WOW… last night’s sunset in the Gorge was one for the books! It was the one that just kept on giving. What I thought was going to be just a quick 20 minute outing ended up being a life changing 3 hour photo extravaganza! So many strange emotions experienced during that time and a whole renewed deep sense of appreciation and gratitude for this magical place we call “The Gorge”. For the past couple weeks, The Gorge has been in national news for all the wrong reasons- it was burning down! The Eagle Creek Fire was like something we’ve never experienced before around here. Our favorite hiking trails, our waterfalls, our bridges, tunnels, interstate to Portland, the wonderful little community of Cascade Locks, people’s homes, businesses and more- all closed off either up in flames or very close to it! And the smoke, uggg, that smoke!! Horrible, for weeks on end. It’ll be a long time until I take clean air for granted again.
The past couple weeks feel like a bit of a blur, and what was actually happening right here in our community is all still sinking in. BUT thanks the efforts of several hundred, maybe even thousands of fire firefighters from all over the country, and a healthy dosage of late summer downpours of BEAUTIFUL rain… it’s all over! Well, at least under control!
As I stood there shooting all these images last night, I noticed just a few spots of embers still burning on these hillsides, even after several days and inches of rain. Wow! How fast everything in life can change for the worse due to the stupidity of a kid with a firework – and how fast it can all go back to normal, due to some much needed weather passing through!
Cheers to clear skies, beautiful sunsets, and RAIN! Bring on the Fall!
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