Columbia River Gorge and Portland, Oregon

I remember when I drove across the country, my mom said something like – “the Columbia River Gorge is beautiful.” I was puzzeled by this comment until this past week as I drove on the western Oregon side, not far from Portland. Close to a dozen waterfalls exist along the scenic 30 highway. Additionally, the Vista House exists, which is an old fashioned rest stop for travelers. Excellent views of the gorge, as well as great volunteers equipped with maps and helpful information made this a great first stop. Being Labor Day Monday, most of the falls were mobbed, so I went to the lesser popular Horsetail Falls. In 1.2 miles from this falls, I also viewed Ponytail and Oneta Falls. 

I headed to Portland later that afternoon to visit with my friend Mary and her family - Mary's a former coworker from my DC days at RIF. Her and her husband moved to Portland (her hometown) only in January with their three adorable kids. They fed me ribs and grilled pineapple, let me shower and I had a home to stay in the night!!! It was so nice to visit with a friend and have the company of her adorable children. Thank you Mary, Andy and family!

Vista House - it's bigger than it looks

The Gorge - taken from the Vista House, facing the east

Oneta Falls

Ponytail Falls

Mary with ZeeZee (Zara), Coco (Cosima) and BoBo (Rowan) - thanks for having me Mary!