Barrier Falls

Barrier Falls

Due to heavy memorial day traffic (so many campers!) and a tight schedule I was unable to do as much as I would have liked to on the way home from a weekend on the Long Beach Peninsula. We decided to drive home via the Oregon side of the Columbia River, because for some inexplicable reason we thought it might be easier to cope with the hoards of camper on the long straight stretches of Highway 30 than the on the curving rollercoaster of roads on the Northern side of the river! It didn't make much difference; apparently all the roads of the Pacific Northwest are bumper-to-bumper campers on Memorial day.

However I did get a chance to stop a photograph Barrier Falls; a beautiful cascade just a short walk from the Gnat Creek fish hatchery, which is located less than 30 minutes to the north of Astoria along highway 30. So enjoy the photos while I try to get the memories of crawling along at 30 miles per hour on a 50 MPH highway behind the Great White Landwhales, out of my head.

Barrier Falls

The top of Barrier Falls

Bugs on a Salmon Berry

Gnat Creek Falls (I think) Does anyone know what the pipe running up the middle of the waterfall is for? I've seen pipes like these near several waterfalls along the Lower Columbia River, and have never been able to find out what their purpose is.