Portland, Oregon

Monday 6 June

Sad farewells had been said in Banff, but our journey home included a flight to Portland and several days in the Columbia Gorge. Having devoured 'Linda's Lens', for the past  4 years, I just had to visit, as we were so close.
/https://photomomlinda.blogspot.com.au/

We left Banff at 5.30 am and drove in misty fog to Calgary airport. The day cleared and I had wonderful views of the amazing Columbia River and I think Mt Rainier, as we flew south to Portland. [Bill / Linda, please correct me if I am wrong.]

Downtown Portland was a delight to stroll around, when we arrived about 2.30.

Pioneer Courthouse Square

Our stroll took us down to the banks of the Willamette River, and its many bridges.

I was enthralled by a large group of Canadian Geese and goslings. They appeared to be on a 'guided' tour of the Willamette's shoreline. At its completion, they marched single file back to the river, the tiny goslings jumping over the rocks, trying to keep up with the adults. 

Mt Hood was spotted in the far distance.

A pioneer sculpture, in a most welcome shady park.

I had arranged to meet my friend Linda outside her office in The Portland building. It was not difficult to find, with the sculpture of Portlandia dominating the front of the building.

Wikipedia

"Portlandia is a sculpture by Raymond Kaskey located above the entrance of the Portland Building, in downtown Portland, Oregon, at 1120 SW 5th Avenue. It is the second-largest copper repousséstatue in the United States, after the Statue of Liberty.^[1]

The statue is based on the design of the city seal. It depicts a woman dressed in classical clothes, holding a trident in the left hand and reaching down with the right hand. The statue is above street level and faces a relatively narrow, tree-lined street." 

It was wonderful to finally meet Linda and we made arrangements to travel to and hike Mt St Helen's the following day, Tuesday. Frank opted not to join us, but to further explore Portland.

[http://outandabout3.blogspot.com.au/2016/06/mt-st-helens-story-of-hike-and-eruption.html]

Much of Frank's Tuesday was spent exploring Washington Park and I was very grateful that he took all these rose photographs for me. It was Rose festival week.

Wednesday we collected our hire car from the airport and set off down Highway 84, beside the Columbia River, to Cascade Locks. The heat wave of the past few days had passed We were again looking for our winter gear. The cloudy sky didn't allow The Columbia to show its full splendour, but it was mighty impressive. I lost count of the number of freight trains we saw.

Enjoying the view from our Cascade Lock's accommodation.

Bridge of the Gods

I have followed many hikers on their adventure along the PCT Trail from Mexico to Canada. The crossing of this bridge is always a milestone for them. It was just fantastic to cross it, even if it was by car. 

 

Looking back to our accommodation from the bridge.

And the view up the river from the opposite side.

After checking into our accommodation, we continued along H'wy 85 to Hood River.

At Hood River we found H'wy 35 to take us to Mt Hood, a peak I've fallen in love with, through Linda's many visits, in all seasons of the year. Our visit will make another post.

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