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
The Columbia River gorge is amazing. We have just driven the length of it so far but plan to do some slower pace sightseeing when Mom and Carol get here. I have looked up some local wineries and brew houses to check out. Looks like there will be plenty to do and maybe even some nice weather to do it in. We can hope!
The ranger program in camp was put on by a rescue clinic on birds of prey. The guests were a Turkey vulture named Gus and a Great horned owl named Josephine. The vulture is a really big bird. I flashed back to a memory of coming across one on our path as we were walking back the lane from the school bus as a kid in St Thomas. I vividly recall giving it a very wide berth, moving a lot faster than typical for that walk, and keeping one eye on it the whole time. Really scary-creepy for a kid. Pretty attention keeping even as an adult. Gus was well behaved though.
The owl was smaller and after 7 years of show and tell was pretty tolerant of people. The handler was still very respectful of her powerful beak and talons though. According to this guy, skunks are one of the great horned owls favorite foods. Something to do with their lack of sense of smell maybe?
The Miata odometer just rolled over 100000. It is getting a bit of a work out now-a-days but hanging in there.
Saw a sign along the expressway and we had to stop. Godfathers is an old favorite from the Louisville days. Kinda spotty locations. It was surprising to find one here; but, as good as always.
This settlement represented the British political interest but it was certainly first and foremost a business venture; at least as long as the beaver fur trade held up. Weird how so much was driven by men’s fashion, the felt top hat. The reconstruction, reenactments, and audio tour are all well done.
Officers Row at Fort Vancouver
There were some pretty fancy homes built for the officers once America took over the fort. The city of Vancouver has restored 20 Victorian homes. We walked the street admiring them all and toured the Marshall House that was the residence of the commanding officer. Our tour guide was obviously pretty proud of the place. It was beautiful. It was pretty amazing to learn that the city has managed to keep the whole group of homes financially self-sustaining through rent income and the hosting of special events.
That is a pretty unassuming name, I know; but it was a bit of a challenge today. The first couple miles up to Mirror lake were pretty easy and when we got there we were rewarded with the classic reflection picture of Mt Hood on the smooth surface. Beautiful. On from there it got a bit more tricky. Much of the trail is still covered with snow drifts more than 5 feet deep. We slipped and slid and sunk in up to our knees for nearly two hours. It was exhausting. The view was worth it though……
All five of the major Cascade Mountains that Portland claims: Adams, Rainier, Jefferson, St. Helens and Hood. They were out in all their splendor. Rainier is more than 100 miles away.
We had a bright sunny day that provided a wonderful view of Mt Hood. There is snow cover well below Timberline Lodge at 6000 feet. We explored the lodge too. It is another national park Lodge with architecture that wonderfully melds with the surroundings. They have a huge four sided, three story fireplace in the main lobby. It was pleasant with a fire or two today but must be spectacular with them all burning during the colder ski season.
We got a tip from the gal who cut my hair. The Mt. Hood National forest is home to Bagby Hot Springs. It is a rustic grouping of plank bath houses at the end of about a 1 ½ mile trail. We passed on the communal tub and opted for a “private” soak. It is quite the experience. The tub is a hollowed out cedar log and the drain plug a stout stick. Hot spring water is fed through a trough across the ends of the bath houses. You pick your tub. Un-stopper the opening from the trough into your tub to fill it. Bring buckets of cold water to adjust the temperature. Then you climb in. The bath house is open to the sky and there is plenty of cross ventilation through the plank privacy panels. It is a little unnerving at first but ultimately very relaxing.