June 25 - Waterfalls and windsurfers

We drove the length of the gorge to get to Portland. It is a busy city with traffic problems close to the city center. We drove up to Washington Park to get a good view of the city – no luck. We did however enjoy the rose garden. ‘Peace’ was one of the only roses not in bloom, and we could not find ‘Oklahoma’. ‘Black Magic’ was delightful. Michael loved ‘Oktober Fest’ and I thought ‘Hotel California’ was great.
We returned east along the old gorge highway and had some great views of the valley from way up high. We also saw many waterfalls. Latourell falls are really high, we skipped stopping at Multnomah falls because there were too many people. The best waterfall was Wahclella. The hike was long enough to discourage people so it was peaceful and isolated.The boys could not wait to get back to the library at Hood River. I restocked on food and found a bike stand for Ant’s bike. His had rattled loose and fallen off somewhere between Hells Canyon and the Fossil Beds. Everywhere you drive in the canyon you see surf boards strapped to cars. Windsurfing or sailsurfing is really popular here. The breeze up the gorge is pretty constant. I now know why there is a huge wind farm east of The Dalles. While I was driving around Hood River I got spectacular views of Mt Hood to the south and Mt Adams to the north. Some house are located to take in both views – what a great place to live.