I got a late start on my drive to La Grande, OR. I stopped at a truck stop for a hearty breakfast. I soaked in the sights and sounds of the truckers and people on hand to serve their needs. I am always fascinated by the things that you can buy in a truck stop. Unfortunately I was looking for a wire to connect my iPod to the AUX port in my rental car. That way I could listen to my podcasts during the 3+ hour drive that was ahead of me today and is ahead of me again tomorrow afternoon. I’ll have to find a Target or a Wal-Mart.

I stepped off the highway to drive along the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Highway. My first stop was the Portland Women’s Forum State Scenic Viewpoint, OR a scenic overlook that was so beautiful. I got out of the car and took many pictures of the Columbia River and the surrounding landscape. I spotted an interesting looking building in the distance. To me it looked like a Buddhist monestary or something like that.

I drove down to the building and took a look around. It was an interesting building. It is called Vista House. I walked around inside and out. I could not walk around the balcony because ti was closed.

Next I stopped at Wahkeena Falls. The falls were incredible. I don’t know if my photos can do the place justice. I got out of the car and looked up and up and up. Then I said “Whoa!”, but more drawn out, not the Joey Lawrence Version a la Blossom.

I stopped quite a bit on this drive and took many pictures. I filled my memory card and had to perform and emergency transfer of data from the card to my laptop. So I was there in the car downloading images to my laptop while I watched a beautiful waterfall through the trees.

The next stop along the scenic byway was Multnomah Falls. This place had a welcome center, gift shop and restaurant. These falls were even more amazing that the last set of falls. I walked out took a couple of photos with the QuikPod and got a few funny looks from a few other tourists. No one asked what it was however.

I continued on and made one last stop at another falls called Horsetail Falls. This one was also very nice. If you get on out to Oregon and the Portland area and want to go on your own tour check out the National Scenic Byways Program website.

I got to the hotel just as everyone else was ready for dinner. I dropped my bags and caught up with folks and went to dinner with them at Foley Station. The dinner was very good and they had my favorite: Strawberry Lemonade with real strawberries.

I took many photos today and have uploaded them all to Buzznet. They are part of a new gallery called Columbia River Scenic Highway, please visit the images.