Columbia Gorge Visit

We spent three wonderful days in the Columbia Gorge for Cris' birthday, complete with sunny weather, wine tasting, great food, and a wildflower hike! The Columbia Gorge Hotel was built in 1912, and still has the Victorian charm of yesteryear with period furnishings, paintings, and lovely manicured grounds. Our room overlooked the Columbia River, the gardens, and the Wah Gwin Gwin Falls (a Chinook Indian term for rushing waters) that lulled us to sleep each night.
 

We toured the WAAAM museum (Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum) where they have  over a hundred antique airplanes and just as many antique cars in two acres of covered space. It was fun to watch all the videos they had set up to tell the stories behind all these amazing planes and cars, and the people who built and flew/drove them.

 

We hiked Rowena Crest Trailhead to see the stunning views of the Columbia Gorge and the fields of wildflowers.

(Selfie!)

The history of the Misoula floods and the formation of the Gorge is facsinating and is told in this PBS program:     http://www.opb.org/television/programs/ofg/episodes/1001/

(You may have to open this in a new window - I'm not getting it to automatically open! Its worth the time to view it, though!)

We visited Maryhill Winery (Maryhill, Washington - an hour drive from Hood River) and enjoyed their award winning wines and the view!

On the way home today, we stopped by Multnomah Falls and the Vista House.

A relaxing, fun, and great trip! Happy Birthday, Cris!!