Day 36, the drive to Portland was very pretty. If you look close on the left, you will see a tractor trailer. I took this picture to put the size of the hills into perspective. 
It is believed that Stonehenge served as a burial ground from its earliest beginnings, dating as early as 3000 BC, when the first ditches were being constructed around the monument. Burials continued at Stonehenge for at least another 500 years.
Day 37, we visited the Japanese Garden for a guided tour. The goal of a Japanese garden is that upon entering you should realize peace, harmony, and tranquility. The three primary elements of every Japanese Garden are stone, water and plants.
It’s hard to imagine how devastating it must have been to be there during the eruption.
The last 100 miles of our trip, we stayed on interstate, as opposed to the scenic route the rest of the group followed, in order to get to the camping world to pick up our fridge. Well, they didn’t have it… Now we are being promised it will be there on Monday, so another weekend without a refrigerator.
Enroute, we stopped at what is known as a replica of Stonehenge. Stonehenge is a world famous prehistoric monument in the English county of Wiltshire.
Enroute, we stopped at what is known as a replica of Stonehenge. Stonehenge is a world famous prehistoric monument in the English county of Wiltshire.
It is believed that Stonehenge served as a burial ground from its earliest beginnings, dating as early as 3000 BC, when the first ditches were being constructed around the monument. Burials continued at Stonehenge for at least another 500 years.
Day 37, we visited the Japanese Garden for a guided tour. The goal of a Japanese garden is that upon entering you should realize peace, harmony, and tranquility. The three primary elements of every Japanese Garden are stone, water and plants.
The Rose Gardens are world famous. They were just beautiful. I was surprised that out of many of the roses I smelled, only a few had a fragrance.
Someone got a picture of it; you could barely see the bridge. We understand that 4 people, who were standing on the bridge at the time, were sent to the hospital. I looked closely at the Falls before I decided to take a look from the bridge.
Bonneville Lock and Dam, built in 1933, was the first federal locks and dam on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. We did not tour the dam, but we did check out the fish hatchery and fish ladder, shown below.
Day 38, we had a beautiful drive through the Columbia Gorge with a lead car, because some of the road it was necessary with a huge tour bus. The Crown Point Vista House was our first stop where we had a beautiful view of the Columbia River and Beacon Rock off in a distance. 
The Vista House was built in memory of the men who built the road that got us there, through the town of Corbin.
At Multnomah Falls we had a wonderful buffet brunch. We were so stuffed, we didn’t eat the rest of the day. The area has a total of 10 falls. In the 1980s a 400 ton rock fell from the Falls into the area just above the bridge.
At Multnomah Falls we had a wonderful buffet brunch. We were so stuffed, we didn’t eat the rest of the day. The area has a total of 10 falls. In the 1980s a 400 ton rock fell from the Falls into the area just above the bridge.
Someone got a picture of it; you could barely see the bridge. We understand that 4 people, who were standing on the bridge at the time, were sent to the hospital. I looked closely at the Falls before I decided to take a look from the bridge.
Bonneville Lock and Dam, built in 1933, was the first federal locks and dam on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. We did not tour the dam, but we did check out the fish hatchery and fish ladder, shown below.
This fishway allows migratory adult fish to continue their migration from the sea upstream to tributaries of the Columbia and Snake Rivers. At each fishway, a worker counts the various species of adult fish moving up the fish ladder. This information has been recorded at Bonneville since 1938 and helps the biologists track increases and decreases in fish runs. Between 700,000 and 1.5 million upstream migrant adult salmon and steelhead, and an estimated 24 to 43 million downstream migrant salmon and steelhead fingerlings, pass Bonneville Dam in an average year. Shad, sturgeon, lamprey and other species are also seen. In the hatchery they have some huge sturgeons, which they have named “Herb.”
We ended our day at Oregon City’s Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. They had a great movie and a guide who showed us some of the items the wagon trains would have loaded. The wagons would have carried a few thousand pounds, but as they traveled and the horses, oxen, or mules were injured, things had to be tossed out of the wagon. It must have been heartbreaking to discard a family heirloom. 
Day 39, we met early to board our luxury motor coach with our wonderful driver, Cindy. She did a fantastic detour the night before to get us home. Seems someone was on the bridge that we needed to cross to get to our campground. He had a knife, gun, and bow and arrow. The bridge was closed for hours, but Cindy found a way to get us to our destination with only 1 hour delay.
We had a beautiful drive to Mt. St. Helen, stopping off at the visitor’s center, where we saw a film about the 1980 eruption. The eruption knocked trees down for 17 miles and the ash actually floated around the world. The force was so great that it forced the waters from Spirit Lake to form 2 other lakes and raised Spirit Lake 200 feet.
Most of the damage from the eruption has been restored somewhat by plantings,
however, at a certain elevation at the tops of the hills, plantings were not allowed so that they could see what happens naturally. It’s been 28 years and no much as grown…..
It’s an amazing site.
The lightening from the Mt. St. Helen eruption was shooting across at the other mountains. The eruption caused a hill slide on the north side. The hill slide down into the lake and Snake River. I was like an avalanche of huge trees and mud. People on the other side of the mountain never heard a thing. The sound seem to only travel to the north side. As the rushing water, mud and threes rushed down Snake River, people who were fishing were caught by surprise. One person interviewed said he climbed onto a huge tree & road downstream for miles. He was fishing with his girlfriend. Sitting on the log, he searched for her, thought he lost her. Then all of a sudden he saw her hair. He grabbed it & pulled her onto the log. She fell of 3 times before they found safety downstream. A rescue unit on the river bank yelled at them to hurry & get out because another waive of water was 15 min. behind them. We understand the couple never married, I guess she didn’t like the date.
Harry Truman, 86 years old, was the owner of the lodge on Spirit Lake, at the bottom of the mountain. Authorities warned Harry that the mountain was going to erupt and he needed to evacuate. Harry said in an interview, which we saw on the film, that there was no way the mountain was going to erupt at the magnitude they were predicting, that he was a part of the mountain and he was staying there. Poor Harry’s body was never found. He is somewhere 200 feet beneath …..Below, left, is a picture of where the lake used to be at the foot of the mountain.
Day 39, we met early to board our luxury motor coach with our wonderful driver, Cindy. She did a fantastic detour the night before to get us home. Seems someone was on the bridge that we needed to cross to get to our campground. He had a knife, gun, and bow and arrow. The bridge was closed for hours, but Cindy found a way to get us to our destination with only 1 hour delay.
We had a beautiful drive to Mt. St. Helen, stopping off at the visitor’s center, where we saw a film about the 1980 eruption. The eruption knocked trees down for 17 miles and the ash actually floated around the world. The force was so great that it forced the waters from Spirit Lake to form 2 other lakes and raised Spirit Lake 200 feet.
Most of the damage from the eruption has been restored somewhat by plantings,
however, at a certain elevation at the tops of the hills, plantings were not allowed so that they could see what happens naturally. It’s been 28 years and no much as grown…..
It’s an amazing site.
The lightening from the Mt. St. Helen eruption was shooting across at the other mountains. The eruption caused a hill slide on the north side. The hill slide down into the lake and Snake River. I was like an avalanche of huge trees and mud. People on the other side of the mountain never heard a thing. The sound seem to only travel to the north side. As the rushing water, mud and threes rushed down Snake River, people who were fishing were caught by surprise. One person interviewed said he climbed onto a huge tree & road downstream for miles. He was fishing with his girlfriend. Sitting on the log, he searched for her, thought he lost her. Then all of a sudden he saw her hair. He grabbed it & pulled her onto the log. She fell of 3 times before they found safety downstream. A rescue unit on the river bank yelled at them to hurry & get out because another waive of water was 15 min. behind them. We understand the couple never married, I guess she didn’t like the date.
Harry Truman, 86 years old, was the owner of the lodge on Spirit Lake, at the bottom of the mountain. Authorities warned Harry that the mountain was going to erupt and he needed to evacuate. Harry said in an interview, which we saw on the film, that there was no way the mountain was going to erupt at the magnitude they were predicting, that he was a part of the mountain and he was staying there. Poor Harry’s body was never found. He is somewhere 200 feet beneath …..Below, left, is a picture of where the lake used to be at the foot of the mountain.
It’s hard to imagine how devastating it must have been to be there during the eruption.
Hey! We were just there!
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