Portland’s Women’s Forum

Say what?

I drove down off Larch Mountain and wondered what to do next. I had a couple hours or so before I needed to be back at the convention for the final dinner. That wasn’t long enough to go further east, so I was limited to the area between Larch Mountain and Portland.

On the way up the mountain, I’d passed an overlook called Portland Woman’s Forum State Scenic Viewpoint. Not being a woman, I didn’t know if I was allowed to enter, but I decided to go for it. (I have no idea why it’s named that and don’t care enough to look it up and try to find out.) The view to the east down the Columbia River Gorge was amazing.

On the next point to the east, I could see Vista House. We’d seen it earlier in the week and thought it was an observatory, but from here I could see tourists stopping and walking around.

I still wanted to do some birding. The viewpoint was crowded with cars and people and kids running around. I saw a dirt road off to the side of the lot, leading down the hill. I stepped over the gate and wandered along. I didn’t see any lifers, but there were cool birds around. I’d gone maybe half a mile when I rounded a corner and came upon this:

I was below the viewpoint, but out of sight and hearing of the crowd. The view was even more spectacular because I could also see across the river to the north. Here’s what that looked like:

I stayed at my private overlook for about half an hour, taking pictures, enjoying the view and watching a pair of Ospreys circling in front of me.