Boating the Columbia River, WA (Friday, August 23rd, 2019)

We spent two days boating the Columbia River with Sam and Sharyn.  The views are so diverse as you make your way up and down the river.  It changes from low rolling hills, to towering cliffs and small communities dotting the landscape.  The river is huge, about a mile wide and up to 105 feet deep.

Our first day we headed up river toward a community called Crescent Bay, and of course Sam and Sharyn know all of the right places to stop and look.

Their house sits right on the river with incredible views!

This petrified tree is still embedded in the mountain from when the Columbia River Gorge was formed.

The landscape of the rock formations is so dramatic.  They must have been twisted and torn is so many directions at once.

The Gorge Amphitheater sits high on the hill, overlooking the river.  According to Sam and Sharyn, concerts are held most weekends during the summer months, with the biggest being a weekend called Watershed.

Depending on the water levels, there are beautiful sandy beaches where you can park and play for the day.

Small buddhas have been placed on some of the rock shelves along the river.

Even a statue of the Virgin Mary is hiding in one of the caves.

The area around the river used to be extremely arid, until they built the Grand Cooley Dam for farming.  Now the ground water from the irrigation has created springs that have formed beautiful water falls and almost tropical oasis' down near the water.

Our first day of boating the water was like glass most of the day.

The community of Crescent Bay.

More of the dramatic rock hillsides.

Just chill'in.

At the end of our first day of boating the Columbia, we headed back to the beach at their house and did a little more chill'in.  Such a great day with wonderful hosts!

On our way home, we stopped to take a look at one of the many apple orchards that grow along the roads that we travel.  There are new hybrid apples that grow on horizontal wire supports that make them easy to harvest.