Months ago while planning our trip to Washington, I contacted my friend, Todd, to arrange a visit. He suggested that we could fly over to Eastern Washington for the annual Desert Aire Fly-in. That sounded good to me, so we put it on the calendar.
Here it is several months later and the day has finally arrived. We got an early start and arrived at Renton Airport (KRNT) earlier than I've ever managed before. Todd prepared for the flight while I enjoyed the beautiful, cool morning sunshine.
The flight across the Cascade Mountains was beautiful. I could see peaks including Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Hood to the south. Our route took us along interstate 90, past the towns of Cle Elum and Ellensburg. We turned south as we approached the Columbia River and landed at Desert Aire Airport. According to Wikipedia:
The area is sometimes referred to as 'The Palm Springs of Washington', a moniker also proclaimed by a billboard at the entrance to the community.
Desert Aire has some of the hottest temperatures in Washington during the summer and is one of the driest places in the state, being located in the rain shadow of the Cascades.
Average temperatures in July are a maximum of 91 and a minimum of 64. In January, the average maximum is 40 and the minimum is 26. Rainfall averages only 7 inches (180 mm) per year and the average snowfall is 6 inches (150 mm).
Desert Aire hosts a Pancake Breakfast at the airport every year near Father's Day. The price was right and I was completely satisfied with my meal. I did feel bad for the gentleman manning the pancake station. He flopped two pancakes onto the floor during the time I was working my my past. Too bad there wasn't a hungry dog in the area.
After eating, we were shuttled back to the plane and headed back to Renton. Along the way, we passed Suncadia Resort. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Suncadia:
The resort is a joint undertaking between Jeld-Wen and managing partner Lowe Enterprises. When completed, the $1 billion project will feature a mountain lodge with convention center facilities, village center with restaurants and shops, a mountain springs themed spa, a sports center with indoor and outdoor swimming pools, an outdoor venue amphitheater/lake with winter ice skating, trails and recreational areas, 2,000 residential units, and three golf courses. Two of the golf courses have been completed as of 2006.
Thank you Todd for sharing this fantastic flight with me. I owe you one.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Monday, June 10, 2013
Columbia Gorge Waterfalls
After a weekend of graduation activities and with family going back to work, it was time to start thinking about what was next. One option that everyone liked was seeing the waterfalls of the Columbia Gorge. The weather forecast was looking good for Monday afternoon, so the plan was put into motion.
After breakfast, we packed the cooler and loaded the rental Suburban. We needed a big car because we knew we'd be taking a carfull everywhere we went. In addition to myself, Susan, and Andrew, we also had my mom, my aunt Patti, and her grandson Mike. The trip to the gorge was long, but we passed the time calling out bumble bee cars, diggers, and eventually jets arriving and departing Portland.
Our first stop was at a grocery store up on the hill in Troutdale. We bought some ice and snacks, then drove back to a park we passed on the way up the hill. The park had picnic tables and a playground. The challenge was to find a spot in the sun that was protected from the chilly breeze.
After lunch and some playing in the awesome playground, we headed east up the south side of the gorge along the Historic Columbia River Highway. At our first stop, we could see the Columbia River for miles, and Vista House at Crown Point to the east.
Continuing east, we stopped at Vista House. We toured it from top to bottom, enjoying the views and the architecture. They had ice cream in the gift shop, so we had to buy some.
Our next stop was the falls at Guy W. Talbot State Park. To see the falls, we had to do a short hike through the woods. The boys loved it and I knew we picked a winner with this trip.
The next stop was Bridal Veil Falls. This falls also required a little bit of hiking - something the boys were very excited to do.
Our final waterfall of the day was the big one - Multnomah Falls. Multnomah Falls is easily one of the most famous falls in the U.S. I can't count how many calendars I've seen featuring its distinctive double falls separated by the walking bridge.
Although I'd visited this falls before, I had never followed the trail to the top. The boys were all gung-ho about climbing to the top, so we went for it. The trail was about 1.25 miles long and climbed about 700 feet, actually passing the top along a ridge and dropping back down to the creek on the other side. The trail was marked with signs indicating what switchback you were passing. It was narrow and fell off quickly in places, which required me to keep a close eye on the boys. I told Mike that his mom would kill me if I let him slip and fall down that mountain!
At the end of the trail, there's a small platform overlooking the falls and the gorge. If you are afraid of heights, then you probably won't be interested in walking out and looking down.
We then continued east until the highway merged with I-84. We followed this up the gorge to the park near the Cascade Locks Historical Museum, at the foot of the Bridge of the Gods. We had another picnic, then went exploring around the old locks. The boys were fascinated by the currents flowing through the narrow locks and spent way too long throwing pine cones in and watching them get caught up in the many violent whirlpools in the river.
Before returning home, we made one last stop for ice cream and watched a train go by. We crossed over the Columbia River and drove west along WA-14.
After breakfast, we packed the cooler and loaded the rental Suburban. We needed a big car because we knew we'd be taking a carfull everywhere we went. In addition to myself, Susan, and Andrew, we also had my mom, my aunt Patti, and her grandson Mike. The trip to the gorge was long, but we passed the time calling out bumble bee cars, diggers, and eventually jets arriving and departing Portland.
Our first stop was at a grocery store up on the hill in Troutdale. We bought some ice and snacks, then drove back to a park we passed on the way up the hill. The park had picnic tables and a playground. The challenge was to find a spot in the sun that was protected from the chilly breeze.
After lunch and some playing in the awesome playground, we headed east up the south side of the gorge along the Historic Columbia River Highway. At our first stop, we could see the Columbia River for miles, and Vista House at Crown Point to the east.
Continuing east, we stopped at Vista House. We toured it from top to bottom, enjoying the views and the architecture. They had ice cream in the gift shop, so we had to buy some.
Our next stop was the falls at Guy W. Talbot State Park. To see the falls, we had to do a short hike through the woods. The boys loved it and I knew we picked a winner with this trip.
The next stop was Bridal Veil Falls. This falls also required a little bit of hiking - something the boys were very excited to do.
Our final waterfall of the day was the big one - Multnomah Falls. Multnomah Falls is easily one of the most famous falls in the U.S. I can't count how many calendars I've seen featuring its distinctive double falls separated by the walking bridge.
Although I'd visited this falls before, I had never followed the trail to the top. The boys were all gung-ho about climbing to the top, so we went for it. The trail was about 1.25 miles long and climbed about 700 feet, actually passing the top along a ridge and dropping back down to the creek on the other side. The trail was marked with signs indicating what switchback you were passing. It was narrow and fell off quickly in places, which required me to keep a close eye on the boys. I told Mike that his mom would kill me if I let him slip and fall down that mountain!
At the end of the trail, there's a small platform overlooking the falls and the gorge. If you are afraid of heights, then you probably won't be interested in walking out and looking down.
We then continued east until the highway merged with I-84. We followed this up the gorge to the park near the Cascade Locks Historical Museum, at the foot of the Bridge of the Gods. We had another picnic, then went exploring around the old locks. The boys were fascinated by the currents flowing through the narrow locks and spent way too long throwing pine cones in and watching them get caught up in the many violent whirlpools in the river.
Before returning home, we made one last stop for ice cream and watched a train go by. We crossed over the Columbia River and drove west along WA-14.
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