Columbia River Gorge - Day 3 Oct 16

On Saturday morning when I stepped out of our van at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center I was greeted by this sunrise across the mighty Columbia River.  A great start to the day. In spite of planning to stay one more day in the Gorge, and travel home on Sunday, we felt finished here, and decided our preference was to travel home on a dry day rather than in the rain that was expected for Sunday. As we headed west on the Historic Columbia River Highway we enjoyed bight sunshine and vibrant fall colors, but we could see ahead that the clouds still filled the Gorge further west. We made a quick decision to hang back for a while in the sunshine, and at Rowena crossed over to Mayer State Park East to do some birding. 

A Great Blue Heron at rivers edge immediately caught our attention, and we quickly gathered our birding gear and an extra layer of clothes against the cold, to investigate the area.  A slight wind appeared to give the heron a bad hair day look. As we started to make our way along the beach, we suddenly heard the pop, pop, pop of shotguns around the bend. We quickly realized, that was the end of hoping to find any water fowl. Shortly we saw hunters packing out a grass covered blind, and bags of decoys to their pick-ups where they removed their camouflaged waders and hunting gear. It struck me as strange, that the very birds we were seeking to identify, count, and photograph, were the very birds they targeted to shoot and kill. We decided to move on.

We stopped for a lunch break at Rooster Rock State Park.  Here an elderly couple were engaged in taking scenic photos of the river and the fall colors.  Some young families with children were enjoying exploring trails along the shoreline. From there it was a tense battle of congestion through the greater Portland area on 205 and I-5.  A little shopping at Keizer Station provided a reset, and then from Salem out to the quiet of rural Dallas, our home.

All in all, our shared time with Kordell and Patty in the amazingly beautiful environs of the Columbia River Gorge made for an outstanding trip.