Exploring Day

   Wednesday was an exploring day.  A day to forgo projects and look around.  We have been recommending to our visitors at Fort Vancouver that they spend a day and take a trip up the Columbia Gorge.  It was time to take our own advice: both for pleasure and as an information gathering venture.
    Late morning, we drove out I-84 to exit 22, then up the hill through Corbett to Hwy 30 and turned east.  Lots of curves and lots of trees as Hwy 30 travels along the edge of the gorge, when the trees alllow it, providing great views of the Columbia Gorge just to the north. 

First stop was the Women's Forum State Scenic Viewpoint.  In 1912 the Chanticleer Inn was built there to provide food and lodging for overnight travelers. The inn burned down in 1930.  The Portland Women's Forum purchased the property in the 1950s to preserve the viewpoint from commercial exploitation.  I'm glad they did.

   From the spot the you get a good view upriver with Crown Point in the distance.  If you look further upriver into the smoke, you can spot Beacon Rock on the Washington side 20 miles away.

In the second photo the distance gets shorter thanks to the camera's zoom.  The building is lots of fun to visit.  I will write more later and include photos taken there.

Take a day.  Do the drive.