Bus Tour - Columbia River Gorge

I led a tour of the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon, USA today.  I'm the President of the Portland Women's Forum and our mission is to be stewards of the gorge so each May we go on a tour of our beloved scenic area.  We began the tour at 9 am, our first stop was the Hood River County Historical Museum where we learned a lot about that city - they're famous for Apple, Pear & Cherry orchards.

Then on to the Columbia Gorge Hotel, photo below.  (from my iPhone!)

The above photograph shows the front of this magnificent hotel built in the 20s. The hotel had barely opened before it had an international reputation. Presidents Roosevelt and Coolidge, actresses Myrna Loy, Jane Powell, and rumor has it, Rudolph Valentino are some of the notables to have graced the hotel.
 All 41 of us had lunch in the dining room of roast turkey, sage dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, buttered corn and a poached apricot half filled with cranberry sauce. 

The lovely hotel staff showed us 2 of the guest rooms then took us out for a lovely walk around the grounds.  This is a photo of the back of the hotel, you can see peeks of the Columbia River through the trees and Washington State across the river.

The photo above shows the magnificent cascade of Wah Gwin Gwin Falls (a Native American name meaning "rushing water" for the 208' waterfall on the grounds).

Above you can see the fabulous waterfall as you're looking over the rock wall, see the railroad tracks at the bottom?

Can you just hear the roar of the waterfall?

Looking out where the water falls off over the tops of the trees and the Columbia River beyond and the shores of Washington State.

The grounds are beautiful!

My husband took this photo of my younger sister, Denise and I on the bridge over the stream which is heading towards the waterfall.

Another bridge over the creek at the entrance of the hotel.

Here are the ladies of the Portland Women's Forum for their annual group photo.

The photo above might look un-exciting, but it's Wind Mountain, in the valley to it's right was Camp Wind Mountain, a Girl Scout Camp and I went there for 2 summers in a row for a week of camping.  I climbed Wind Mt. the first year, and then the 2nd year I climbed the mountain below, which is on the right of the valley between the mountains, it's called Dog Mountain.  So there you go, I actually climbed 2 mountains to the very top in my life.  Never climbed another one though! :-)

Sorry about the poor photos of the mountains, but they were taken using my iPhone through tinted bus windows that were badly marked with road grime.


We had a great day and learned new things.  I hope you enjoyed the photos.. thanks for visiting!  ((Hugs)) Teresa