Day 123 - Columbia River Gorge

My first stop in the Columbia River Gorge area near Portland, Oregon was to a local museum where I received a history of the land, a major thoroughfare and trading region across the Cascade mountains, and also received a map with important sights to see. My first scenic sight was the Beacon rock, a 800 foot tall rock with a pathway to the top.

I made it to the top quickly and enjoyed an expansive view of the gorge and the Columbia River.

I drove south on the Washington side of the river to a lookout on Cape Horn. I tried to get a photo of the actual horn but all the trails either descended steeply or were covered with trees, ruining any view. I settled for the vista shot.

I drove by the Bonneville dam, one the many dams that have tamed this grand river, on my way to tonight's hike up the Coyote Wall. I hiked along a scenic abandoned road then up a winding path to the top of the wall.

And also took a portrait looking across the river toward Mount Hood. It was a beautiful, windy night.

I drove back north to where I had started today's gorge adventure to a free campsite up a steep dirt road. The location was great, beneath trees, quiet, a little rocky. A large, loud group drove in to nearby campsite late in the evening and partied late but I was able to close the windows and sleep soundly.

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Day 104 - Glacier to Vancouver

The hike up Balu Pass was supposed to be fairly easy, beautiful and dotted with waterfalls, but when I talked to the park ranger and learned that Vancouver was an eight hour drive away, I decided to skip Balu and drive west. I left behind this pretty view. And drove many hours through pristine mountains, fewer and fewer snow-capped ones the further west I drove. Some of the valleys were flooded to make reservoirs, leaving scenic sights. I eventually made it to Vancouver and drove right on through to Point Roberts USA, a five mile by five mile coastal land just below the 49th parallel and thus in the USA. The park ranger had suggested this as a good place to camp but being late of the Thursday night before the Fourth of July there were no spots available. I drove around instead and stopped at a forested coastal park. After ten minutes of walking I came to my first grand Pacific view with Mount Baker 60 miles east. The San Juan Islands and Orca Islands could also b...

Day 62 - Colorado National Monument

Established as a national monument early in 1911, Colorado NM is known for its high canyon "rim road" and sandstone spires of Monument Canyon. The canyons of west Colorado are pretty--as they have more green trees and shrubs than the more famous Utah canyons. This gives them a more alive feeling, although the sandstone spires were formed many thousands of years ago by erosion. Rim Rock road curves up the the top of the canyon cliff, goes through several round tunnels and is lined with scenic viewpoints. The best views were in he Monument Canyon section, and included in sequence, the Coke Ovens, The Kissing Couple (behind my head), and the most famous of all: Independence Monument, the tall spire in pic 3 and viewed from the side in pic 4. The original promoter and caretaker of the park, John Otto, was the first person to climb Independence Monument and now it's a climbing right of passage. Every July 4 climbers ascend and mount an American flag at the summit. Fun! ...

Day 82 - Yellowstone to Montana

My alarm sounded at 5:30am, a time early enough for me to arise before someone found me secretly camping. The geyser prediction said Grand at 6:15am so I set out toward it. I ran into geyser gazer Jim there and he said it likely erupted at 4:30-- missed it. Early morning eruptions are hard to predict as someone needed to have seen the previous overnight eruption in order to make a prediction. I walked on toward Artemesia, an unpredictable geyser at the far corner of the basin. I had seen her erupt from a mile away and wanted a closer inspection. The early morning setting was momentous, yet I didn't see a geyser erupt up close until Grand at 10:30. Then Sawmill erupted with its twirling thirty foot action (pic). The only remaining geyser left to experience on my mental list was Beehive up close. With a predicted window of 810 to 1210, I arrived at 1030 and waited until 1pm, before giving up. The sun was hot, I had read the geyser book cover to cover, and while seeing e...

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