Oregon's Historic Highway 30 ---with a "painterly" eye

From Troutdale, just east of Portland, Highway 30 runs along the mountains above the Columbia River and above I-84, the only west-east freeway in the state.   It twists and turns and provides a beautiful view of the area.  I was able to photograph fall along the highway, only to discover my photos were all "soft."  I blame it on a new lens I use, which has disappointed me with focusing from the beginning.  So I chose some of my favorite views and edited them with Topaz's Impression 2, a "paint" effect.  I can capture the color but not the details, unfortunately.

The view west 

 The view east

 Looking into Washington state across the Columbia

 Latourelle Falls

 Beautiful bridge work at Latourelle Falls

Most of the old highway features these wonderful white wooden guardrails.

Week #4 P52

Our recent trip to Hillsboro made it easy to come back along a portion of the historic Columbia River highway 30.  It was raining and cold, but we stopped at three of the falls on the drive.  The second was Wahkeena Falls, which drops 242 feet in height from an elevation of 560 feet.  On another trip, I'll walk up to the bridge for a totally different perspective. 

For additional reference, I'm including a photo of the origin of the falls. 

From the Passenger Side

Driving the length of the Columbia Gorge is a necessity for getting from NE Oregon to the west side, Hillsboro in particular.  Last week, my husband and I did just that, in order to provide some baby care for our young granddaughter, who was ill.  Both parents work, so retired grandparents love to step in when they can.  The weather was dreary, but I always try to find subjects to photograph on the 5-hour trip. There were two stops for photos: one at Cascade Locks to photograph Bridge of the Gods, which crosses the Columbia into Washington state, and one on the way home at the remaining stands of trees at Boardman Tree Farm.

Heading west

On the way back east

The Gorge Will Never Be the Same

A week ago, my husband and I made the drive across Oregon from rural to urban...to spend a few days with our first--and only--grandchild, ginger-haired Ava Maeve.  She's not quite 5 months old, so has changed so much since we last saw her in early July.  The drive takes nearly 5 hours, if we make our obligatory stop at The Dalles.

A little more than halfway, the Columbia Gorge begins...one of the most beautiful "wild" areas of Oregon, home to hundreds of miles of hiking trails up forested mountains, and home to 77 waterfalls, the most famous is Multnomah Falls.  Today, the forested area of the Gorge is on fire, the victim of a teenager with fireworks.  Things will NEVER be the same again in the Gorge. Generally, I don't do a lot of photography from the car, and we didn't stop because the Gorge area was full of Labor Day visitors.  However, I actually took a photo right at the exit to Cascade Locks, a small town on the river, which has now been evacuated because of the fire.

View of the burning Columbia River Gorge from Washington side of the Columbia River
(dylan taylor photo)

These photos are just "typical" sights along I-84 to and from...  some sights will never be the same after this fire.

Three modes of transportation so important to the state: a tug, a train, and trucks.

View west into the smoke caused by multiple wild fires in the state. 

Railroad bridge across the Columbia from Oregon to Washington

Smoke illustrates the layers of the landscape in the Gorge. 

Exit to Cascade Locks, riverside town forced to evacuate by the Eagle Creek Fire

Young Bighorn Sheep rams grazing on the dry terrain along I-84. This

       sighting was on the return to Northeastern Oregon. 

Wind turbines are common in this part of Oregon and across the river in Washington.

It might be an interstate, but the combines have to get from one harvesting area to another!

A famous tree farm near Boardman has been reduced to a few small stands of trees, making way

for more productive crops .