Rowena Crest and Tom McCall Viewpoint
Today I had wanted to drive out to the Tom McCall Viewpoint just west of The Dalles in the Columbia Gorge for some spring wildflower viewing. Because of this winter all the blooms are about 3 weeks behind when they were last year and you need to drive east to find the sun for them to be up already. We also wanted to get Leo on a hike and I wanted to get some more aerial footage and flying practice.
When we got to the trailhead it was very apparent I wouldn’t be doing any flying as we could barely open the doors of the Prius to get out because of the wind. We put Leo on a leash as there was a bike race going on nearby and headed off down the trail past a sign clearly stating it was closed…. bummer again. We took our time hiking across fields of fresh spring flowers getting blasted sideways by the high winds and I got as much photography practice as I could without testing the patience of Emily and Eric too much.
Soon we came to where the trail was closed for rehabilitation so we had to turn around short of the actual viewpoint and head down. It seemed like the wind had become even worse by this point. We were glad we weren’t up on Mount Hood skiing! When we got back to the car we took a drive eastward on the very twisty road following some bike racers towards The Dalles where we turned around and headed home. 3 hours of driving for about an hour of hiking… oh well.
At least we got Leo out and I got some pretty pictures. Not a total loss, and it was a nice drive. :)
Today I had wanted to drive out to the Tom McCall Viewpoint just west of The Dalles in the Columbia Gorge for some spring wildflower viewing. Because of this winter all the blooms are about 3 weeks behind when they were last year and you need to drive east to find the sun for them to be up already. We also wanted to get Leo on a hike and I wanted to get some more aerial footage and flying practice. 
When we got to the trailhead it was very apparent I wouldn’t be doing any flying as we could barely open the doors of the Prius to get out because of the wind. We put Leo on a leash as there was a bike race going on nearby and headed off down the trail past a sign clearly stating it was closed…. bummer again. We took our time hiking across fields of fresh spring flowers getting blasted sideways by the high winds and I got as much photography practice as I could without testing the patience of Emily and Eric too much.
Soon we came to where the trail was closed for rehabilitation so we had to turn around short of the actual viewpoint and head down. It seemed like the wind had become even worse by this point. We were glad we weren’t up on Mount Hood skiing! When we got back to the car we took a drive eastward on the very twisty road following some bike racers towards The Dalles where we turned around and headed home. 3 hours of driving for about an hour of hiking… oh well. 
At least we got Leo out and I got some pretty pictures. Not a total loss, and it was a nice drive. :)
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