This was another stop as we drove home from Oregon---I had read that the wildflowers were beautiful in the Spring, so we stopped to eat our lunch and go on a little hike. We didn't get to do the whole hike (around a "permanent pond," as I kept pointing out to Sam on the hike map---I don't know why I found that phrase so funny) but what we saw was SO lovely. There were a few yellow and white flowers still out, but mostly it was huge sweeping fields full of blue.
I think these are called "Bachelor's Buttons" or cornflowers. Daisy had to hold one still for me while I took a picture, because there was a constant wind making them wave back and forth with the grass!
There were a few of these purple flowers too---I don't know their name
To get here, you just get off the regular Columbia River Highway at Mosier and go East on the old scenic Highway 30. It takes you up onto a plateau overlooking the gorge and the river. You're not even that far up, but the views are amazing! You drive through pretty orchards as you drive up the plateau, and then suddenly: vast meadows of wildflowers! The place we stopped is Rowena Crest Viewpoint, and the Tom McCall Preserve and the hiking trail are right across the road from the viewpoint. If I lived closer I would want to go here every day between April and June.
I'm pretty sure that's Mt. Hood in the background
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