GREETINGS FROM WALLA WALLA,
Washington (WA), USA
Today saw a bit of border hopping as we followed the path of the Columbia River heading east.
The river forms most of the border between Washington and Oregon and by volume is the fourth largest river in the US. It has the greatest flow of any of the rivers emptying into the Pacific Ocean.
Troutdale to Walla Walla
As rivers go, it has a very steep gradient which accounts for the large number of hydroelectric dams along the river.
Our hotel last night couldn’t have been more American – a truck stop on either side, an Interstate out the front and a Union Pacific train line out the back ! And the trains rolled on through the night ! Generally not too bad except when one decided to sound it’s horn.
Columbia River Gorge
Vista House overlooking the Gorge
Wet weather greeted us again when we woke and probably the heaviest we have had. So it was out with the weather apps to see what lay ahead for the day. The forecast indicated it would get better later during the day. However Adrienne & I were reading the same weather app at exactly the same time and getting different information ! As we debated whether to perhaps go into Portland to give it a bit of time to clear, blue sky started to come across moving east so we decided to take the gamble and move with it.
With our weather delay, it was after 9am when we left Troutdale. Just up the road we joined the “Columbia Gorge Scenic Byway” and headed for our first stop, Chanticleer Point, high above the river. It has spectacular views up the river and toward a dome like building called Vista House. It was built in the early 1900’s as a resting point for the tourists of the day.
We had managed to get to these 2 points in fine but overcast weather however we hadn’t been at Vista House very long when the heavy rain came again.
So we waited a while and looked at the little museum until the rain stopped.
With that shower gone, we started off again through lush forests and, in most places, with the river fairly visible to our left as well. Along this section were a number of waterfalls. We had a bit of a walk to get to one – Bridal Veil Falls – and typically it started raining just as we got there. Luckily we were well prepared with our raincoats. I tell you this – Adrienne has become addicted to the photography – when the rain started, her first worry was the camera getting wet and not her hair !
Falls above the Visitor Centre
Back in the car and out of the rain, we moved on to the largest and most famous falls in the area called Multnomah Falls. These are a double level drop and they have built a bridge of a section above the lower level. They are much taller than Niagara Falls but pale into insignificance when compared to the falls in Yosemite National Park. Spectacular none the less. And even on a wet day, parking was at a premium and there were lots of people around.We managed to get a few shots before the showers came again then we retreated to the visitor centre.
When we got back to the car there was a queue a mile long to get our parking spot !
Multnomah Falls
Bonneville Dam
A little further on we came to the first of the dams along the river – Bonneville Dam.
It has huge locks to one side of it to allow boats to get up the river. But it also has some extensive salmon locks to allow the salmon to get to their breeding ground up river. The water rushing across the steps simulates the strong river currents they came from. The locks also allow the Fisheries Dept to monitor the movement and populations of the various fish. There is a viewing area below the tanks where you can watch the fish battle against the currents – and some of the fish are pretty damn big !!
The “U-pick” flower garden
It was getting later and with all our stops and the rain we still hadn’t had any lunch. Looking east we could see it was looking clearer – even with some blue sky! So we drove on toward the lower reaches of Mt Hood – yes, another mountain we managed only to see the bottom of. But we found a nice spot for lunch – the Gorge White House – which is a winery making both wine and cider and they have “U-pick” fields where you can cut your own fresh flowers or pick whatever berries are in season.
Gorge White House
The area, Hood River, and generally in the lower parts of Washington State and northern Oregon is quite a wine producing area.
They had a little “café van” serving lunches and we sat down to a lovely BLT sandwich with coleslaw and fries and washed down with homemade apple cider.
We were even getting some sun now so after lunch we wandered through the flower garden and took a few photos.
Stonehenge at Maryhill
It was well past 2pm and we still had a way to go. The Scenic Byway had passed and we were now on Interstate 84 but the road still meandered along the edge of the river and through the gorge. Every now and then we would pass another one of the huge dams I referred to earlier.
But the further east we went, the scenery became very brown. The edge of the Cascades mountain range forms a bit of a barrier for the rain clouds so beyond that the annual rainfall drops dramatically. With the wildfires which we had been watching before we left, there was evidence in a few places of recent spot fires in the area.
Looking west near Maryhill – a lot browner the further east we got.
At a place called Maryhill, a guy called Sam Hill constructed a replica of Stonehenge on his property. He had been visiting the UK during World War I and had seen it and became obsessed with it so went home to build one for himself ! Not sure if the Druids come with it though.
We were starting to feel a bit tired so we stopped for coffee then headed on. The landscape had become very flat now and the river had turned northward while we continued west a bit further. Eventually we turned back north and joined the river again and crossed the border back into Washington. Again the river runs through quite a gorge and as we passed the last sections before heading further east, there were grape vines growing all along the top of the ridge – the green vines quite a contrast to the brown/yellow landscape around them.
So here we are in Walla Walla, Washington – quite a mouthful.
And for those of you bought up on Bugs Bunny cartoons, we had a quick look for the Little Giant Vacuum Cleaner Company of Walla Walla Washington (click on the link for the nostalgia minded) but so far no luck I’m afraid !
For dinner we had a short walk a couple of blocks to an Italian restaurant called T Macarone. For a Sunday night it was pretty busy. We enjoyed an Antipasto plate for starters and both had a great pasta for our main – our walk back to the hotel helping to digest the typically huge quantity.