Columbia River Scenic Drive

 

June 19

Our visit to Columbia River Scenic Highway this morning was met with a great deal of fog.  The first stop was an overlook called Crown Point Vista House. 

The only thing we saw was a silhouette of the building.  As we drove along the road the feeling was like we were in an enchanted forest.

  We were nearly the only ones on the road for a while.  Our first falls to see was Latourell Falls. There was a nice little hike into it.  This drive takes us along this scenic road that was the first national scenic road developed about 1915.  There are nearly 14 falls along this road all seem to be very different from the other.

  We skipped one of the falls since we plan to see it tomorrow.  Most all of the falls are just a short hike from the road and a lot can be seen easily from the road.  Other than the falls there were some pretty creeks and hikes to them.

After a nice lunch at Cascade Locks at the foot of bridge call the Bridge of the Gods, we continued to Hood River. 

Our first reason to go was to go to the movie Top Gun.  This changed since the only seats available were on the front row.  We will have to see it later somewhere else.  Looking around this little town we spotted what appeared to be the town’s main activity.  There in the Columbia River were hundreds of people kite surfing and sail boarding. 

This area is well known for the winds in it and these folks were taking advantage of it.  One of the fellows told me that the water was extremely cold as he walked by in a wet suit.

Chester is our oldest kitty.  He has seen a lot of this US over his life time.  He oversees our antics as we go about the country.