Along Highway 30

As I drive to work each day along Highway 30 towards Portland, I am rewarded with some beautiful sights. I shared with you, last Fall, some photos of very beautiful trees turning yellow and orange. Not far at all from those same trees are perhaps a dozen waterfalls this time of year. They vary from very thin streams pouring out from the basalt cliffs to the one I have included here. These particular falls are almost directly across from Rocky Point Marina just North of the weigh station. For all you Hood-to-Coasters, that is the exchange point for Leg 15. Except, that in the summer, it is barely a trickle, so we don't have the pleasure of enjoying this sight. Between this area and the little town of Linnton there are a constant supply of really picturesque falls on the landward side of the road. I enjoy them so very much on my way to work. I am trying to stop and take photos whenever I can of the sights I see every day. I hope I never take them for granted. Being from the arid area of Southern California I don't imagine I will. Some folks marvel that I would willingly make a 45 minute drive twice a day to commute from Saint Helens to NE Portland for work. These waterfalls and trees are many of the reasons I am willing to do that.

Sometimes, when I don't go to the coast on a weekend, I take myself on a tour of places near where I live. I have explored the town of Rainier 17 miles north of here. Rainier is a cool town that crawls up the hill and overlooks the Columbia River and all the mills on the Longview Washington side. I have found a great beach on the river just north of Goble. (Goble is a funky town 13 miles north of St. Helens and the Goble Tavern is a subject for another time) The beach is called Prescott Beach and has fire pits, swings for children, fishing areas, a park with restrooms, a Ranger Station and a killer view of the main shipping channel of the Columbia River. Seems like a great place to go in the summer when it's hot. Two weekends ago I explored Columbia City. Columbia City adjoins St. Helens to the north (that is downriver here, towards Astoria and the ocean). I really didn't expect much. From the highway it didn't look much different from my town, except smaller. Boy, was I surprised!!! The homes are certainly not ostentatious or especially large, except for one totally humongous one. But they are immaculate and every single one has an awesome view of the main channel of the Columbia River. I drove every street in the town. There was actually one street that was obviously rentals and a little run down, but there wasn't a single For Sale sign in the entire town. They have their own schools and a beautiful park/museum area. What a pleasant surprise and a delightful area to explore.

I hope to continue to share my explorations and photos of this area with you. I beleive I am getting better about stopping to take pictures rather than focuing on "being ontime" everywhere. That is certainly my goal. Time is relative and I want to make "time" to do things that have meaning for me and enhance my life rather than just create stress. I hope you all do the same.