After driving through Portland we started our tour of the Gorge driving east. The Vista House on Crown Point was built in 1918 as a rest stop for travelers on the old Columbia River Gorge Highway.
It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. At 733 feet above the river it provides one of the best views of the River Gorge.
The inside of the dome was painted to simulate marble and bronze. The Rotunda is surfaced in rare Alaskan Marble.
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| View of the Gorge from Vista House |
We drove up a spur road to Larch Mountain, elevation 4,055. After hiking the last half mile to the top at Sherrard Point, we had views of five Cascade Mountains; St. Helens, Rainier, Adams, Hood and Jefferson.
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View of Mt. Hood from Sherrard Point
on Larch Mountain |
One of the main attractions of the Gorge is its scores of cascading waterfalls. Many can be viewed from the river road while others require a hike.
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| Latourell Falls |
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| Wahkeena Falls |
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| Bridal Veil Falls |
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| Horsetail Falls |
We spent a few hours touring the Bonneville Dam and Locks. There are two powerhouses on this dam, the south one completed in 1938 and the north one completed in 1982. There are two fish ladders with
underwater viewing windows. We also took a drive through the volunteer campground located on an island. We noticed they had seven very nice full hook up pads. This may be an opportunity to consider for the future.
Parts of the Columbia River Gorge can receive consistent 30 mph winds for days on end. That's why windsurfers and kiteboarders gather here.
On our second day in the Gorge we took a Fruit Loop side trip in the scenic Hood River Valley. The Fruit Loop took us by 35 miles of orchards and over 30 farms. Some farms let you pick your own.
The Hood River Valley produces Anjou, Bosc, Comice, and Bartlett pears, as well as apples and peaches, and a full assortment of berries. We hit peach season dead on but were a little early for the pears.
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Panoramic view of the Hood River Valley
with orchards and Mt. Hood in the background. |
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| The Dalles Lock and Dam |
We turned south from the Gorge at The Dalles and returned to our home base at Tulelake via US 97. We stopped for a picnic lunch at Peter Skene Ogden State Park and viewed side by side the historic and the new bridge over the Crooked River Gorge.
This concluded a fabulous ten day loop tour.
1 comment:
What a wonderful loop through Oregon. Teri and I took a ten-day trip through the area before we retired and really loved it. We plan to return soon as volunteers.
Mark
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