Home from Portland

Sorry for the silence of the last couple of days. It always takes awhile to recuperate after a trip and catch up on things like unpacking, laundry, etc. Nonetheless, follow me home from Portland.

On Monday morning, Older Daughter and I made our pilgrimage to Powell's Bookstore, surely one of the most wonderful entities on the west coast for book-lovers like us.

Here we're approaching Portland's beautiful downtown area.

Some of the older buildings in the Pearl District are gorgeous.

We passed the elaborate entrance to Chinatown.

The über-tight parking garage for Powell's was undergoing construction, making it even über-tighter. Über joy.

Ah yes, joy.

As we checked out at the cash register...

...we saw bumper stickers sporting Portland's unofficial motto. There's something endearing about a city with a sense of humor.

Immediately after leaving Powell's, we hit the road for the looooong drive home. Mt Hood was visible, still clad in snow.

Soon enough we were in the Columbia River Gorge, following the river.

We made a lightning-fast stop at Multnomah Falls.

Turned out to be the 100th anniversary of the Benson Bridge, which dramatically spans the falls.

The sun wasn't conducive to photographing the entire span of falling water, so I contented myself with a quick pic of the lower falls.

And of course the footbridge.

It was already hot by this time, so Older Daughter kicked off her sandals and waded in the creek on the way back to the car. I kinda wished I'd joined her.

Then we hit the road again for some serious driving.

Tunnel.

Very quickly things become dry and treeless.

The scale of these hills on the opposite shore of the river can be gauged by the white 18-wheeler in the bottom left of the photo.

There are enormous 300-foot-tall windmills all over the place.

We passed this massive but unknown gizmo being transported as an oversized load.

The last major sight we see before hooking a left on Hwy. 82 is a massive tree farm of fast-growing hybrid poplars, irrigated with water from the Columbia. I believe they're used for paper production.

They're so much alike they could be clones.

First stage of the trip, done.

The wonders of irrigation in an otherwise dry desert.

First loop of the Columbia. This brings us into Washington.

Old abandoned mining operation, I think.

Negotiating the Tri-Cities' complicated highway system, trying to sort the right route to take.

This second leg of the trip has some mind-numbing stretches, and by this point we were getting mighty tired of being in the car.

The third leg of the trip (after we turned off Hwy. 395) had improved scenery, but we were stuck behind a lumbering truck. It's not that the truck wasn't trying its best; it's just that we really really really wanted to get home.

But the desert gradually morphed into the sweet hills of the Palouse.

In the late afternoon we stopped in the charming town of Colfax to stretch our legs and find a bathroom.

The wheat is nearly ready to harvest.

These are (mostly) lentils.

Here's the sign we were waiting for!

This looks more like home.

It was wonderful to get back to the farm and reacquaint myself with all our critters. At the risk of sounding clichéd, there's no place like home!

Hello from Portland

I write this from the kitchen table of my dear friends Wendy and Tim, with whom I'm staying while in Portland. Follow me as I travel here.

We got up at 4 am this morning. I say "we" because Younger Daughter was able to come with me this time, yay! I hauled the poor kid out of bed long before dawn.

The back of the car was packed to the rafters.

We pulled out well before sunrise, but were treated to a beautiful full moon...

...which followed us as we headed south through the Palouse.

This is one of my favorite vistas. I try to stop and take a photo every time I hit this spot.

Through the wheat fields.

Distant farms.

On Hwy. 395 south.

In the town of Connell is this grim-looking prison.

There are signs on the highway instructing drivers not to pick up hitchhikers.

Crossing the Columbia in the Tri-Cities (Richland, Pasco, Kennewick) area.

We crossed a loop of the Columbia a second time...

...and that brought us into Oregon.

Younger Daughter was fascinated by the huge size of these behemoth windmills that line the Columbia River Gorge.

Not many trees in this part of the world...

...but it's amazing how this mighty river crawls through the driest desert.

But we saw the occasional oasis of green. This is a huge farm/orchard across the river, irrigated entirely from the Columbia.

As we got closer to Portland (say, eighty or ninety miles away), the cliffs along the side of the road rose higher.

Mt. Hood looms above the John Day Dam.

That is one impressive mountain.

The absolute highlight of the trip was our stop at the magnificent Multnomah Falls.

We walked the short distance up to the Benson Footbridge, which straddles the lower falls.

And when I say straddle, I mean straddle. Here I'm looking straight down at the lower falls.

The view from the bridge is jaw-dropping.

Below us, people had pitched coins into the water. I suppose technically this is littering...

...but I confess the overall effect was lovely, especially when the coins glinted in the sun.

Half an hour later, we were in downtown Portland. What a contrast.

Shortly after posting this, I'm off for the first day of sales. Wish me luck!