It started out completely overcast. At the visitors center and wouldn’t even even have known that we were at the foot of the mountain if it were not for the signage. All we could see is folks playing on the slow field. They still have over 9 ft of snowpack. Then the clouds began to break up and our patient waiting paid off, Rainier peeked out through holes in the clouds. Absolutely beautiful. The landscape is wonderfully rugged and lots of snow cover. We saw a deer and a new woodpecker and wished out loud that we would see a bear. Mom was thrilled about the Warning posted at the camp ground. “Camp at your own risk” “This area is subject to sudden and severe geological hazards such as floods, mudflows, debris flows and rock fall.” If you hear a loud roar, get to higher ground, at least 160 feet up. Pretty cool, huh!?

Wow, it is amazing. The whole side of the mountain blew out. It really made vivid the amazing power of that eruption in 1980. We learned more about geology than we ever intended!

Today was the day to drive old, wonderfully curly, scenic route 30 in the gorge. We checked out all of the major falls (Latourell, Wahkeena, Multnomah, Horsetail) and even took a couple little walks for great views and a picnic. We spent some time at Vista House and Rowena point with impressive panoramic views of the river and checked out the visitor center at Bonneville Dam. They have viewing portals into the fish ladder and the salmon are running. It was fun to watch them passing by and to cheer for them to make it past us and on up the ladder.
And, we still had time for one more winery.
The tasters at both of the previous wineries had recommended one other, Viento. The wine maker was very well thought of and actually created the prize winning wines at a number of the valley wineries. Of course, we had to check it out. We enjoyed another fun tasting and found a couple more that we just had to get a bottle of. One could get used to that activity!

Kent played designated driver and we headed out to sample Columbia Gorge wines. There are 40 some viticulture areas and 70 or 80 wineries. It might sound daunting but we felt up to the task.
Mt. Hood Winery. The Chardonnay, Pino Noir won out.
Wy’East Winery: Here the Riesling and Cabernet came home with us.
Then we got distracted. It was a bright beautiful day and Mt. Hood was out. We took half the circle drive to check out Trillium Lake (no reflection pic though since it was breezy and the lake too rough). We had a chilly picnic then headed up to see Timberline Lodge. That was a good choice too. We had wonderful clear views. We about froze though. We were mostly in shorts since the Gorge side was in the 70s but at the lodge it was 39F with a brisk breeze. We guessed a wind chill of about 20F. It was well worth the chill though. We had cheesecake and to-die-for crème Brule.

The Discovery Center in Dalles is very well done. We learned all about volcanic and glacier activity and the forming of the gorge. Stories of raging walls of water a thousand feet deep carrying huge boulders helped explain the rock formations and cuts that make the gorge so cool looking. We got to meet a Peregrine Falcon, a Red tailed hawk and a Kestrel. There happened to be a ranger program while we were there.

Then on to the “local” beers. Full Sail brew pub was highly recommended so we had to check it out. They started here in the gorge concocting specialty brews for the sail boarders. They are apparently all over now but this is their home tuff. They had a sampler to try out their specialties. That was a fun opportunity and some new favorites were found.

We met Mom and Carol and headed into Portland to Cartopia and Voodoo. We sampled from nearly every vender. Marion berry with goat cheese and locally made cheese and Italian salami crepes; smokey-smokey BBQ, fried pies both sweet and savory; French fries with chili and cheese; cheese and white truffle oil pizza. The food was great and the little outdoor dining/picnic area was perfect. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed.
Then, the voodoo experience. We had t wait in line but that is part of it too. We picked out a representative sampling and headed “home”. The rig was already out in camp in the Columbia Gorge.

Two railroad tracks, interstate 84, a highway on the Washington side, air traffic, and barge/tug traffic on the River. Add to that the natural background noise of wind, cascades, and water falls. This valley is really fairly noisy