Day One – What a Difference a Month Makes

Wood’s Prairie takes to the road again. Our destination this trip is to the desert southwest red rock country. Specific plans? Nope, whichever way the wind blows us. We are hopeful that we can avoid too many large crowds, but we’ll see.

Day one saw us heading east on I-84 in Oregon up the Columbia Gorge. As it turns out, we travelled this same road one year and one month earlier on our jaunt down to Texas to see the total eclipse of the sun. However, what a difference one month makes in the Pacific Northwest!

The first thing we noticed was that there weren’t snow patches in the shady areas of the gorge’s basalt cliffs. Of course, that meant that there were far fewer waterfalls splashing down the crevices of those basalt columns. I snapped a picture of Oregon’s famed Multnomah Falls. That is a favorite spot for visitors, especially in the spring, as was indicated when the parking lot was so full that it was closed when we drove past.

Our next observation was that the varying shades of springtime greens were vibrant. From the light green of the new alder leaves, the dark green of the conifers, the dusky green of sagebrush, and every shade in between, the gorge of the Columbia River was alive. There were dogwood trees in full bloom and hillsides covered in purple and white lupines. As we travelled further east, we began to see clumps of light pink phlox hidden in protected pockets.

Last year and one month ago we travelled through a cold and drab late winter landscape, but this drive was full of springtime colors. Our day ended at the Echo Ridge Winery for a Harvest Host stay.  Echo is a small town tucked in the rolling hills of vineyards a short distance off the highway. This has become a favorite stop for us, not only for the wine. The train whistle that blows frequently in this little hamlet signaled the start of another road trip for us.



 



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