Vacation 2009--The Rest of Oregon

On our vacations,  we specialize in serendipitous stops.  This is one of them.

Mom decided this gorge would make a gorgeous retirement home!

The Bonneville dam is the farthest downstream of fourteen dams on the Columbia River.

The Bonneville dam has both a fish ladder and fish counters.  Yes, they hire people to watch for eight hours a day and count every fish that swims up the river, identifying it by type--salmon (one of five types), shad or lamprey.

We finally got to see Mount Hood--after we were long gone from Portland.

What is Oregon famous for?  The Oregon Trail, of course.  Here we are, posing as pioneers.

We drove for almost two hours just to see this view of Hell's Canyon.  Apparently, this canyon on the Snake River is deeper than the Grand Canyon; you just can't get to that point in the canyon by car (or we would have driven there).

Vacation 2009-Portland

Henry Pittock was the owner of The Oregonian (Portland's daily newspaper) 100 years ago.  He built this mansion on the top of one of Portland’s highest hills in the early 1900s.  You can see five giant mountains from the grounds…that is, unless it’s cloudy, which, of course, it was.  We couldn’t see any of the five.  Bummer.

We did see the inside of the mansion, though.  This is the master bedroom shower, which can shoot water at you from every direction imaginable.

Portland’s Japanese Gardens were our next stop…

…followed by the International Rose Test Gardens.  Portland isn’t called the “City of Roses” for nothing.

We love vacations!

Blasting from Milwaukee to Minneapolis to Portland. This is our B 757.

Over Oregon on our approach to PDX our pilot pointed out Mt. Rainier in the background poking up above the clouds near Seattle, and Mt. St. Helens in the foreground.

On our first full day near (in) Portland [since we are the Joneses, we have argued several times about whether the Oregon coast is part of Portland (any sensible person would realize that it is not) or just a part of Oregon] we stopped by Tillamook Cheese Factory. Here we have spotted a hard working farmer and her friendly milk cow. This was a great place to see some cheese production.

Mom was delighted to go tide pooling, where we saw starfish and sea anemones.

Gorse bushes!!! Are we in Oregon, or are we in Scotland?

This pioneer stands atop the Oregon state capitol building (yes, we are still chasing capitols).

As we rounded the side of the building, we saw this fellow. His title is “The Circuit Rider,” and the words carved below the statue state: “Commemorating the labors and achievements of the ministers of the Gospel, who as circuit riders became the friends, counselors and evangels to the pioneers on every American frontier.”

This family self-portrait was taken in the gardens of Willamette University, across the street from the Capitol building.

Vacation 2009 part 1

This is what we see of water:

This is what we see of forests:

This is what we see of mountains:

Why would you want to see our vacations?