Our final day in Portland took us out of this charming city to the Columbia Gorge. Ellen and Mike had suggested that we stop on our way out of town at Edgefield for breakfast. It was, of course, a good suggestion. Edgefield used to be the poor farm for Multnomah County. A number of American cities during the Progressive Era had poor farms. The idea was that taking the indigent out of the corruption of the cities and placing them in the morally pure air of the country would make them self-sufficient and endue them with other middle-class values. I am not sure how well it ever worked, but by the 1960’s the county abandoned the property. It was scheduled for demolition until the McMenamin brothers, who have developed a series of successful restaurants and hotels in historical sites, bought it to make a kind of resort. There is a hotel and a hostel there, a couple restaurants, a golf course, a spa, a brewery and a winery.
While much of the property has been completely renovated, the history of the property as a poor farm is celebrated by keeping certain industrial fixtures and in a series of murals.
From Edgefield we continued on to the old Columbia River Highway, one of the most attractive drives in the country. Our first stop was the Vista House, an odd 1910 era building which looks like a giant orange juicer. There are astonishing views of the Columbia River and the Gorge from this point.
A number of creeks and rivers carrying the snow melt from Mount Hood turn into stunning waterfalls when they meet the granite cliffs of the fjord. The most stunning of these is Multnomah Falls. John and I had been there earlier this summer and it was so mobbed we had to park about a mile away. This time we were determined to make it there earlier in the morning and we were lucky enough to find only a few other fellow tourists there.
Sherry was not crazy about the bridge, but even she could not resist getting her picture taken again the backdrop of the rushing waters.
We found a better spot where Sherry could relax a bit.
Our next stop was the Bonneville Dam. John and I had been here about 10 years ago and the powerhouse was not open to tours then. We had an enthusiastic ranger who told us many times about the “court-ordered” water release.
And here is that “court ordered” release coming through the spillway.
There is a huge fish hatchery there which produces a variety of different types of sport and commercial fish to undo some of the damage that the dam created. There is a viewing area where John snapped this rainbow trout who seemed to be interested in checking out the day’s tourists.
They also sold fish so that chumps like me could feed the fish.
As we were leaving the dam, my sister called and suggested that we meet them and their friends Jill and Loren in Hood River. We ate at this great restaurant there which has a patio with a stunning view of the town and the river. The food was great and the conversation even better.
Hood River has a lot of cute shops and the shoppers in our group had to check them all out. We also stopped at this little boutique winery which has an unusual hook.
We came back to Portland and had a pleasant if quiet evening. Tomorrow, on to Ashland and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
