Columbia Gorge

     We had another beautiful, sunny day for exploring the Columbia Gorge.  Oregon has been working for years to rebuild parts of the 1922 Columbia Gorge road which was built to bring visitors to the area.  Originally the road was 74 miles long with 18 bridges across rivers and canyons, and 3 tunnels.  We drove a 30 mile section of the rebuilt road past astounding waterfalls and up to amazing overlooks.
   Several state parks and picnic areas are along the way.  One of the major stops is Multnomah Falls which is a National Scenic site.  The Falls drop 620 feet in two parts.  We walked up to the bridge which crosses the river and overlooks the lower section.  It was just beautiful.
   The old part of the road was narrow with many of the original stone guardrails and bridges.  Some of the drops into the canyons were quite steep.  I'm sure that it was quite adequate for 1922 size cars, but our big pickup took up a lot of space in the lane.  The trees are huge here and the road was in shadow until we climbed to the top of Corbett Hill and went to Vista House which was a "comfort station" on the road.  The round building was built of stone and marble with stained glass windows.  A very fancy rest stop.

    We went back to our trailer for lunch and a rest and then Rick drove to Bonneville Dam for a tour of the dam and the fish ladders which take the salmon up-river.  After touring Hoover Dam it was somewhat of a disappointment, but Rick saw some fish (through underwater windows) making their way up the ladder.  I rested my wonky knee after a challenging morning and then we spent the late afternoon enjoying a late Sunday afternoon at the campgrounds.  Most of the weekend campers have gone home and it is quiet and peaceful.