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Published: July 26th 2009
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The Astoria Column
The column celebrates the history of Astoria, including the Lewis and Clark saga, all etched in pictures around the column. It is located on the highest hill in Astoria which features a fantastic 360 view. CHAPTER 26-TRAVELS WITH CALI--
June 15:
Cali--Uh-oh, we are traveling again, darn it! I was just getting used to being in one place for a little while! I got out to play several times. Mommy’s cousins have a great yard with all kinds of interesting things to explore. I showed Mommy I could get out of my harness with no trouble at all, so she was forced to let me go around on my own a little bit. She was always watching me though! I wonder what kind of place the next stop will be? Yep, I left Norma and Dave’s this morning and headed on up the Oregon Coast. I stopped in Astoria to see the famous Astoria Column depicting the Lewis and Clark journey. This is all Lewis and Clark country. On the East Coast there are always jokes about “Washington slept here.” On this coast, substitute Lewis and Clark for Washington. Astoria, of course was where the team finally reached the Pacific. It is also where the Columbia River empties into the ocean. Quite an area.
June 16: I arrived in Portland and found Gene’s apartment without any trouble. After resting a bit, we took off
Cousin Gene
Gene McGinnis is Alice and Lester McGinnis son (and Norma's brother) Alice was one of the 7 sisters, the third, I think. to tour Portland’s famous gardens. The rose garden is gorgeous, with wonderful smells. There are certainly some gorgeous flowers, including the 2010 rose award winner, already! It had ruffled edges, a unique look. I fixed us some sandwiches in the RV, then we visited the Japanese Gardens, which are above the rose gardens. As you would guess, it is a lovely, tranquil place. There is a whole area dedicated to iris and they were in bud, but not blooming. I’m sorry to miss that! The stream and pond that run through the park have koi in them. One of the park workers fed them while we were there, so I got some good pictures! Both parks offer great views of Mt. Hood.
Cali--Koi? Um-m-m. Too bad I wasn’t there. I would have been happy to help feed them! Speaking of Mt. Hood, that is an awesome mountain. My first look at it was just before I got into Portland and I was struck by its size. It looked huge! Maybe it isn’t really that large, but it just pokes its head off the horizon all alone with no other mountains around. It really makes an impression!
The 2010 winner
This rose has already been chosen for an award for next year. The ruffled edges are unique. One of the roses in the test garden at Portland's Rose Garden. June 17: Gene suggested we go strawberry picking today, as the Portland area is famous for it’s berries. I was not impressed with the farm we went to, since there were knee deep weeds in the strawberry field. (If you have never picked strawberries, know that they grow on the ground and you have to get on your knees to get them.) We still found some good berries. We picked far too many and ate almost as many as we picked!. I also found ripe raspberries in the next field over and got a few of those! Neither Gene or I felt we could walk the long way back to the check out stand--too many times getting up and down. Thank God a lady who had driven down to the area offered to drive us back! (We didn’t know you could drive down!)
After we paid for the berries, Gene drove all around Portland, showing me great places to take pictures. One of them was a beautiful bridge called the Cathedral Bridge. I am including a picture of that so you will see how appropriate the name!
It was a wonderful, but active day and we were both
Cathedral Bridge in Portland
Cousin Gene sits and admires the foundation of this beautiful bridge. It is named for the arches that support the bridge. With the park-like setting around them, it really does remind one of a huge church. worn out when we got back to his apartment. We cleaned berries after we rested and ate some more!!
June 18: I left Gene’s and headed east along the Columbia River Gorge and the path of Lewis and Clark. The Columbia River is huge and has several dams on it. One of the dams has a fish ladder so the salmon swimming upstream to spawn will not be interrupted. People can take an elevator down below the water and watch the fish from several windows. Although the water was muddy, I could see the fish as they struggled against the current.
At this same dam, there were pictures of the way the river looked to Lewis and Clark and to the subsequent pioneers who came to settle in Oregon and Washington. I never ceased to be awed by what those people went through to make new lives in new places. The river was so fierce and so many lives were lost trying to ford it! Absolutely fascinating history about this area!
Another stop along the river was at Multnomah Falls. These are, I think, the tallest falls in Oregon and they are quite beautiful. On my previous
Multnomah Falls
These falls are quite a popular tourist spot along the Columbia River. visit to Oregon, when I was 13, visitors could still go into a cave behind the falls. That is not allowed anymore, but one can still stand on the bridge between the upper and lower sections of the falls.
The city of Hood River has some interesting things to offer visitors. Glenda had told me about the wind surfers there, so I drove down to a city park on the river and watched the surfers go. I knew of wind-surfing with a sail on a surfboard, but what I didn’t know is now these surfers use kites! It was fascinating to watch them as they often lifted from the water and sailed along several yards before landing gracefully back onto the surface. I watched these activities for quite a while before leaving to drive south a ways along the Hood River. This valley is well know for its wineries and orchards as well as some fantastic views of snow covered mountains.
Once I got past The Dalles (another city) the highway had little to offer in the way of places to stop and rest, let alone spend the night. I did finally stop at a place called Biggs--a
Columbia River Gorge
Beautiful scenery for miles as the road follows the river. very crowded trucking area--and wound up scratching a man’s car trying to squeeze into a parking spot. Had to report it to my insurance company, darn it! I tried not to let it spoil my mood too much. Rather than trying to dry camp in that place, however, I crossed the river into Washington and stayed at an RV camp along the shore.
June 19: Now in Washington, the first thing I did was visit Maryhill Museum just a few miles from where I camped. It is a mansion which serves as a combination art gallery, museum and gardens. It sits up on a bluff overlooking the Columbia Gorge and on clear days can view Mt. Hood and some other mountains. Unfortunately, it was not clear the day I was there. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the view and the museum. I had the most fun, however, watching and shooting the peacocks! One guy was trying very hard to attract a pea hen. He had his gorgeous tail fully spread and was stomping away with his feet. Unfortunately for him, the wind was blowing about 40 mph! It was funny watching trying to stay upright and look dignified at the same
Mommy's Helper
Cali was helping me gather up trash on one of the cleaning days. time. The hen acted very disinterested, but it must have been an act, because the two of them disappeared into the bushes together. At least she didn’t laugh at him the way I did!
Cali--Meow!! Now she's watching big birds while all I get to see are little ones! I drove the rest of the day into Pasco, WA, where the Columbia makes a big curve coming from the northeast, and spent the night in a Walmart lot. I talked to cousin Berry on the phone and arranged to meet him and his family at some boat races the next day. Another cousin I hadn’t seen in over 50 years!!
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MarthaS
Martha Leonard
Cathedral Bridge
I will certainly be posting updated pictures when I get time to work on the blog some more. Yes, I am going to Baja for the wedding and looking forward to it. Thanks for reading!