Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
A Walk through Hood River in the Columbia River Gorge
Not the river itself of course but the town named after the river.
Last month – before the latest round of lockdowns went into effect – we spent the night in Hood River. Getting there was the best part – traveling the Historic Columbia River Highway through the Columbia Gorge.
There are dozens of waterfalls in the area. I already shared them in earlier posts but what’s a few more pictures among friends? My favorites were Latourell, Horsetail and Multnomah Falls – click to enlarge the slide show.
Hood River is a thirty minute drive east of Multnomah Falls. It was our first time staying there and we picked a hotel on the banks of the Columbia. We woke to sunrise over the river and went out for a walk despite the threat of rain. The path along the waterfront was perfect passing by lovely harbors and a small museum.
We took it as far as the the bridge over Hood River – whose waters flow from the nearby mountain into the Columbia – before heading back to the hotel for breakfast.
It was one of the last times we’d be seated in a restaurant, at least this year. I don’t normally take pictures of my breakfast but this was so pretty I did. Can you guess what it is?
Wrong! It’s baked oatmeal. I loved the berries and whipped cream the most – the ‘oatmeal’ not so much. That’s okay. It came with the room and since I rarely eat breakfast I thought I’d try something new. Bob opted for more traditional fare – eggs, potatoes, pancakes.
Next we headed to the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum where we walked through giant warehouses full of of antique airplanes and cars, one of the most extensive collections in the country.
This was of course my husband’s pick though I admit I enjoyed the colors and history of the cars and planes. Scroll through the gallery if you want to enlarge the pictures.
Behind the museum is one of the best views of Mt. Hood I’ve ever seen.
That’s all for now. Hope you enjoyed the tour. 🙂
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
Enjoyed the tour immensely. And absolutely loved the photo of the breakfast.
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed the tour! And the picture of breakfast! 🙂
I would really like it there, if it wasn’t raining of course!
Love the old cars!
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks Pete. I prefer rain-free travel too! But then – where would the waterfalls be? Fortunately rain didn’t impact the cars and planes! 🙂
So idyllic, almost a part of the past that is being too quickly paved over and turned into strip malls…thanks for sharing this beautiful trip
Thank you so much John! 😊 It really is a trip back in time and yet so close by.
OMG, we love the gorge, Susanne! Best windsurfing spot on the west coast. Even though my hubby regretted leaving our delta windsurf area, he is good enough to withstand the punishing winds June- August. 5 hours from Spokane, bring our trailer or stay with friends for a long weekend…done! We’ll probably see a lot of our windsurf friends from Sacramento there. Anyway, your pics are spectacular, best I’ve seen of the area! I can’t wait to bring my real camera and take pics!
Oh thank you so much! Yes, the Gorge is amazing with so much beauty and so much to do! I was going to mention Hood River is one of the windsurfing capitals of the world, but as I don’t windsurf and it’s the wrong season, I didn’t. 😉 I’m glad you will be able to enjoy the area come summertime!
Great photos. Looks like a fun trip. The gorge is such a beautiful area. I kind of wish I’d spent more time there where I lived in Washington.
Thanks. It really is special. Weve been going there pretty regularly the last few years.
I’ve been to the WAAAM, it is such a fun place. You had some wonderful photos. My favorite of the falls is Horsetail. Multnomah of course is pretty but too touristy for me. Wonderful fun photos and post. 😀
Thank you so much! 🙂 We really enjoyed our time in the Gorge. I think Horsetail is the most beautiful of the falls too and so accessible. And I agree with you about Multnomah; I always stop to see it but there are always so many people there! 🙂
Do people still travel across the bridge in front of the waterfall? Holy cow! I’ll bet that’s an experience. Beautiful pictures as always!
Thanks so much for you comment! 🙂 The first bridge in my post is from underneath the old highway we were traveling on. We hiked under it at the stop for Latourell Falls. The smaller pedestrian ‘bridges’ in front of Multomah Falls are overlooks that you hike to. They are normally open but not during covid.
Maybe another year for the pediatrician bridge. The bridges themselves are gorgeous, but combined with the waterfall, it’s very eye-catching!
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