Well now it's spring and everyonce in a while in between the grey, drizzly skies we do get sun.  And this happened to be one of those days.  Since I live in Vancouver, Wash. I thought about taking a little road trip out along the Columbia River Gorge along the Washington side, cross the "Bridge of the Gods" (Which is the first eastern bridge from the Vancouver/Portland area), and then head back home via the Oregon side.  Probably not more than a 3-4 hour trip.

 

My first stop was a very narrow shoulder-turn off that gave a great view of the "entry" into the gorge from the western most point.   Next was Beacon Rock.  A huge monolith of a rock!  My altitude judgement isn't worth beans but I'll take a stab and say it's at least 1,000 feet....and nearly straight up on all sides.  Because it was too close to the highway and hidden by trees along the side of the road, I had to drive up into the Beacon Rock State Park to get the images I did. 

 

I then came up on the Cascade Locks and the Fort Cascade Historic Site.  Considering the Columbia River is fairly wide in this area, I only was able to see the dam section.  Because this was only a road trip, I didn't bring ANY money and the "Bridge of the Gods" is a toll bridge and I didn't think they would accept a debit card.  Unfortunately the whole foray was cut in half as I had to travel the same route back home.

 

Yeah...what a dope. 

A couple of years ago my friend Jason and I, wanting to get out of San Diego for the day, headed up to Palm Springs to go hiking.  Those that live in Southern Callifornia are probably thinking "why would you wanna go hiking in the desert?"  Not looking for any sweaty challenges, we headed 8,000 feet up to the top of a mountain.  Entering Palm Springs from the south, there is a tall "Welcome to Palm Springs" sign which marks a narrow two lane road which disappears into canyon.  At the end of the road, there are multiple parking lots from which you can board a tram up to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway http://www.pstramway.com/.  The cable cars have been recently replaced by ones of a Sweedish design in which the cable cars rotate 360 degrees while moving up and down the mountain - guaranteeing a visitor an obstructed view of the sheer cliff faces and of the desert floor below.  At the top of mountain, one will find that the temperature has dropped significantly from the sometimes unbearable heat from the desert floor.  There is also a restaurant with a nice buffet.  Beyond the lodge, is a beautiful forest complete with camping grounds.