Ainsworth – a different direction

October, 2018

Today was different in a number of ways.  For one thing, every day so far here, I have headed across the Columbia River to explore the western Washington side of the river, or I headed downriver (west) to explore the Oregon side.  But today I headed UP-river (east), towards Idaho, though of course I didn’t get anywhere near Idaho.

Today was different also because I was disappointed in the two main things I wanted to see.  I’m sure we aren’t all interested in or impressed by the same things.  Every one of us appreciates different things for different reasons.  So I hope you’ll understand when I talk about the two things that were a bust for me.

But other things were great!  And, all in all, I very much enjoyed the day, though it was tempered with those things that were disappointing.

Actually, a third difficult thing started out the day.  But it’s brief so I’ll show you one photo and tell you what it is and then just get on with the day ….

You might think this is a photo (above) of the freeway heading east from the campground.  Well, it is.  But it also shows some of the fire damage from the 2017 Eagle Creek fire.  When I took the photo above, I had just driven past a section of trees where the fire had completely jumped the freeway (from right to left), including the median and the two lanes going the other direction, and had burned all the way to the edge of the water on the Columbia River.  Those trees in that area that I had just driven through had absolutely no green on them whatsoever, even a year later.  I knew I would see evidence of that horrific wildfire, but it sure hurt when I did see it.

I might write a separate blog post about the fire and what I saw and what some of the Rangers here told me.  Mostly I like to keep this blog of mine happy and fun, but sometimes life isn’t happy and fun.  So let me think about this, think about writing about the fire.  Let’s just get on with this day … it’s a beautiful day!

Here is my first really cool destination …

I had moved to Portland, Oregon, in 1978 and lived in Oregon a few years before moving back to Washington.  I had heard about this stretch of the highway along the Columbia River.  See the holes in the rock on the left side of the photo?  This part of I-84 had been blasted out of the rock, along with the tunnel, in 1915.  Construction included cutting those holes along the route to allow light in so that electrical lighting didn’t have to be added.  This engineering feat was considered one of the most difficult and wonderful feats in the world.  So I was looking forward to seeing it.

Postcard (above) circa 1920 from the inside of the tunnel.  I knew this was not still the main highway, but it sure would be fascinating to see.

The signs directed me off the highway and up a back road … into a parking lot.  I found this sign above and quickly read it with great interest.  Well, fudge!  In 1966, they blew up the entire tunnel and that whole side of the hill!  The whole thing is gone!  Oh, I was not happy.

But I walked around a bit and enjoyed the scenery.  I had to admit it was a beautiful place and that rock hill/mountain was huge.  And it climbed pretty much straight up out of the river so I guess I’m not surprised they had to blow it up in order to widen the road.  You can see in the black-and-white photo above that they had to fill in rocks just to lay the railroad tracks.

 

Ok, sigh, well let’s get in the big white truck and get on up the river and see what we can see.

The drive further eastwards on the Oregon side of the river was interesting.  Not too far after Mitchell Point, the surroundings changed dramatically … from wooded, green forests to dry, tan and brown landscapes.

I was moving into the eastern parts of Washington and Oregon, on the east side of the Cascade Mountains where it’s much drier, a whole different climate system.  People who aren’t familiar with Washington and Oregon often think of both states as being heavily wooded and green and wet, whereas most of both states (the eastern portions) are pretty much the opposite … wheat fields and wide open spaces.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a different environment than I’m used to, but it’s beautiful nonetheless.

I drove through Rowena, past Squaw Islands, through the town of The Dalles, past Lone Pine Island, and the dam at Memaloose Island.  I drove along the the portion of the Columbia River that is now called Lake Celilo (and thought about entire societies, and communities, and families who were displaced by these dams … dams that were built to feed our need for “more”).  Eventually, I arrived at Biggs Junction … not a very big place at all.  But it was important because it had a bridge across the Columbia River.

My destination was just across the river from Biggs Junction … a replica of the Stonehenge in England.  I was at the Stonehenge in England when I was 11 years old, and remember it to this day.  It was magical, and much more.  It was built about 5,000 years ago.  My mother reports that both my brother and I would not leave (he was 12, I was 11).  We walked and sat and stood and looked.  I remember looking at my brother often, and saw him looking at me, but we didn’t speak, we didn’t need to speak.  Somehow, something else was speaking to us, with us.  Dad wanted to get back on the road.  Mom told us later that she could see that my brother and I were very different here, so she kept Dad busy elsewhere.  Eventually my brother and I walked back to the car together, at the same time, still without speaking.

There are a few places I’ve been on this planet that speak to me … that original Stonehenge was one of them.  My DNA says I’m Scot/Irish and Pict (ancient Scot) and Viking.  And I’m a redhead. 🙂  So best not to mess with me or my brother.

So all of that is why I had hopes for this replica of the Stonehenge here next to the mighty Columbia River.  I also knew I might be disappointed, and it’s a good thing I knew that … I was mightily disappointed.

Turns out this “replica” was not even built of stone, but of iron and poured cement, and every “stone” was made from a mold and was exactly like every other “stone”.  This replica was built facing the wrong direction; the original was aligned to the movements of the sun but this replica was not.  This replica was a war memorial; the original was a burial ground and a temple.  I took a look around, took one photo, and left.

I was much happier checking out the local fields and crops, the colors of the earth and the sky.

 

I drove across the bridge back to Biggs, Oregon, and then headed west back towards my little trailer in Ainsworth State Park.  It had been a great day.

Ah, but wait!  I had a fun surprise waiting for me … right in front of me on the I-84 freeway.  This fellow and his message made me smile!

I followed the truck for many miles.  And was yet again surprised, this time by a stunning late afternoon view of Mount Hood in Oregon.

Eventually, that wacko truck and I made it back to the lush green, cool and rocky, Columbia Gorge area … and a few minutes later I turned off the highway and trundled into the campground and back to my campsite in the forest.

Disappointments?  Yes.  A great day?  Yes!!