Crown Point Vista House, 19 September 2011
Historic Columbia River Highway, Part 1

With one laughing and one crying eye we left our friend Rhonda and her family this morning. It was really tough to say good-bye. During the few days we spent together it felt like we had been chaps for ages. In reality it had been the first time we had met each other in person. Before this weekend we had only known each other through the website tabblo where we enjoyed sharing our hobby photography with people around the world. Well, though we would be missing our friends, we were anticipating to be on our way to Yellowstone National Park. That was supposed to be one of our big highlites on our trip through northwestern United States and Canada.

Rhonda however insisted that we should not miss the Columbia River Gorge and especially not the Scenic Byway on the southern side of the river. She was so right about that. We had a magnificent day with many stops to discover the breathtaking scenery along the road. Most of these were in immediate neighbourhood of the car park. But for people who love hiking there are also trails into the backcountry.

The Historic Columbia River Highway turned off from the Interstate 84 on the Oregon side of the river. Immediately the scenery changed. Instead of a wide 3 lane motorway we were now driving on a tranquil country lane that was shaded by the lush green of broad leafed trees. After a while the road turned uphill and we arrived at Crown Point Vista House, The first scenic stop on the byway. It offered magnificent views over the Columbia River Gorge and we immediately observed that we were on the sunny side of the river. On its north side clouds were hanging low, which was a real shame. On a clear day we would have seen Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams from here, but on this day one could only devine unfocused outlines of Mount St. Helens in the mist.

At first a look over the balustrade of the parking lot.

Afterwords we climbed upt the staircase of the Vista House to indulge ourselves in even more magnificent views in all directions.

The view to the west in direction of Portland.

The view to the east.

Hidden behinde these clouds are the peaks of the three volcanos Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens and Mount Adam.

On the photos on the left and below you might discover the slopes of Mount St. Helens.

In the Crown Point Vista House two elderly gentleman worked as voluntary tourist information. They handed us copy of a drawn map pointing out all the waterfalls that were easily within reach from the road and even offering recommendations for  our way to Yellowstone. Then off we went anticipating our next stop along the highway.