August 26, 2018, I was up and on my way early Sunday morning. I had a 4 1/2/ hour drive to Fallon where I would be seeing a couple of friends from high school and staying overnight. Over the next few days, I stopped off in Reno and spent time with more friends from high school, then headed up to Washington State via Susanville, Klamath Falls and on up over Mount Hood into Portland Oregon on Thursday, August 30th. I decided to take a drive to the Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls. I had the opportunity to make a few visits to this area over the two years that my son had lived in Portland. Last year in September of 2017 the Eagle Creek Fire went through the area and I wanted to see how things looked. I discovered that the exits to Crown Point/Vista House were open as well as a couple of nearby smaller falls and hiking trails. Beyond that Highway 30 scenic byway was closed to the larger Multnomah Falls. So I got back on I-84 and drove to the exit for the Multnomah Falls. I pulled into the parking lot and made the short walk through the tunnel that goes under the freeway……it was good to see that the Lodge and the falls themselves had come through the fire unscathed. The parking lot on the side of the falls, of the freeway, was fenced off as well as a portion of Highway 30 that goes beyond the falls. Tourists are still able to make the 1/4 mile walk to the upper bridge but the trails beyond that are closed due to fire damage. The falls as always were beautiful and I never tire of seeing them. It was really sad to see so much of the area closed off and the fencing which took away from the natural setting and beauty of the area. After leaving the Falls I got back on Highway 84 and made my way to the Bridge of the Gods. Along the way, I saw the exit to one of the state parks and the fish hatchery was closed off, I could see for miles where the upper hillside was burned as well as some areas where the fire came all the way down to the freeway.
The drive from Multnomah Falls to The Bridge of the Gods is just 13 miles. The Bridge of the Gods is a steel truss cantilever bridge that spans the Columbia River between Cascade Locks, Oregon and Washington state near the Bonneville Dam. There is a $2.00 toll to cross. There is a Native American Legend about The Bridge of Gods you can find at this link https://en.m.wikipedia.org.
After crossing the bridge I made a left onto Hwy 14 and followed the scenic route along the Columbia River Gorge to Washougal where I then caught I-5 to Gig Harbor/Key Peninsula/Olympic Peninsula area to spend 3 weeks with friends and family.
