 Ron Pack things away preparing to leave Whitefish. |
 Whitefish's station is an old fashioned beauty! |
 Along the Columbia River Gorge electricity is the 'game.' Hydro and wind...take your pick! |
 It's beaufiful no matter which...too bad we can't see the river on this side of the train! |
 The gorge is a water-gouged trench! |
 Old building along the way. |
 Fishermen along the Columbia River. |
 Industry along the way...seems you can't get away from it no matter what! |
 And some is ughlier than others. |
 Along hte Williamette River approaching Portland. |
 Ronnie meets us at the station. Doesn't he look excited to see us? This isn't the best photo from the batch. I'll replce it soon |
 W/ ear to the phone...never out of touch with his world! |
 Ron gets as excited about cameras as I do. |
 He hasn't changed much in a year's time. |
 We meet Jordan for lunch. |
 Maeple relaxing. |
 Waiting in liine to pay for purchases at IKEA. |
 We end the day with meatballs at IKEA! Great idea! |
 Sept. 19 Dawns rainy and warm and we head, after spending time with the dogs... |
 Ronnie washes the dishes. |
 And puts them away as the doggies watch. |
 We take our time over coffee and tea. |
 And doggies are very friendly! |
 Olive loves jordan's socks. |
 "Try it! You'll like it!" |
 Ron checks out his ipod. |
 Jordan has her coffee. |
 We stop at Powell's Bookstore in Portland. |
 The girls take their... |
 marching orders. |
 There's a display of photographs on the Purple Floor. |
 Roses are still in bloom in Alberta...a neighborhood of Portland. |
 Don't crowd me," would be an appropriate response to this! |
 Sept. 20: Morning in the Thompson/Conant kitchen |
 After morning coffee; we head out for Mt. St. Helen's. |
 |
 Ron |
 Perhaps this mist is from the Mountain? |
 Look at the huge pine cones on these trees. |
 At the visitor's center they show how ground motion is measured. |
 Ron takes a picture. |
 Here are the 'old folks' posing before the mountain. |
 Looks like a moonscape after all these years! |
 Peace, buddy! |
 Visitor's Center from outside. |
 See the trunks of dead trees on the hillside? This is opposite the volucano. |
 This tree spiraled. |
 Rocks imbedded in the roots of a dead tree. |
 Good-bye Ron and Jordan. |
 Ron and Jordan getting a closer look...looking for elk. |
 At the visitor's center. |
 A lighted map shows where the ash went. |
 from the observation deck outside, we see this... |
 and this. |
 Then to get a better view, we walk up the hill. |
 Where we get a good view of this! |
 and this! |
 Then we stop at a Mexican Restaurant for lunch on the way home. Yummmmm! |
 Sept. 21; We head out for dinner after a day's work. |
 Sept. 22 We head out for Whole Foods and to meet Prudy and Paul in Portland |
 ....for lunch. |
 But Whole Foods has lots of flowers and veggies that are too pretty... |
 .....to pass up. |
 We kill time at Powell's as we wait for Prudy and Paul. |
 Then we have lunch at Jakes, thanks Prudy and Paul! |
 Weds. Ron plays w/ Olive. |
 "Yummmmmm, you taste good!" |
 The front garden trhives. |
 We visit Sauvie Island via the St. Johns Bridge. |
 Watch the riders on Sauvie Island! |
 It looks out onto the Columbia River. |
 And there are beaches along the way, now closed. |
 Ron makes tea and... |
 Ronnie picks veggies from the... |
 ...front garden, with Jordan's help. |
 Beans, cukes and tomatoes! |
 There still are tomato blossoms and... |
 plenty of yellow tomatoes. |
 Dinner out... |
 Saturday in Portland early in the day finds us.. |
 ....at the waterfront. |
 Burnside Bridge crosses the Willamette River. |
 Jordan tries on earrings. |
 and this boy tries on his saw. |
 People wheel by with their dogs. |
 And these young men play the plastic pails. |
 Sounds pretty good! |
 Wire sculpture at the fair... |
 Ron takes pictures. |
 And there are the ever-present homeless. |
 Marine museum tower. |
 waterfront tugboat display on the Willamette. |
 A woman tries out her japanese umbrella. |
 more homeless rest on the sidewalk. |
 There's interesting old architecture near the market. |
 Whole Foods for coffee on Sunday Morning. |
 |
 Olive smiles. |
 Later Saturday we make the trip to Multnomah Falls east of the city. |
 What a place! |
 This two-level falls fascinates. |
 |
 And there's a crowd to see it. |
 |
 |
 Amazing! |
 Crowds check out the bridge. |
 Sunday AM we head into Portland for breakfast and while we wait for a table... |
 ...a girl kills time doing gymnastics. |
 Handstands in the parking lot kill time as she waits. |
 Ron and Jordan have better uses of time! |
 Breakfast is GOOD! |
 Outside on the sidewalk gets us a seat without a long wait! |
 An Alzheimer's walk marches by. |
 Yup, Mother's is VERY good! |
 Ron and Jordan kill time |
 while Ron takes photos. |
 Then we walk the street exploring. |
 Put a quarter in and find out what happens. |
 It's a hokey window. |
 And we spend some time checking it out. |
 Iinteresting buildings... |
 ...and Abe Lincoln in the Arts District. |
 and a Sunday church (Congregational) near the museum. |
 Sitting in the sun warms us. |
 This is the view I have much of the time...backs all the way! |
 Congregational Church steeple. |
 Then at the zoo there's a birthday party. |
 Downtown Portland |
 Then we stop at the Rose Gardens where Ron buys us all edible roses. Eat up, Ron! |
 September 29: Doggies take it easy as we pack. |
 It's a sad day when we leave Oregon! |
 We'll miss Ron, Jordan, Maeple, Olive and Chyna! |
 Chyna makes herself comfortable on our bed. |
 Without processing she looks yellow! |
 Dinner out our last evening in Portland. |
 Whoop! Raise your paw, if..... |
 Chyna helps Ron pack... |
 ...from the safety of her bag! |
 Olive is quiet....amazing! |
 Somewhere along the Columbia Gorge last night... |
 ...similar view. |
 It's getting darker! |
 And darker.. |
 ...and the sky's prettier as it darkens. |
 Yup. |
 It just goes on and... |
 ....on...yes, the Gorge is rather long! |
 It just goes on and... |
 ...on and... |
 ....on and... |
 on and ... |
 ....on! Hey! It's a BIG river! |
 And the clouds are pretty too. |
 This one from further East. |
 We finally arrive to find this... |
 ...headline discouraging us from the woods. |
 And this always says, Glacier again! |
 It's a gray day as we enter the park. |
 And we find the lake even further evaporated! |
 On the way back, we stop at the Montana Trading company. |
 Where someone has a sense of humor! |
 This guy is wooden and carved. |
 Cowboys rule! |
 And we discover a tea cafe in Whitefish...don't you just love the colors? |