The Trail...

 The settlers went around the south side of Mt. Hood to get to the Willamette Valley.  This picture shows the tree line where the forest turns into high desert.

One last tiny flower from a high desert stalk by the barn...

 

From the 1880s, the old wooden grain elevator at Boyd

 

The chute--- It was used for loading or unloading cattle and horses

 

The Barn on Tygh Ridge...

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The sad little Boyd schoolhouse on the hill...

 

The Fence...

 

When there's darkness all around, be the light in the window. To me, that's what Christmas is all about. ❤

 

Christmas Eve, and this crew is lucky--- they'll be home for Christmas. I hope you all have a safe and loving Christmas🎄

 

Below the White River Falls is what's left of one of the very first hydroelectric power plants in Oregon. In approximately 1902 the Wasco Warehouse Milling Company, built this powerhouse to power its major mills in The Dalles, some 40 miles to the north. In 1910, the Wasco Milling Company sold the powerhouse to the Pacific Power and Light Company. It was totally abandoned in 1963. By then power was coming from big dams on the Columbia River.

 

The White River Falls near Tygh Valley, Oregon...

 

Everything is big here...

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Before we head back to the wet side on our virtual trip--- the next few are some of my favorite places from various areas of the dry side.

 

A tiny waterfall makes a nice surprise...

 

Standing guard...

 

It's what makes the dry side so amazing...

 

More castles on the Columbia...

 

More fortresses and castles on the hills along the Columbia River as we head back west---

 

The rear end of a BNSF westbound freight stopped in Wishram to let an eastbound train pass... Waiting for the GO signal from the dispatcher...

 

The two locomotives you see are at the rear of the train while at least two more (and the engineer/engine driver) are at the front.

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In 1926 this monument was created in Wishram to honor the mountain men, explorers, and other pioneers who traveled on the Columbia.

 

I am not related directly to any of these pioneers, but James Nesmith, a cousin to one of my great-great grandfathers, is listed second from the bottom on the right.

Further west, we get to Wishram-- about 500 people living near the BNSF switch yard and Amtrak station.

 

 

The Oregon Trunk Line Railroad Bridge was built in 1912 over Celilo Falls, where Native Americans from both sides of the river and as far away as the Rocky Mountains traded with others from as far away as the Pacific shore.  As many as 3000 people would congregate here. 

The 1914 postcard below shows the bridge with a train crossing long before the falls were flooded by the dam at The Dalles.  The bridge was raised to a higher level and a section was added to allow Maritime traffic to pass.

There are countless dramatic views along the river. West of Maryhill on the Washington side of the Columbia River, as we get closer to the town of Wishram, this is the west portal of BNSF's Tunnel #12. Usually about 35 trains a day roll through.

 

The formations seem like fortresses and castles, on the Washington side of the river. These two denizens seem like they're ready to tilt at windmills.

 The goat is Sancho Panza, the Donkey is Don Quixote de La Mancha.

All dried up...

 

Dating back to the 1850's, this little cemetery is all that's left of the ghost town of Columbus.

 

Like a part of the plan, the tree adds life to the columns of the Stonehenge replica high above the Columbia River...

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Inside the circle--- Maryhill's Stonehenge, dedicated 102 years ago...

 The Columbia River is visible through the portal on the left.

On the hill above Maryhill is a replica of England's Stonehenge, commissioned by railroad baron Sam Hill. It was dedicated 102 years ago as a memorial to all those who died in the First World War.

 

No gas today...

 

They broke his windows and stole his hood ornament, but this 71 year old Studebaker (1949) flat bed still stands proud in Maryhill.

The Studebaker Company built many of the covered wagons that carried pioneer families to the West.

Maryhill, Washington, and Biggs, Oregon...

Heading West along the Columbia River, we come to Maryhill, Washington (this side), where the Sam Hill Memorial Bridge crosses over to Biggs, Oregon. You can see the little ribbon that is Highway 97 headed South in the upper right hand corner. Hill was a Railroad icon and Maryhill is named for both his wife and his daughter. Orchards and vinyards do very well close to the river. Interstate 84 is the freeway along the Oregon side.