Yesterday we traveled to the Deshutes River Recreation Area. Really just a campground off of I84, where the Deschutes River meets the Columbia. We spent several pleasant hours relaxing, napping, reading & quilting in the shade of some large poplar trees near the river.
One of my expectations for this trip is to connect with some of our roots and family heritage. This morning I realized part of the time I will just need to open my eyes and unlock some memories. 
This bit of the Columbia Gorge holds some family legacy. In the 50s, around the time of my birth my father, H. Scott Coulter, had a significant hand in the design of this section of the freeway. The challenges were many. They needed to squeeze a freeway, a secondary highway and 2 railroads in where a lake was soon to bury a huge waterfall on the mighty Columbia. The fishing folk of Celilo got the short straw in this event along with all of us who will never see those falls. Of course Dad did not have anything to do with the decision to build the dam. His role was to make a safe and esthetic highway. 
Here are the falls we won't ever see, borrowed from somewhere on the www.
We took a little bike ride trying to do better with the fitness "stuff". A beautiful heron watched us pass. 
Happy journeys everyone, even if just to your own back yard. jb
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