A Modest Drive East of Vancouver WA to see the Hills Alive with Color in the Columbia River Gorge!
Wildflowers in Full Bloom in Early May 2019
Why you want to visit The Columbia River Gorge in Spring!: With the April Rains behind us and the Spring weather almost always being perfect on the east of the Cascade mountain range, the first weekend of May we made the trip to the Columbia River Gorge town of Mosier Oregon. In this semi-arid environment, only one-hour-plus drive outside of the Portland/Vancouver metro area, we found mostly blue-skies, and the hillsides awash in colorful wildflowers!
Having started late, we stopped on the way in the larger town of Hood River to grab a late breakfast at Bette's Place Restaurant (one of our favorite eateries in Hood River!). It must have been meant to be, as we parked literally at the front door. Although the place was packed, they were able to get us in rather quickly, and we soon had our amply-sized meals in front of us.
With our late breakfast out of the way, we hopped back onto I-84 towards The Dalles, and in a few minutes time (that 6.4 miles went by pretty fast - was Kat speeding?!) took the exit for the town of Mosier. In just these few miles the heavily forested environment gave way to the mostly-grass and flower-covered hills.
The town of Mosier itself is quite small and quaint, and we were quickly into the countryside following along the old US 30 Scenic Highway. As we got closer to the Rowena Overlook, the blooming flowers became more profuse.
Having started late, we stopped on the way in the larger town of Hood River to grab a late breakfast at Bette's Place Restaurant (one of our favorite eateries in Hood River!). It must have been meant to be, as we parked literally at the front door. Although the place was packed, they were able to get us in rather quickly, and we soon had our amply-sized meals in front of us.
With our late breakfast out of the way, we hopped back onto I-84 towards The Dalles, and in a few minutes time (that 6.4 miles went by pretty fast - was Kat speeding?!) took the exit for the town of Mosier. In just these few miles the heavily forested environment gave way to the mostly-grass and flower-covered hills.
The town of Mosier itself is quite small and quaint, and we were quickly into the countryside following along the old US 30 Scenic Highway. As we got closer to the Rowena Overlook, the blooming flowers became more profuse.
Rowena Plateau Overlook on US 30 Scenic Highway May 2019Balsamorhiza and Lupines! The dominating color of Yellow from the Arrowleaf Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza) is almost everywhere in this part of the Gorge, on both the Oregon and Washington sides of the Columbia. At least two wild varieties of Lupines add very nice contrasting blue to the mix.
Arrowleaf Balsam Root and the Columbia River May 2019Thrown into the mix of exploding colors at this location we also found a good quantity of the hiker's and picnicner's nemesis - Poison Oak. The oily-looking leaves are one of the signs you'll see. To be sure, keep your distance from this plant!
Poison Oak in the flower fields - May 2019One of the historically and culturally important plants we came across - the Camas Lily, was also in bloom. Although the plant is smaller, the subtle blue colors are very pleasant.
Camas Lily in Bloom May 2019Need a Day-trip for Mother's Day - a trip to the east of Hood River in Oregon (or, Bingen / White Salmon in Washington) will be a great time to catch these amazing wildflowers blooming - but get there before the heat of summer ends the blooming season!
PS - Our Team, especially John Slocum, loves to help our customers Sell or Buy their home or property in Washigton State, including the Colmubia River Gorge.
The information in this report (prepared by Vancouver WA Real Estate Listing Broker John Slocum) is meant to provide an overview of only some of the great attributes of this part of Washington State and the Pacific Northwest.
Disclaimer: as with all real estate information, we do our best to provide the best representation at the time the data was acquired. We deem the data and reports reliable but not guaranteed.
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