The Dalles

Sunrise illuminates Mt. Hood and the setting full moon over The Dalles

The sun rises as the full moon sets over The Dalles, Oregon in late April. Mt. Hood glows pink in the pre-dawn rose glow of a rising sun. In this photograph taken nine minutes after sunrise, morning light is finally illuminating The Dalles as the moon sinks below the horizon.

First light on The Dalles

The first rays of the sun strike the tip of Mt Hood and shoreline of The Dalles on a spring morning in late April. The photograph is taken from Dallesport on the Washington side of the Columbia River.

Clouds race the last light to hide Mt. Hood

Clouds race over the hilltop on 7 Mile Road between Moiser and The Dalles to hide Mt Hood as the last light of day strikes the water tank and clouds. [Explored May 31, 2012 #441]

Mt. Hood towers over The Dalles

Viewed from the Washington side of the Columbia River, Mt Hood towers over The Dalles as the last light of a setting sun lights the clouds and Mt Hood with pink. The Dalles was the end of the overland route of the Oregon Trail. Settlers headed for the fertile Willamette river valley had to pin their hopes on fragile rafts that they built and rode through the Columbia's cascades. More lives were lost on the 70 mile passage down the Columbia than on the rest of the Oregon Trail. In the 1890's, The Dalles was a town of saloons and brothels. The Historic Baldwin Saloon recaptures that spirit and serves excellent food and beverages.

Empty and isolated - Oregon east of the Cascades

The arid high plains east of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon offer just enough winter moisture for a winter wheat crop. The openess and emptiness of the dry high plains with its rolling hills is emphasized by the long abandoned and decaying farmhouse located off Emerson Loop Road south east of The Dalles.

Wind farm scenic in the Columbia River National Scenic Area

Friday's sunset illuminated the view through the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area from high on Sevenmile road looking toward the east. A wind farm with over 55 wind turbines visible in this photograph commandeered the horizon beyond the geographical boundaries of the National Scenic Area. There were another 50ish on the horizon to the right of this view. To a wind energy proponent, the sight must be beautiful. To a naturalist, perhaps not so much.

The Gorge from aplenglow on Mt Adams to a total eclipse of the harvest moon

Beneath Mt Adams' alpenglow, people on Rowena Crest excitedly scanned the east hoping to be the first to see the harvest moon rise from the walls of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenica Area into a total eclipse. In a single sweeping view across space and time, this extreme panorama tells the story of the viewing from the alpenglow on Mt Adams, the filled parking loop on Rowena Crest, the town of Lyle Washington, the Columbia river, the walls of the Gorge, interstate 84, Washington 14, the town of Dallesport in the extreme east and finally the sequence of the rising moon and the full lunar eclipse from 7:10 to 8:02 pm. The start of moonrise was obscured by a compination of sunset light and atmospheric moisture. It was difficult to see both at the time and in this panorama. If you are able to zoom in, you should be able to see the faint outlines of moonrise start. On a technical note, the panorama is composed of 11 vertical frames shot at 80mm plus another dozen shots of the rising moon many of which were shot at 400mm and then scaled to 80mm size. The final image was 32,314x7,286 pixels in size.

The Gorge from Wishram to Google's farm under a Blue Moon

The Columbia River enters the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area from the left and flows through The Dalles Dam in the center and on past The Dalles to the right. Dallesport is in the lower center of the extreme panorama. The buildings closest are in The Dalles port area on the Oregon side of the Columbia River. Google's server farm is the long low tan building. The panorama is composed of 12-vertical frames stitched with Lightroom and resized to a mere 22,641x5,359 pixel image for cleanup. Printed at 240 dpi, this would be 94 inches long (7.8 feet) by 22.4 inches high.