Beacon Rock State Park - Beacon Rock, Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge — Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017

Southwest Washington > Columbia River Gorge - WA

Got a late start yesterday with my girls, headed to Portland. With all that blue sky and sunshine I had the great idea that we should take the 34 mile detour and catch sunset from the top of Beacon Rock. As we headed up river, we noticed the river full of whitecaps, the trees blowing wildly and the occasional gust of wind that felt like it was going to blow the car off the road. The road was clear of snow and easy to drive in any car. When we got to the state park the wind was insane. The howling was so loud we couldn't hear each other talk. There was snow and ice blowing everywhere. We decided we didn't want to risk our lives on a rock so we got back in the car and headed to town. My daughter was pleased to realize that I had to wait over 45 years to hear a wind like that and she got to experience it at 18. Kids... I'm determined to find more trails to break up the drive between Seattle and Portland. Today we stopped at the beautiful and snowy Ridgefield Nature Preserve. Just 3 miles off I-5 at exit 14. It was easy to get to and totally worth the stop. The trails are all packed snow, easy to walk without snowshoes or traction. The Oak trees were amazing. It was a little sad to see so many branches broken, probably from the snow and ice. Looks pretty popular with the local birdwatchers. I enjoyed the snowy walk but I'll definitely want to come back and see what it looks like in the spring.