9/365

We both took it easy today after our Dog Mountain hike yesterday.  Jeff did a bit of windsurfing while Gabrielle and I explored a Saturday farmers market.

Fresh cherries from the market

8/365

Today we drove all the way out to Horsethief Lake State Park to see the pictographs, only to discover that we should have called ahead to book a tour for the main exhibit.  Luckily a lot of them were displayed outside, so the trip wasn't entirely in vain.

I think one of the highlights of this trip for Gabrielle has been gobbling up all the fresh fruit available here.  This girl certainly loves her fruit!

You Capture

7/365

Gabrielle petting a friendly guinea pig at the Hood River County Fair

One of the many interesting animals we saw at the fair



6/365

I'm happy to say that there were no cougar sightings during our hike to Tamanawas Falls yesterday evening.  I wasn't really happy with the way some of my pictures turned out but it was still beautiful to see.


Tamanawas Falls in the evening

Mountain stream beside the Tamanawas trail

Wild honeysuckle

Wild lilies

5/365

Monday was so much fun that it completely made up for the day before.  Gabrielle and I went to visit an alpaca farm in the morning, where we got to see the most adorable newborns.  Gabrielle was a little afraid at first, but she soon warmed up to them.

 Later in the day we went for a hike on the Washington side of the river.  We saw all sorts of interesting moss covered trees during our first hiking attempt but had to turn around after a cougar sighting.

 We drove a little further and hiked to the top of Beacon Rock instead, where we were rewarded with an amazing view of the Gorge.

4/365

Yesterday was probably one of my most memorable (if not most pleasant) birthdays.  It began with my daughter barfing all over me first thing in the morning and ended with being stuck behind a flipped transport truck on I-84 for hours.  Oh well, today should be a lot more fun.

The Columbia River Gorge in the evening from highway 14 in Washington

3/365

Today we hiked up to the top of Multnomah Falls, which was quite the hike considering it was only one and a quarter miles high.  I was rather impressed with all the little kids who made it up to the top while we were all huffing and puffing (except for Gabrielle, who enjoyed a free ride on her dad's back).  It was steep, but worth the hike.  The local legend is that these falls were created for a princess who wanted a private place to bath.

I was disappointed because I made the hike all the way up and part way back down before realizing that my lens was still in autofocus and a lot of the pictures that I had been taking were completely unsalvageable.  Even so, it was a great day.  I would have liked to practice with a tripod but it wouldn't fit in my suitcase on the way here, so I had to make do without it.

Top of the falls

Pool part way down

2/365

The weather was perfect today, with a nice view of Mount Adams out the front window.  I love the way I can be in shorts and a t-shirt while looking at snow covered mountains.

Some of the trees here are so tall, which seems odd in this desert type climate (part of You Capture at I Should Be Folding Laundry).   Below Mount Adams is the Columbia River, to which we came 4000 km for my husband to windsurf.

The wind was also pretty good today and I had loads of fun practicing on all the wind and kite surfers.  I was sure the windsurfer below was going to smash into those rocks but he quite competently managed to avoid them.

1/365

Today is officially the first full day of my family vacation as well as my 365 day photo project (what better time to start than while on vacation in a beautiful place, surrounded by gorgeous scenery).  I'm not sure how this project will unfold or where I'll be at the end of the year but at least I'll have some precious memories to look back on.  I think that for the first part of this project I'm going to work on getting crisp, clear, properly exposed photos and learning to shoot in manual.  Post processing is definately on my list of things to learn but first things first.  If there are any seasoned photographers out there, please have mercy on me and remember and that I'm only an amateur.

The view from our condo today was amazing and these pictures simply don't do it justice.  I wanted to get a picture of the famous Mount Hood but that's just going to have to wait for another (not so foggy day).

Welcome to Hood River



View of the fog covered mountain tops from the porch of our condo



More cloud covered moutain tops