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Our big family gathering was Christmas Eve at my sister's home in Portland. Christmas Day my wife, son, daughter, and I checked out waterfalls east of Portland on the Oregon side of the Columbia Gorge prior to dinner at the home of my other sister in Vancouver. All photos were taken with my 7DII + 17-35 wide angle zoom.
First stop was the one room U.S. Post Office in Bridal Veil. More on Bridal Veil later.
The post office is famous for being used by people to send out invitations.
Next stop was to look for the restrooms at Wahkeena Falls.
The rest rooms at Wahkeena Falls were closed, but Multnomah Falls was only a quarter mile east on the old highway. The trail starts at the Visitor's Center and ends at Larch Mountain. The mileage is a bit deceptive as it is straight uphill all the way.
Recent record rainfall in Oregon has created a second upper waterfall near the main falls.
Basin of the lower falls. In 1995 a wedding party was posing for photos on the bridge when a boulder the size of a small bus broke loose from the face of the falls. It crashed into the basin of the upper falls and shattered. The resulting spray of rock and water injured several members of the wedding party.
Looking downstream from the bridge over the lower falls.
The bridge is built over the top of the lower falls, which is difficult to photograph from the bridge.
There were many tourists of Chinese and India-Indian origin at our various stops along the Gorge. Perhaps they felt that everyone else would be home on Christmas Day.
We drove back west to Bridal Veil in search of some family history. My grandfather bought and sold used sawmill machinery. Back in the 50's, he owned the old sawmill at Bridal Veil, which was closed. The property included the townsite and half the falls.
Off the old highway is a parking lot with restrooms, signage, and a trail leading to the lookout across from the falls.
I have several old books on logging and sawmills of the PNW that my grandfather gave to me. I'll have to look through them for photos and info about the sawmill at Bridal Veil.
We walked to the falls. Photographing all the falls on this trip was difficult due to the unique lighting conditions. Although it was overcast and very dark, the rushing water was very bright. I had to shoot at negative exposure compensation to avoid over-exposing the shots. In retrospect, I should have been using my 5DIII both for its full frame sensor with its wider viewing angle and ability to better handle high ISO settings necessary for using higher shutter speeds.
A dilapidated structure, possibly a log boom, in the hollow that was once the mill pond. There is no water in the pond as the creek now by-passes it.
An old building on the site of the old sawmill. The open space in the back was probably the mill grounds as well.
We concluded our little trip with a stop at Crown Point and its famous Vista House.
Many of you will probably recognize these views, as Crown Point is a popular location to film new car commercials. Stylized paintings of the views are often used in print ads.
Looking east. Oregon is on the south (right) bank of the Columbia River with Washington on the north (left) bank.
Old highway on the right, which winds steeply downhill.
Looking west towards Portland and Vancouver. That is I-84 at the bottom of the photo. Although it doesn't show up in this photo, the I-205 bridge can be seen on the far horizon. The white "smoke" is from the pulp mills at Camas, WA.
Now is the time to take a photo trip to the Columbia Gorge. The waterfalls are out in full force due to recent heavy rains. With the leaves off the trees, much more is visible "behind the scenes."
nice series, Bill! it's tough to photograph those falls in that kind of light. i've tried shooting Multnomah in dim, gray light, and never been happy with the results. you can definitely see more of Wahkeena with the leaves off the trees, though!
in 2012 or 2013, a rock broke off the top of the cliff at Multnomah and fell, bounced off the cliff and scored a direct hit on the bridge... knocked about a 3-foot hole right through the concrete, right where the railing and the bridge deck come together at about midspan. they had to close the bridge for several months while repairs were made. luckily no one was on the bridge at the time, so there were no injuries...
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