U.S.#8 A few Cool Facts about the Hood River Aquatic Centre

1. There's a different tariff for out-of towners (fair enough, too).
2. There are no numbers on the lockers - that's because you bring your own padlock.
3. No-one bothers with the padlock (incredible but true).
4. The 25 metre lap pool gets deeper cross-wise instead of lengthwise (what's the reasoning for that one?)
5. Aqua classes are conducted at the shallow side so that the Over 80s can join in from the adjacent warmer pool (how considerate!)
6. The water is very clean - I know this because one of the women testified that she comes here from White Salmon because she always gets a rash after swimming there (urgh...)
   
7. On every 2nd lap, you can admire the views out of the open roof/ wall to the ubiquitous Mt Adams.
8. On a windy day, (and remember, that's why we're here) the canvas roof makes such a racket it sounds as if it's going to blow away.

U.S.#7 A big day trip to Mt St Helen

On the eve of our Big Trip, we dined on the terrace at the Hood River Golf Club with our new pal, Julie. What a great tip - definitely going there again! Hope the hummingbird comes back to the flower bed when we return ('twas a bit too fast to photograph).
So here's the link to an amazing story and video of a backyard hummingbird: Inspiring Hummingbird Flies to Stardom | Blogs about Dogs, Cats and Pets | Petside.com


With a packed lunch and plenty of water in the Esky, we crossed the border into Washington State by toll bridge connecting Hood River to the twin town of White Salmon (no prizes guessing what the favourite pastime there is...).

Within 20 miles we were well and truly lost - heading into Yakama Nation territory without a permit. So after this 40 minute detour, we were back on the other windy road on the correct side of Mt Adams heading toward Mount St Helens. There were a few too many ranges and ridges to count in between - up amongst fir trees, down in some birch forests and along some winding rivers with fly fishing enthusiasts wearing those boots that come up to your chest.

Gifford Pinchot National Forest is very large and we covered most of it in 9 hours' driving - a few too many curves according to the stomach of one of our passengers. But at least we got back in time to collect wind surfing gear from the rental shop so it was worth the rush!

I'm going to include a link to a great website here, so you, too, can enjoy the 30th anniversary of the Mt St Helens Eruption. It seems the locals would like us to share in this celebration, and in hoping and praying that nothing of this magnitude ever happens again!

USGS Multimedia Gallery: Mount St. Helens: May 18, 1980

U.S.#5 Hood River: Windy one day, Gorge-ous the next

Hood River provides a lot of hospitality even to those of us who don't 'wind dance'. Most of the holiday rental accommodation is located on the gorge side of the hill maximising views of the river and Mt Adams. If you wanted, you could view the windsurfers and parasailors through binoculars. Click the photo to link to the Picasa Web album.

The steep hill provides a good workout for a walker - that's me - the sole walker. All the rest cruise the streets in their mini-vans or F350 pick-ups.

As a middle-class holiday town, there are many boutique and gift shops, and restaurants, cafes and pubs with balconies to sit out on and enjoy the views and the summer air.

Out of town, car touring reveals the many faces of the Columbia River valley and surrounding hills, dales and waterfalls.

This album includes the drive to Mt Hood and the monumental Timberline Lodge. Vehicles stop here (so do chipmunks) but snowboarders get to go further up the peak for a summertime ski.

For grand accommodation nothing beats the Columbia Gorge Hotel, actually located just out of town (near the highway) but obviously well out of our price range. It has loads of history, you'll need to 'google that' because we didn't stop long, just to admire the landscaping including the cliffs and huge waterfall.

We explored the waterfalls loop back along the road to Portland: Multnomah Falls are by far the biggest and most visited. Check that spectacular walkway over the falls. They are situated conveniently right on the 4-lane freeway and train line... The frequency of freight trains through the valley is staggering - I'd say, every 7-8 minutes there's a train of 80 to 100 wagons. And that's just on our side in Oregon. On the Washington State side there's another track servicing that state.

U.S.#6 Hood River hots up

When it's a hundred in the shade, what can you do but jump in the Chrysler people mover, pump up the air con and tour the countryside? We got up too late and moved too slowly to undertake the long loop to Mount St Helens so decided to do the Fruit Loop and Columbia River valley up to Maryhills, the desert end of the valley.

Having purchased most of our fruit at Safeway yesterday, we dropped in on the Lavendar Farm instead. The owner explained that he got the idea for it from a visit to one outside Launceston. With views to Mt Hood in the background and rolling hills covered in fruit trees and vineyards, I could've sat in the pergola all day and watched the bees busy at work amongst the lavendar bushes.

However, we had other sites to see and several more wrong turns to take, before leaving the Fruit Loop and heading east toward the desert country. One of our party was bitterly disappointed that her favourite Western outfitter in the Dalles was closed for Sunday trading (how dare they - the outlet shops don't!). With the temperature rising we wound our way toward Pilbara country except there was a giant river threading its way through the valley.

We found the petroglyphs in Columbia Hills State Park: they had been moved to a convenient site away from the gorge which had been flooded with the building of the dams. Most of the petroglyphs were barred from public access without a tour guide due to vandalism. Oh well, these were great anyway, and, with the 'I'm feeling lucky' button in Picasa, they actually come up better than in situ.

Quick swim in the river at a van park / rocky beach with significant irrigation run-off and chained off for protection from the water skis. Hmmm - not my favourite swimming hole.