McCall Preserve

This part of the Historic Columbia highway was beautiful. It not-so-gently curved around the bluffs. I can't imagine what this must have been like to travel on when it was originally finished.


A near picture perfect homestead.


We were a little early for most of the wild flowers, but what we saw were amazing.




Looking toward the Columbia River from up top.


From the top of the bluff to I-84 was nearly straight down.


Since I am the one stopping to take pictures, Karen is always ahead of me on the trail. I frequently catch her sitting down on the job waiting for me to catch up and once I do, we're off again.


On both sides of the river there are train tracks. On the Washington, I followed a train as it entered the four tunnels along that part of the track.


It was so peaceful up there, not a breath of wind. This was one of three ponds we encountered. I was a greyt day.

Rise and shine

The alarm went off at 4 am this morning. Our adventure was going to take us back to the Columbia Gorge to the Tom McCall Preserve.

Sadly, since it was a preserve, no dogs were allowed and since we hoped to go for a small hike, we didn't bring anyone with us. Better to leave them at home than in a locked car.

As we drove along the I-5, the color in the sky rapidly changed from beautiful to more beautiful. I finally got to an exit where I could pull off to shoot Mt. Hood in her glory safely.


Of course all the coffee we drank required a pit stop at Multnomah Falls. Had to take the time for a quick photo.


We reached the exit onto the Historic Columbia Highway just east of Hood River at the perfect time. I never knew that the Columbia River could be so peaceful. Up to this point it had been horribly windy and the river was choppy.

I still have a million pictures to process. Here is the start.

Greyt Getaways • Over Hill 'n' Vale

Near Perrydale, Oregon, Polk County

Crystal joined today on our adventure over hill 'n' vale. It was another grand drive through Yamhill and Polk counties. It was sunny and cloudy and it rained buckets on us at separate times.

I've held back Crystal's picture for release at a later date. It's a secret.


Near Lafayette, Oregon, Yamhill County.


Near Grand Island, Oregon, Yamhill County


Near Unionvale, Oregon, Yamhill county.

Overall, it was a barn stormin' kinda day.

Greyt Getaways • Brownsville

Crystal didn't draw the short straw for today's adventure, she demanded it.


It was a nearly picture perfect day for an adventure. The skies were a brilliant blue and the trees and daffodils were blooming everywhere.


Historic Brownsville, Oregon was a very quaint little town for walkabout.


People milled about enjoying the day and the conversation.


This steeple once an old church, is now a massage parlour.


The town had many beautiful homes, some victorian like this house on the hill.


A tire swing hangs from a tree, a reminder of yesterday's past time.


Of course, one of the resident kitties was none to happy to see Crystal stroll by.

Greyt Getaways • Yoder, Oregon

Saturday, February 13 we loaded Danny Bleu into the car and headed for another country road. Destination nowhere. We followed the roofs of barns, turning left at this corner and right at that corner.

We drove through a little town with an old school and an old general store. We thought we were just passing through until just about at the edge of town, we passed an old homestead that required a u-turn to go back for a second look.

I stepped just inside the "keep-out" signs to snap a quick picture when a truck drove by. I smiled and waved and he kept going. About 15 minutes later, he drove back by, stopped and rolled down the window. At this point, I had made a few more steps beyond the "keep-out" signs.

John was wonderful. The property had been homesteaded by his wife's great-grandparents. They were the Yoder's from Missouri. He thought the house had been built around 1879. Behind it stood the carriage house and a barn.

He graciously allowed us to walk around the property and take pictures.

The door had fallen into the entryway and had the house been in better shape, it would have welcomed us in.

The narrow stairway made it's way up to four of the five bedrooms.

The living room was just to the right of the front door adorned with windows and each side and a bay window in the front.

The kitchen was toward the back of the house.

John said that the maple tree was key in holding up the house up.

The red barn was behind the carriage house and still in use.

The model A garage was barely standing and scheduled to come down later this year. I loved this building.

Sadly, I didn't think to get Danny Bleu out of the car for a quick picture. The old homestead was fabulous and I hope to get back for another visit.

Greyt Getaways • Latourell Falls

Phew, we finally made it to the last of the waterfalls for today.

Plunging 249 feet over the cliff, I loved the gentle curves around the top of the falls.

It was the bridge, that really caught my attention. The curves and diagonal lines were fabulous.

And the view from underneath the bridge was just fun.

The Vista House was our last stop and was it ever windy up there! The Vista House was built in 1918 to serve as a comfort station to travelers along the Columbia Gorge. It is 733 ft above the Columbia and you can see both up and down the river.

Looking east into the Columbia Gorge.

One last look at the Vista House before we headed for home.

Greyt Getaways • Bridal Veil Falls

Woo hoo! This waterfall isn't right off the road. Finally, we get a short hike.

It's always bad when we start by going downhill.

Originating on Larch Mountain, Bridal Veil Falls tumbles 120 ft. down to the creek below.

From the pool at the base of the falls, it gently flows down to the Columbia River where all of the waterfalls have emptied.

And we're off to the final waterfall.

Greyt Getaways • Wahkeena Falls

Oh look. It's another waterfall.

Wahkeena Falls tumbles 242 ft. down the wall.

And the little cascades at the base are probably as pretty as the falls itself.