Hayden and I spent the weekend at the Gorge exploring and doing a little camping. Our first stop after the long drive was Multnomah Falls. We mainly were just there for a bathroom break but I couldn't resist taking a few pictures while we were there.
Our next stop and probably the highlight of the whole trip was Oneonta Gorge. The Oneonta Gorge is a short little hike up Oneonta Creek to a cool waterfall that is kind of off the beaten track. To access it you have to climb over a dangerous logjam at the entrance to the Gorge. A few people have died going across this logjam when they have fallen into the creek and were caught under the logs in the water. Needless to say, we practiced extreme caution crossing over the jam with me carrying Hayden over the bad spots. I didn't find it to be too treacherous, but I can see how a person can get hurt if care is not taken. The creek itself is easy to hike up and not too deep most of the way. There is one spot that came up to my waist and was very cold. Hayden laughed at me when we went through it because I made funny sounds as we went through. He had the benefit of being carried across on my shoulders. I wish I could be so lucky. If you ever plan on seeing Oneonta Gorge, be sure to bring water shoes and perhaps swimming trunks.
Next on the agenda was a place I have always wanted to see, the Stonehenge memorial at Maryhill. Per the Maryhill Museum of Art website: "Near the town site of Maryhill, Washington, three miles east of Maryhill Museum of Art, stands a replica of Stonehenge built by Samuel Hill. Dedicated in 1918 to the servicemen of Klickitat County, Washington who died in the service of their country during the Great War, Hill's Stonehenge Memorial stands as a monument to heroism and peace"
The drive out to Maryhill was longer than expected so we only lingered long enough to take a few pictures.
The next stop on our busy weekend at the Gorge was at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center near Dalles Oregon. I guess if you were a big history buff, you could spend the better part of a day here, but we were on a whirlwind tour so we only stayed for an hour or so.
Next on my list was to check out some stuff around Hood River, but on the way we stopped at the Rowena Crest viewpoint.
When we got to Hood River, I wanted to check out this place described in the Curious Gorge book called the Hood River Trail pipeline. Funny story about this actually. I was referencing an older copy of the Curious Gorge book that describes this wonderfull rainbow garden of mist that shot out of cracks in the pipeline. Well when Hayden and I stopped earlier at the Gorge Discovery Center, I noticed the newly updated Curious Gorge guide had been released so I bought a copy. It was even signed by the author! If I had only looked at the new book before setting off on our hike down the length of the pipe, I would have known that a flood had washed out part of the pipeline in 2006 and the rainbows were no more. See the link above to read all about the pipeline and to see pictures of the rainbow garden. At any rate, we got to walk down a unique "trail" that will probably be completely de-comissioned in the not too distant future.
Boy, what a fun day we were having! After the Hood River Pipeline trail, we drove up to Hood River's Panorama Point. Wow, what a view!
We then went to Pietro's Pizza in Hood River. Hood River is one of my favorite little towns. When I was growing up, we had a Pietro's in my home town but they went out of business. We had a field trip there when I was in elementary school. Pietro's was owned by the Campbells Soup company but I think Campbells probably sold Pietro's or spun off the business somehow. I was thrilled when I learned Hood River still had one. Nice to let my son enjoy a place that I loved going to when I was growing up (they have an arcade room).
Once dinner was over we drove back over to the Washington side and found our camp spot. We promptly set up the tent, made a fire and had s'mores before calling it a night.
The next day, I wasn't really sure what to do. We ended up driving back across to the Oregon side and went to the Bonneville Dam and checked out the fish hatchery. We were in luck since the salmon were running and wow, what a beautiful place. Who would have known a fish hatchery could be so nice? I guess I'm starting to appreciate things more now that I'm older. When I was younger I took places like this for granted. I'll definitely be coming back here for years to come.
All in all I had another great experience in the Gorge with my little buddy. We will be coming back here for sure!
