Day 5.   The Coumbia River. driving to Portland along the  Columbia River Gorge.

Impressive how wide it is!  Looks wider then the Mississippi but not muddy.  So beautiful with the train tracks on either side of the river.  Wish I had a better photo but it was raining and no place to really stop and shoot.  Drove through another dust and wind storm in the middle of Oregon and then hit the rain.  The road is called the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway.  That has special meaning to me.  This is also the 45th parallel, halfway between the North Pole and the Equator.  The Big Island of Hawaii is the southernmost point in the United States.
The Columbia River is full almost to overflowing.  California should be so lucky!   I passed some impressive Dams and I love bridges.   There are no rivers in Hawaii, but who needs them when you are surrounded by the Pacific Ocean.

Now, I am on the other side of the Pacific, having arrived safely in Portland.  For 4 relaxing days, I am hosted by my dear friends, Jim and Monna, two of my favorite people, in their beautiful and comfortable home.  Monna, one of the funnest and funniest people I know, has a real green thumb with a gift for flowers. (Also, the gift of gab. We both have that.)

Here's her little flower garden.  There are flower arrangements all throughout the house.  I love them and I love it here.