Right after work, we set out to explore the Columbia River Gorge. One of the great things about our campground is its proximity to the Columbia River Gorge. We are less than a mile from the beginning of the Columbia Gorge Scenic Area. The sky was overcast, but that shouldn't be a problem for photographing waterfalls.
Our first stop was Portland Women's Forum State Park
for a view of the Columbia River from a cliff high above the river. The view looks east the length of the gorge for nearly
30 miles. It includes the Crown Point Vista House and is one of the classic views of the Columbia River. Today's view won't be a classic view.
The overcast sky may work for waterfalls but not for wide expanses with drab gray light. A family of ground squirrels entertained us
while we enjoyed the view. The mother was a bit of a showoff and liked to lie on one of the pillars of the stone wall
while the two young peaked out from tunnels below the wall.
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The next stop was Crown Point Vista House. Samuel Lancaster,
who supervised the Columbia River highway project in 1913, described the Crown Point promontory as the ideal site
for “an observatory from which the view both up and down the Columbia could be viewed in silent communion with the infinite.”
At 73 feet above the Columbia River, it's an ideal spot for photographing at sunset because you can see east and
west up and down the river.
We dropped down to the gorge and started east on the road that links the main waterfalls in the gorge.
The first was Latourell Falls, which drops 212 feet
from the basaltic cliff above. We hiked the loop trail up the canyon to the base of the falls and
then continued around the head of the canyon and back up to the parking lot.
Bridal Veil Falls was
next. We hiked down into the canyon, crossed over the stream,
and shot from a platform across from the falls. Part of the
charm of Bridalveil Falls was that we were in a secluded
canyon with no one else around. One of the advantages of
shooting after work is that everyone else has already gone
home. The lush green of the vine maples and understory plants
heightened the contrast of the falls as it dropped into the
punchbowl.
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| Latourell Falls | Bridal Veil Falls | Bridal Veil Falls | Bridal Veil Creek |
Our final stop of the day was back at Crown Point Vista House for sunset. We were in the right place for a great sunset photo. Someone should have told the sunset. There were just enough clouds at the horizon to prevent anything special at sunset.
The down side of shooting after work is that it's 9:30 or 10:00 by the time we get back to the motorhome and get ready for dinner. We were too tired to do anything more than warm up some soup and go to bed.
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