Catherine Creek near Lyle, Washington

 Last Sunday, it was actually NOT RAINING so we went east and found some sunshine.

My hiking partner crosses the bridge over the creek.
(he prefers to remain anonymous)

Like the Sandy River Delta,
the Catharine Creek site was once
a ranch (cattle and sheep).

 The creek goes steeply downhill
through basalt cliffs formed from
ancient lava flows.  A natural arch
looms above the corral.  In the Columbia River Gorge it is easy be a geology expert.  Almost everything was formed by ancient lava flows or catastrophic floods.  Almost all the cliffs are made of basalt.  You can just bandy about words like "igneous", "columnar basalt" and "Lake Missoula" and people will think you are smart.

 Mr. Thornsby perches briefly in a Ponderosa Pine.  This area features a Pine/Oak woodland and meadows filled with wildflowers.  It has an amazing diversity of wildflowers in the spring.   In addition to everything we saw at Tom McCall, we found Shooting Stars, NW Saxifrage, Nodding Microseris,

Shooting Stars - always a favorite of unicorns

and Death Camas.  Just as the name says - if you eat it, you may die.  It is said that  powdered unicorn horn  is an antidote for any poison.  Mr. Thornsby will neither confirm nor deny this statement.

Here is the type of Camas that you can eat.  The roots were roasted or steamed by Native Americans and were a staple food.  You might think it is easy to tell them apart but when they are harvested (in late summer or fall) the flowers are long gone.  

 Instead of wild plants, I suggest you eat at Everybody's Brewpub in White Salmon, Washington.  The chicken burrito is excellent and

 they brew their own beer right there!

A view of the Columbia looking Southeast and Mt. Hood floating above the clouds.