the landscape in every direction.  They make for spectacular walks along the beach. We also drove along and hiked into the enormous sand dunes that spread about 40 miles along the beach and below Reedsburg, about 40 miles north of Charleston.  Nearby, we took a hike into the South Slough National Research Estuary in Coos Bay, a wondrous site where the tide twice daily swamps the land and mixes with the fresh water flowing into the bay from a number of small rivers.  Nearby our camp site was also the Simpson Reef where literally thousands of seals and sea lions lounge on rocky outcroppings to take the sun and fill the air for miles with their constant barking.

One of many beautiful shoreline scenes along the Southern Oregon Coast.

 Our RV park was on this beach.

 This is the amazing Simpson Reef, just offshore near our RV park.  Literally thousands of seals and seal lions were lounging in the sun on the rocky outcroppings here, making a racket with their barking that could be heard for miles.

It's hard to make out the seals individually because they're packed so close together.  They form, for instance, the brown "border" along the water of the largest outcropping in this photo.  They're also lying on virtually every individual rock in sight. (Note the white bodies of the harbor seals on the closer rocks.)

 Another part of the reef.

 The above and the images below are of the South Slough National Research Estuary on Coos Bay, about 6 miles north of Charleston.  This was one of our favorite places where the mixing of the twice daily high tide with the fresh water of the rivers flowing into it allow for the flourishing of a great number of varieties of both plant and animal life unique to these kinds of brackish waters and land.

 We also hiked in the estuary, an easy 3-mile flat hike in surroundings unlike anywhere we've ever been.  The forests were old and the trees covered with mosses, like something primeval.

Another view of the estuary.  It was at low tide during our hike.

 These are the Oregon Sand Dunes that extend about 40 miles along the beach near Reedsport.  There are several hiking trails and extensive trails for ATVs and dune buggies.  It was raining this day and we only did a short hike.

A panorama of the dunes near the beach.  These mounds are much taller than they appear in this photo.

Brookings, Oregon

Farther south on the Oregon coast, almost at the California border, is Brookings where the iconic beaches are even more spectacular than at Charleston. The scenes below are from the Harris and Whaleshead State Parks near Brookings. 

Jedediah Smith State Redwood Park (Northern California)

Also near Brookings is this very impressive Redwood Park, actually operated in conjunction with the Redwood National Park.  These giant trees are awe-inspiring, many as old as 2000 years.

Barbara standing next to this tree gives you a sense of its actual size.

 Yes, that's Harold standing in the background between these two mammoth trunks.

Harold again, standing next to the roots of one of the fallen trees.

Jerry's Jet Boat Ride up the 

This was a really fun trip up the Rogue River at Gold's Beach, just north of Brookings.  The Rogue is considered a "wild river" in most parts with very little development beginning a few miles up from the mouth at Gold Beach.

 This is one of the jet boats.  They are FUN.  An average speed is about 35 mph with top speed at about 50 mph.  The best parts were the 360 spins the pilot treated us to - several times.  And the kids thought they were the only ones having fun....

 Oh, and the views were nice, too.

PORTLAND, Charming, Livable City, with Art, Gardens, Nice People and Good Restaurants

We have loved Portland.  It's a pretty big city (about 1.5 million population), but is very easy to get around in with great public transportation.  And the narrow, treed streets in the downtown area make it attractive for walking, too, and there were lots of people on the streets.  There were more things to do and see than we had time for, but we visited the very good art museum, unique shops and good art galleries in the Pearl District, visited two of the many special gardens Portland is known for, ate in some excellent restaurants, and were lucky enough to see the Art in the Pearl Labor Day art show, considered to be one of the five best in the country. 

9th U.S. District Court of Appeals Court

The courtroom above, located in the historic Portland Courthouse dating from the early 1800s,  serves as the 9th U.S. District Court of Appeals about once a month.  The rest of the time, the court convenes in San Francisco, Pasadena and Seattle.  Only three judges serve on the appeals court on an given occasion, but there are over 20 judges who serve on this appeals court for different cases or in the different court sites.

Good Restaurants

 We ate dinner one night at this restaurant, Pok Pok, rated #1 in popularity in Portland.  Harold said its rustic interior was typical of the Thai restaurants he visited in Thailand back in the 60s when he was serving in the Air Force at Korat Air Force Base.  The food didn't disappoint.

Portland International Rose Garden

This is only one of the great gardens maintained by the city of Portland.  There are 4.5 acres of roses and over 7000 different plants representing over 500 varieties. It was magnificent.  Such a wonderful gift of the city to its residents and visitors like us.

 Harold in the garden.

 Barbara on one of the many paths in the 4.5 acres.

Two exquisite examples of the roses in the garden.

Japanese Garden

 A large raked section of the garden, reflecting the Zen Buddhist influence on Japanese culture.

 Another lovely section of this serene park.  People tended to speak in whispers in this park, and there were a lot of visitors.

Colorful koi in a ponds along one of the paths in the park.

Art in the Pearl Art Show

 We agreed that this was perhaps the best art fair we had ever attended for the consistent high quality of work and the number of types of work that were different from anything we had ever seen.  We couldn't resist buying a couple of small pieces of art ourselves.

 Entertainment was also a part of the fair, including this troupe of belly dancers.  As you can see, not all of the women who danced were of the washboard abs variety.  Good for them!

We were lucky enough to hear this performer, Edna Vazquez, a Mexican torch singer who sang Mexican folk songs with soul.  For those of you who happen to know the singing of Luna Itzal, a famous Mexican singer, she sang in the same style, but perhaps even better!  If you are intrigued, you can hear some of her songs by visiting her web site, http://www.ednavazquez.com/.

One of our favorite activities while traveling are going to farmers' markets.  Here Barbara is learning from a vendor about a kind of cucumber she's never seen before.  The Portlanders are real foodies.