Picnic and a Sudden Loss

Hello there!  Yesterday was the annual picnic for the volunteers that work in the visitors center at Multnomah Falls.  It was a perfect day, sunny but a nice cool breeze.  We have the picnic in at John B. Yeon State Park in the little village of Latourell by the waterfall of the same name.  If you're new to this blog - I live in the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon, USA.  

It's a potluck dinner - we all bring something good to go with the BBQ hamburgers and hotdogs that the Friends of Multnomah Falls provides, with all the fixin's.  Dayle and I brought a big pot of Orange Baked Beans that everyone seemed to love.  There was potato salad, pasta salad, green salad, deviled eggs and desserts brought by the volunteers to share.

People brought flowers for the tables, it was very festive.

I oiled up my myrtlewood picnic basket and loaded it with a tablecloth, fabric napkins, my vintage camp enamel cowboy plates and mugs and our own flatware.  I suggested years ago that instead of disposable plastic tablecloths, paper plates and plastic flatware and cups that we all bring our own reusable dinner ware and now we do it each year.  I am proud that we're "GREEN" and don't use things that end up in the landfill.  

The annual group photo that I organize each year.  

I didn't get a photo of the rest of the potluck, but here are the two cakes from "Petite Provence" - one of our volunteers bring these every year.  I always have a little slice of the chocolate one!

After we took down our shade canopy that we brought to put over the food tables, folded up our table and loaded up all our things in the car, we headed towards home.  I took my annual photo of the poor old Latourell house - the founding family still owns this house but has let it rot and get overrun with blackberries.  I record it's progress each year.

This is the front of the house, I'm not sure if I've photographed this side of it before.  It breaks my heart that the family has let it deteriorate instead of taking care of this house - it could be so pretty. 

We drove up the Historic Columbia River Highway and around Vista House.. I pulled over briefly to get this snapshot.

Then drove on to Portland Women's Forum State Scenic Viewpoint (I am a member of that organization) and I walked out to get a few photos.  Vista House at Crown Point State Park with the Columbia River, Beacon Rock in the distance and you can even see Bonneville Dam.  Quite a view from here.

This is the zoom from my Lumix DMC-FZ1000 - pretty good detail from where I was standing!

To give you perspective of how good the detail from that zoom.. this is where I was standing.  :-)  

Now my friends, I have sad news.  Late last week Kristi got a call from her mother and her father had passed away in the night.  It was very sudden, he was only 59 years old.  Below is a photo Kristi gave me to share with you of her parents at her sisters wedding at Multnomah Falls sometime back.  Please keep Kristi in your thoughts and prayers.  

((hugs)), Teresa :-)