June 11, 2021 The Dalles. Oregon

High of 71, mostly cloudy, rainy and windy. 

We visited the Columbia Gorge Discovery center in The Dalles today. A bridge railing over the highway with salmon and sturgeon, fly like a pelican, stay 6 feet apart. wooden sturgeon sculpture and part of the basket display. John with a statue of a mammoth. He spent a couple weeks in Shoshone this winter underneath the mammoth bones exhibit at the museum shoring up the exhibit case.

At the Discovery center we attended the Live raptor show. Her she is with an American kestrel named Hank. The Dalles dam, locks and hydroelectric plant on the Columbia River. 

We also toured the Dalles Dam Visitors center. Poster saying Frankly my dear he gave us a dam, with a photo of FDR, a sasquatch field guide in the gift shop, the year to date count of the fish that have gone up the fish ladder, TV with live pictures of fish going through the fish ladder. The bottom one is a three foot chinook salmon. Beautiful, historic downtown The Dalles, Oregon.

 John at the Free Bridge brewery having an IPA. Some of the volcanic cliffs on the walls of the Columbia Gorge.

 The basket is in one piece now. I am adding beads around the center and it will be done. It is 10 1/2 x 11 x 2 inches. Across the Columbia River in a rain storm. 

Reflections of clouds in the Deschutes River right behind our campsite. Friday night in the summer. The campground is packed. There are still 2 empty, but reserved sites on the right front. People are packed in their sites to the edges with 2-3 vehicles, tents, boats and lots of people, including packs of small children.

Sunset tonight.

Sunset from our campsite. 

 

June 10, 2021 Deschutes River State Recreation Area

 71 and partly sunny.

We drove from the Mt Hood National Forest to the Columbia River. About 10 miles from our campground it changed from deep dark forest to dry, desert plains. Scenes on the drive. 

A view on our drive toward the Columbia River. Not again! One of our brand new inside dooly tires was low. We spent 2 hours at Les Schwab and had it checked. The technician  took it off the outer, then the inside tire and submerged it in water and no leak. So he aired it back up and put it back on. 

The Deschutes River where it meets the Columbia River from the bridge. We are camped on the left side. The bus at Deschutes River State Recreation area. 

View from camp looking back at the bridge where the Deschutes river meets the Columbia River. The Deschutes river from my walk up the river. 

Cool grasses.

The master piece is nearing completion. It is now 10 1/2 x 11 x 2 inches. 

June 8-9 2021 Mt Hood National Forest, Oregon

 In the 60's, partly cloudy and rainy. 

We drove to Spring Drive RV park in the Cascades. Views from our drive. I think Mt Hood is up there somewhere behind the clouds and rain, Wait there is the base of it. Most of the road at that point was a narrow road in tree tunnel. We passed through Boring, Oregon, Welcome to Boring, Boring Bar, Welcome to Boring, The Boring Bar, Welcome to BORING paired with DULL Scotland. BORING Oregon and DULL, Scotland paired for the ages. August 9th is boring and dull day., Boring post office.

 We went through the snow zone crossing the mountains past numerous ski areas and Mt Hood Brewing. Our campsite is very long and the trees are really, really tall. 

 Red Columbine, strawberry, thimble berry, forget me nots, knot weed and a puff ball. 

False Solomon seal, wild parsley. pine drops, snow bush and we are in bear country. Be a good neighbor, be quiet!, star flower, lupine and violets. 

Beautiful area in the campground. John as we had dinner outside at our lovely picnic table. 

There are wild rhododendrons blooming in the forest here.  The masterpiece has another half row done.

We went to Timberline Lodge National Historic Landmark. This photo does not do it justice. It is HUGE. It was built in 1938 by the WPC (like the CCC)  during the depression by artisans out of local stone and wood  with intricate native American and pioneer motifs. They even hand built the furniture. 

At almost 12,000 feet Mt Hood is the highest point in Oregon. It has 9 glaciers and has a year round ski area. There are lifts on the left side of the long snowfield that go half way up. Looking down toward the lobby from one of the restaurants. 

Mt Hood National Forest, Mt Hood Oregon scenic byway, some of the hand forged hardware for the lodge. Carved wooden Indian on the inside of the front door, window detail, all the posts in the stairwells had a different animal carved on top, masks required in lift lines outdoors. 

A recreation of the one of the rooms in the museum. The lobby . 

I love this cool mosaic around the drinking fountain, there is even a bear catching a salmon in the water. Smokey the bear with skis, in 1980 they filmed the outside of the lodge for the movie of the Shining. Antique skis from earlier eras of skiing. 

The Blue Ox bar was closed. It has a stained glass mosaic of Paul Bunyan and Babe the blue ox. One of many small waterfalls by the road on the way up to the lodge.

 Bear grass and phlox  flowers. Frog Lake with Mt Hood on the horizon. 

Also stopped at  Clear Lake.