7-13-2014 Columbia River Gorge & Punchbowl Falls

It was supposed to be a hot, sunny Sunday, but it turned out to be a cooler, overcast, drizzly Sunday.  Undeterred, we embarked with Cara's sister, Kathleen, and the rest of the Farland Clan (Ross, Alexandra and Gabriella) for an adventure in the Columbia River Gorge, and Punchbowl Falls (the one near Hood River, not the one on the Eagle Creek Trail).  And what an adventure it was!

The Farland women at a scenic rest stop in the Columbia River Gorge on the way to our destination.

Next stop along the way - cherry picking at Poole Family Farms!

We couldn't help it - had to stop for a quick photo shoot.

A beautiful cherry harvest!  Not ours.  We picked a lot, but not that many!

More cherries, ready to be boxed up and sold...

A beautiful waterfall of unknown name.  There is actually a house just outside the picture to the top right.
Can you imagine having this as your back yard!?

We ate lunch and then explored the great big sandbar (okay, it was mostly rocks) where the East Fork Hood River and
 the West Fork Hood River come together to be simply Hood River.

Cara and Kathleen (and Bentley) exploring the East Fork Hood River.

Spotted rocks!  Okay, it was from the first raindrops.

Not sure about going down there, eh Gabriella?  (She went anyway.)

You can barely see Gabriella, Eric and Alexandra to the left of the waterfall.  They had
climbed down to where people must jump from (though they're not supposed to).

This closeup isn't the clearest, but it does show the ladder for people to climb back up.

After climbing down the rocks you get next to the rushing water.  There is a ladder there.

Another view of Punchbowl Falls

Looking back downstream you can barely see Ross and Kathleen on the top of the cliff
at the right.  

On our way back we stopped briefly at Hood River Waterfront Park to watch the kitesurfers and windsurfers,
but there wasn't much going on there.  The conditions were definitely not ideal.

The girls enjoyed throwing stones.

We only saw one lone kitesurfer.

We stopped in downtown Hood River and sampled wines at Naked Winery.
I know what you're thinking but the people aren't naked - the wine is (no added sugar, etc.).

The server at Naked Winery recommended a place called The Sixth Street Bistro & Loft for dinner, and their online ratings looked good, so we went there.  We all loved our meals, and Cara even got to try a new (to her) Apricot Cider that was yummy!