Along the I-84 corridor in the Columbia River Gorge a host of waterfalls beckon travelers to ease out of the interstate’s river of traffic to witness a scenic spectacle of falling waters.
Oregon
Fernhill Winter: Geese on Ice
On a winter visit to the Fernhill Wetlands in Forest Grove, Oregon, ice covered the lake, thick enough to support a crowd of Canada geese. The breeze did not allow a leisurely contemplation of the scene; the morning blew hard through me and left me empty of thought or feeling or desire. I moved quickly through the landscape, leaning like the cattails bent by wind. ♨
Mount Hood Floating on the Horizon
Behind a curtain of spruce angling upward, Mount Hood in Oregon rides the late spring sky.
Summer Dawn
In the coolness of dawn, before the heat melts night’s calm, the superlative colors of sky break across morning as the marshes embrace another day.
Fernhill Wetlands: Water Treatment for Nature
A highlight of Forest Grove, Oregon, is a visit to the water treatment plant, where sewage feeds the Fernhill Wetlands. Before dawn the wetlands bustle with waterfowl and songbird activity as treated waters become the source of life for the thriving chaos of nature. In the aftermath of human waste, a natural place becomes possible.