Take a Hike! Part Deux

There was one bush at the Garden that still had blooms, fantastic pink! Our next stop was a new one to us, Powell Butte Nature Park. It's east of Portland toward Mount Hood, the state's tallest peak. It was quite a ways out of the city, but once we got there and got out it was immediately worth the ride. There was an incredible view of both Mount Hood and Mt. Saint Helens, Washington's infamous volcano. Here's the Hood:

The mountain is pretty faint here in the middle of the picture - this really doesn't do it justice. The colors were so vibrant, the air so crisp and the sun so bright. The landscape on the butte reminded me of a scene from an old western flick. And, if you turned to the north, you had a clear view of the deadly, yet beautiful, Mt. Saint Helens.

That's the mountain in the middle. It's still flat from when the top blew back in 1980. I was working at the tv station here when the volcano woke up again and started spewing smoke and ash. The mountain is still regrowing. Every once in awhile you can see a smoke plume rising. Well, that was our day. We came home and watched Oprah give out 1,000 dollars to each audience member with the catch that they do something with the money for someone they don't know. Ironically, TJ and I had dropped off several bags of clothes at Goodwill on our way home. Hopefully someone can put the stuff we can't use anymore to good use. Hope you all had a great day!