We flew into Portland, Oregon and got a motel as we were not on a timeshare and would not be staying for a whole week. We were not fully aware of what there would be for us to see but we had rented a car so we could travel to wherever we found to be of interest to us. We found a number of things to do and really enjoyed the experience of discovering new adventures.
We spent some time looking over downtown Portland as it had so many things for us to do and taking the light-rail made it so easy to do. Shopping is not our ‘cup of tea’ but gawking at historical and tourist sights are.
The next thing we did was to take a half-day Columbia River Gorge Waterfall tour in a van with a small group of other tourist to look at eleven waterfalls outside Portland and it was fabulous. Most of the falls were exciting but two really stood out. The ones we most admired was the Bridal Veil Falls and the Multnomah Falls where you get out and walk around the falls and really get a feel for their height and beauty from above.
The next day, Barbara and I took the route which runs along the Columbia River to the Cascade Locks and the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area and circled back around Mt. Hood and through the town of Welches to return to Portland.
We made a stop at the Mitchel Point and at Bonneville Locks where we took pictures. We were astounded at the Bonneville Lock and Dam which had a fish ladder so the salmon could come and go during the year.
We went back to Portland going through the town of Welches and passed several pear orchards which had been recently harvested and had their fruit for sale along the route.
Later, we drove all the way to Astoria, Oregon to do some sightseeing. We then crossed into Washington State by passing over the Astoria –Megler Bridge.
After crossing into Washington State, we went by Newport, Washington to see the former Assistant Superintendent of the Comal Schools where both Barbara and worked for four years. He had hired both of us and we liked him very much.
We then stopped by the Tillamook Cheese factory where we were given a tour of the facilities.
Along the way, we saw some additional sights which were of interesting to us, such as Point Wilson Lighthouse and the Roslyn Cafe, a familiar sight from the popular series of a few ago, “Norther Exposure”.
Barbara looking over the snow at Crater Lake
We had gone through the cities of Klamath Falls and Walla Walla and on to Crater Lake. It is flush with rain and melted snow that fell within the caldera basin and is the deepest lake in the United States and the seventh deepest in the World. It was measured to be 1,932 ft. deep and maintains it current level of depth because of the amount of rain and snow that it receives. The snow surrounding the lake was very deep and beautiful.
Interestingly, just before we arrived, a helicopter was flying too low and hit the lake and the copter crashed and sunk to about 1,500 feet deep..
It is believed that the plane disintegrated in the crash and little was ever found of it. The pilot, George Causey, was the son of the former pastor of my family’s church in Brownwood. I knew George and his family well from years earlier when I was attending college. His passenger, Edward Tulleners, also died in the accident. When we were visiting Crater Lake, the plane was still deep down in the water and had not been recovered. The crash was witnessed by several people at Crater Lake National Park, according to a park ranger.
We went on to the Port of Everett where we parked our car and took the Marina for a ride to Victoria where we spent the day. After this visit, we returned to the Port of Everett and returned for our trip home.