We snuck one last road trip in before this blink and you miss it summer is over and we have to get back into the school routine...and back to working on the house.
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| Columbia River Gorge |
We
started the trip out driving through the Columbia River Gorge; it is one of the
most scenic and breathtaking sights in the Pacific Northwest. A deep canyon that stretches over 80 miles
from east to west, with a river at its base, the Columbia River Gorge reaches
up to 4,000 feet tall in some areas and forms a boundary between Oregon and
Washington State, running from the Deschutes River through to the Pacific
Ocean. Here are a few of our stops...
Kitesurfers
in Stevenson, Washington
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Maryhill
Museum near Goldendale, Washington
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Maryhill
Museum of Art is a small museum with an eclectic collection. It is situated on a bluff overlooking the
eastern end of the Columbia River Gorge.
The building was originally intended as a mansion for entrepreneur
Samuel Hill. Construction began in
1914. Three years later in 1917 Hill
decided to turn his unfinished home into “a museum for the public good, and for
the betterment of French art in the far Northwest of America.”
Stonehenge
in Maryhill, Washington
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Heard
of the ancient, Neolithic structure situated in the county of Wiltshire, high
on Salisbury Plain in England? Its
massive stones, fallen from age, have stirred the imagination of man for
centuries. There is nothing quite like
it; or is there?
Three
miles east of Maryhill Museum stands a full-size, astronomically-aligned
replica of Stonehenge. It was commissioned
by Samuel Hill as a memorial to those that died in WWI. The memorial was completed in 1929 and was
the first monument in the US to honor the dead of World War I.
Wind
Farms along the Columbia River
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When
most people think of the Pacific Northwest they envision lush green forests and
majestic mountain ranges. The region is “green”
in more than one way. Thousands of
megawatts of green energy are being produced by numerous wind farms in the
Columbia Gorge Bi-state Regional Energy Zone (CG-BREZ); a six-county region
straddling the Columbia River in both Oregon and Washington.
The
Columbia River Gorge is designated as a National Scenic Area and wind turbines
are not allowed as they would diminish the scenic value of the gorge. But just outside of the Scenic Area hundreds
of wind turbines have been constructed and can be seen for miles. On the high bluffs east of Wishram,
Washington is the area where the wind turbines begin (due to the topography and
wind flow there are more turbines on the Oregon side of the river).
{Fun
Fact: Each wind turbines supporting tower must be 265-280 feet tall; combined
with wind turbine blades, each unit may be between 400-445 feet in height. No wonder you can see them from miles away!}
Charles
R. Scott east of Alpowa Summit, Washington
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| Charles Scott with his children Sho & Saya {photo source: Lewiston Tribune} |
We had
just passed over the Alpowa Summit and were making our way back down when we spotted
three bikers going the opposite direction.
They were biking to the top of Alpowa Summit, in 90+ degree
weather? That did not look like fun...until
the next day when I saw the morning newspaper.
Unknown
to us, we had just passed Charles R. Scott (aka Family Adventure Guy) with his
two young children Sho (age 12) & Saya (age 6) on Day 48 of their family
adventure - re-tracing the 3,200-mile Lewis & Clark Trail - 1,500 miles by
car and 1,700 miles by bike. Their goal
is to complete the trip within the 2-month school summer break. Wow! Go
check out his blog {click here}.
Made it to Idaho and we were greeted with this gorgeous sunset!
After a few days in Idaho, it was time to head back to our Off-Grid Home Sweet Home.
