Enjoying the River at Summer's End

Yesterday Dayle and I headed out in the early afternoon to run an errand which included picking up something at Multnomah Falls.  WELL.. the sign on the freeway said the parking lot was closed as it was full.. so we decided to drive on to have lunch in Stevenson, Washington after crossing over the Bridge of the Gods.  We had a good lunch at Big T's diner then did some sightseeing.  Our first stop was the boat launch area in Stevenson.  You can see Wind and Dog Mountain upriver.  I climbed to the top of both of them when I was in Girl Scout camp in my youth.  :-)

It was a breezy day and the windsurfers and kite surfers were out in force taking advantage of natures power.

These people are quite amazing as they often go airborne for a while.  See the grey on the mountains in the gorge across the river in Oregon?  That's where the Eagle Creek fire of last September burned.  :-(  50,000 acres burned over 3 months.  Started by a 15 year old boy tossing a smoke bomb off a trail into a dry canyon.  :-(

Looking West and seeing the "sun pennies" on the Columbia River.

These guys move so fast it's hard to get a good photo!

We heard a train coming and I handed Dayle my iPhone just in time to get a photo as it roared past.  BNSF - Burlington Northern Santa Fe RR.  New readers may not know but Dayle was a railroad engineer with Southern Pacific then Union Pacific RR for 30+ years!

We then drove on and to the left was this neat art installation of colored glass and metal wind whirligig.

This is Bob's Beach which was dedicated to the windsurfers to use.

There is a small log built inn there, I would love to rent this cabin for even one night.  I might just do that!

Doesn't this just look idyllic?  I can see sitting on the deck and watching the wind surfers and the river boat traffic while sipping coffee with Dayle.  

We then drove on West to Beacon Rock State Park and noticed this little Vine Maple had turned colors.  

There were also several Blue Elderberry trees covered with berries in the park.

We went on to the boat ramp at the park where you can get a really great photo.  Beacon Rock is a large 840-foot-high basalt volcanic vent plug. The Missoula Floods eroded away the softer outer material. 

Did you know there is a trail to the top of this?  Who wants to climb it?  :-)

Many years ago when we had our sailboat moored in the Cascade Locks yacht basin, we went through the locks of Bonneville Dam and on to the dock here where we spent the night aboard.  THAT was quite the experience to go through the lock of a mighty dam.

There was this bush full of black currant berries by the side of the trail.

And Pearly Everlasting - which is a wonderful dried flower.

We picked up a soft ice cream cone at the East Wind Drive In and drove to the beach by the boat basin to savor our cones while enjoying the view of the river.

Then on to the boat launch to capture a view of the Bridge of the Gods.

Then we drove through the neat little town of Cascade Locks, and stopped at the Native Indian run Brigham fish market and I bought 2 chunks of smoked Steelhead to have with cream cheese and crackers.  Well.. off to swimming I go.  Have a great weekend!!  ((hugs)), Teresa :-)