Portland - Day 5 Wednesday July 27

We missed the Mountain Goat Bakery this morning (sigh), although it is convenient to have an included breakfast at the hotel.

The Columbia River serves as the border between Washington State and Oregon. The Columbia River Gorge, which is the canyon of the Columbia River, stretches for over 80 miles and is up to 4000 feet deep. The scenery is stunning.

Today's blog will be short on narrative...we will let the pictures do the talking for today's experiences. Our first stop was the Vista House at Crown Point. Sadly, the Vista House Museum, which commemorates the Oregon pioneers, was not open today, but we were able to enjoy the views at Crown Point.

Our next stop was Bridal Veil Falls.

Next up was Latourelle Falls...

Then, onto Horsetail Falls...

Here is Shepperd's Glen.

The Oneonta Glen used to have a road that passed through this tunnel, and here is a view of the Oneonta Gorge.

When we reached Multnomah Falls, I made it to the lower level...

but Charlie was able to continue to the upper level (Where's Waldo? Green shirt, beige hat).

We went to the Bonneville Dam...

...and viewed the fish ladders.

These Pacific Lamprey look like eels, but are actually creepy-looking ancient fish. This photo was taken through underground observation portals of the fish ladders.

Our final stop was the Stonehenge Memorial, which pays tribute to the WWI veterans from this area.

It's supposed to resemble this...

...but after driving nearly an hour (one way) it felt like this...

(If you know, you know...Grand Canyon people).

Here are some lovely views from our ride back to the hotel. If you are counting mountains, here are some views of Mount Hood from the moving car.

Our final photo is The Bridge of the Gods, which frankly seems to me to be a rather lofty name. Apparently, the bridge became quite popular after the release of the book "Wild"( which I have not read).

Back in Portland, we enjoyed dinner at a Brew Pub because the Pacific Northwest is all about the beer. We think the pattern of life out here is hot coffee in the morning, cold coffee in the afternoon, and beer at night. I had Pinot Gris wine out of a can...a first for me. Not too shabby.

Photos are tagged Alaska, Columbia_Gorge and Portland_OR