Ainsworth State Park – the last day

Thursday, October 11, 2018

The Columbia River Gorge

On this last day of this camping trip, I drove to a view point where I knew there would be gorgeous views of the Columbia River Gorge on a nice day.  This was a nice day, a perfect day! And no, not one of these photos was taken off the internet. I took every one of these photos … that’s how gorgeous this place is on a fine day like today.

The view above and below is to the east, upriver, towards the Bonneville Dam & Power project, towards eastern Washington and Oregon.  (click on photos to enlarge them)

You can see the circuitous route the river takes.  The river seems to laze along, in no hurry to get to the Pacific Ocean behind me, to the west.  You can see the mountainous and rugged rock escarpments that line this part of the river.  Because of the steep sides along this portion of the river, this area is known for strong winds that funnel down the river from the high, flat plains of eastern Washington and Oregon.  This part of the gorge is wind-surfing paradise on a windy day.

But not today.  Today there was not a breath of wind … or rain … just joyful, calm, sunshine.

Let me show you where I was when I took these photos …..

The high point of land I’m on is called Crown Point.  The building here is called Vista House, not surprisingly.  You can see for miles and miles east, up the Columbia, and miles and miles west, down the Columbia … and you can see for miles and miles to the north as well, into Washington State.  A hill behind this point, to the south, prevents views into Oregon.

 

Notice the colored glass windows.  They are on the west side of the building, facing the afternoon sun.

When you walk around to the east side of the building, sometimes you can catch the western sun shining through that colored glass in a spectacular display of color.  Today the sun’s angle wasn’t quite right, but it was interesting nonetheless.

But let’s get back to the river and the gorge.

You can see some of the high power electrical transmission towers of Bonneville in the distance, and just to the left of Bonneville there are the two prongs of Beacon Rock, a common rock-climber destination.

Bonneville is waaaay in the distance to the right in the photo above.  The river is low this time of year (October) so the sand bars become obvious.  I’m standing in Oregon taking these photos, and Washington is across the river to the north.

 

 

In the photo above, we’re looking down river, west towards the Pacific Ocean.  The Pacific Ocean is about 84 miles away , as the crow flies, to the west of where we’re standing here at Vista House.  We are just about directly opposite, almost on the same latitude, as the small town of Rockaway Beach on the Oregon Coast.

The river, however, pays no attention to how the crow flies.  The river’s winding journey from Vista House to the Pacific Ocean covers about 128 miles.

Above, looking down river, looking straight into the late afternoon sun.

Say, isn’t that a boat coming up river?  Let’s see if she comes closer so we can find out what she is.

Here she is now …..

Let’s see if I can zoom in with my camera and get more detail.

Wow, two tugs … and a barge … heading upriver.

Kathryn B is the large tug pushing the barge … Jessica B is the smaller one, tied to Kathryn B‘s stern quarter and adding to the power that’s pushing the barge.  Appropriately, only Kathryn B has her running lights on and, interestingly, only the Kathryn B has a US flag flying … Jessica B has no country flag flying.

The stuff in the barge looks like a load of mud to me, but I bet I’m wrong.  It did rain a lot for three days in a row earlier this week, so maybe this is a load of something more valuable than mud, just with a bit of water in it as well.  Do any of you folks know what might be in this barge?

Research tells me that the tugs are part of the Bernert Barge Lines that was started in 1880 here.  Kathryn B was built in 1975 and is 99 feet long!  No information is given on their website about Jessica B or the barge.

What a great week I had staying at Ainsworth State Park and exploring the area!  In time, more of the plants and animals will recover from that fire.  There will be lots more here to explore and discover … I’ll be back for sure.

On my final morning at Ainsworth, I hitched up the trailer to the truck and headed south, further into Oregon, into the city of Milwaukie, Oregon, to visit an old college chum of mine … and show off the new travel trailer.  It was my first time parking on a street in a city and staying overnight in the trailer there.

I guess “a street in a city” sounds like a pretty horrendous place to park, eh?  Actually, my friends live on a very quiet cul-de-sac and in a very quiet residential neighborhood.  At night, it was every bit as quiet as Ainsworth State Park had been.  We had an excellent 3-day visit, and then I headed back north and back home to Washington.  One happy camper.

I have one more camping trip yet to come this fall … it will be a short trip since it’s getting cold and the winter rains should be starting soon.  Thanks for joining me on these trips.  I sure like your company!  🙂