To the Columbia~

On our way~

This was our last day - we needed to head home to attend our friend & farrier Justin's wedding on Sunday!  Dave & Butch left camp as we did.  Dave had offered to take Butch on a sightseeing tour of the nearby towns & farms.  (Butch had helped Dave fix his tractor & the two of them hit it off.)  Scott & Barbara planned our break on the bank of the Columbia!  Really?  I'm curious again - all the way - down to the river?  Who was I to doubt them now?  :-)

Lots of rock~

Rockier than the previous days rides, we had two levels of the land to descend to reach the river.  Both the downhills were steep & covered with loose rock.

The trail goes DOWN!

Here the light color is the trail, just before it drops Down!  Barbara went down on foot to clear some of the larger pieces of rock.  The horses took their time, picked their way & the three of us were down safe & sound.

Almost to the water~

What an amazing sight - seeing that blue, blue water moving through the arid landscape.  Almost time for our lunch break & we were heading for the shade of the trees along the edge of the river.

Hawthorn Trees line the banks of the Columbia~

Many of the trees had died off, maybe from the lowered level of the river last year when the dam was repaired?  Anyway - we had some sawing to do - to make a safe place to tie the horses where they wouldn't get into the thorns.

Looking up river~

It was the most peaceful place to have lunch that you can imagine.  Warm, not too warm & just a light breeze.  After lunch, I rinsed my hands in the water of the Columbia!  Heading back, it seemed like the day & the trip itself - had gone too fast!

The way back to camp~

The trail is at the base of the far mountain, in the photo above.  Plenty of uphill & rock.

Did someone say rock?

This trail had been cleared out of a rock slide.  A more gradual accent than our decent had been!  Before we knew it, we were back on the main trail to the ranch.

Near the edge~

The view was one to remember, wide vista's, deep canyons, beautiful lakes & the river itself.  Our road-trip home was uneventful, hardly any traffic - the best kind!  

Our route~

We arrived back early enough to make a dent in unpacking.  One of those weekends that we won't soon forget, good friends, amazing trails & solid horses - again - the Best Kind!

Ride to the Cave B Winery!

We leave Bishop Ranch~

It was another absolutely beautiful day!  Warmer than the day before, but with a nice breeze.  I was really interested in how on earth we could find a winery of any kind out in this country, let alone a winery that welcomed horses!

Welcoming Vista~

From our camp, looking way to the south, we could just see a white building that was near the amphitheater at the Gorge.  The Cave B Estate Winery - was right in the same area & would be our destination.

Another waterfall as we get closer~

We heard Meadowlarks singing, saw a little bevvy of quail & a white tail deer!  The flowers were beautiful & with wine on our minds - we were following shinny ribbons that someone had tied to the sagebrush to mark the correct trail in an area where many trails crisscross the landscape.

Looks like we'll have a steep climb to the top!

Looking ahead, we see ribbon heading up the steep trail ahead.

Purple Sage

Though it all wasn't in bloom, I did get to see this bush in flower!  Remember - Riders of the Purple Sage?

Farah admires the view~

 We've climbed quite a way & the views are amazing.  Barbara was reading her directions & the horses had dug in & brought us almost to the top!  We were looking for what was said to be a small trail off to our right, but instead - only saw a small cliff house.  Ahead was a paved road - steep & going right past a swimming pool!  We took it!

Farah at the Vineyards~

We knew we were in the right place...  but had no idea which way to go from where we were?  About the time we decided to send one of us to check things out - a van pulled up & very nice lady told us to just continue on up the hill & we'd find hitching posts near the building that housed the tasting room!

Yurts too~

What a beautiful area!  Like an oasis in the desert!

The view from the hitching posts

We tied the horses & headed up to the tasting room.  I'd left my camera on the saddle, in a hurry to wash up & enjoy lunch on the patio!  Everyone we met was so welcoming - very few visitors yet on a Friday, the perfect time to come.  We enjoyed talking with a group of motorcyclist - all of whom had to go visit the horses :-) 

Barbara with her goodies!

We did some shopping - I had my first & hopefully not my last taste of iced wine!  Soon - it was time to start back. This time, we had directions on how to avoid the paved road & ended up going past a rockery & on the edge of the lawn that was in front of the little private lodge!  Guess it wouldn't be too private if a large group of riders went by!  :-)

Our camp, in front of the lower group of trees -  Columbia in the gorge between~

I stopped on the last section of the ridge - before we started the drop down & zoomed all the way in to get this photo of our camp - far to the north of us~

Heading back~

The day had really warmed up - but was still far from hot.  The Google Earth image below was recorded by my Garmin.  About a 14-mile round-trip.

Our Route to the Winery~

Another fun, amazing ride!  After Barbara shared her iced wine with us, as our after dinner dessert -  Butch & I plan to make reservations & spend a night or two at Cave B!

Ancient Lakes Area ~

Away we Go!

Scott & Barbara are experienced trail riders, with one of our local Back Country Horsemen chapters.  They do more than their share of trail clearing, maintenance, etc.  So when they go riding for fun - you can bet that it's going to be fun!  The area we were riding into the Quincy Lakes Unit -  where Ancient Lake & several other small lakes are to be found.  On this day - Scott mentioned waterfalls, lakes, high places, views!  But after we hit the trail - I started to wonder if he'd been telling tall tales!

The Waterfall~

 We could hear this waterfall long before we saw it!  I wish I'd thought to do a short video, just for the amazing sound - the water almost echoed as it hit the the basalt rocks below.  This roar of water in the middle of the Scablands was not something I expected. Continuing on - it was easy to feel like we were 150 years in past.

The first of the lakes~

Soon, the first of the lakes appeared.  I've always enjoyed & admired water...  Rivers & mountain lakes, were all I knew - besides one trip to see Lake Michigan in the 70's.  I'd never even seen an ocean until we moved here in 1980.  After the trip to Southern, CA - I appreciate it all the more - the liquid of life in the otherwise barren landscape.

Another waterfall

 Around the corner & two more lakes.  Scott said that there is usually three times the water flowing down this fall - so, as we're all aware, it's going to be a dry year.

Last of the lakes~

 As we climbed the rim-rock, the last of the lakes fell away below us.  Distance is so deceptive in this land of wide-open vista's.

Wildflowers~

Here too - the wildflowers were blooming!  Spectacular pinks, purples & blues.  We were getting hungry - we were heading to the spot that Scott promised would be perfect for our lunch break!

The "Perfect Place"!

The saddle in the photo above is that perfect spot!  It took some climbing to get there, then we had some branches to trim - to be able to tie the four horses on the steep hillside.  Once that was done, we grabbed our food & hiked up to the rim - that dropped off steeply on the back side to reveal the view below!

Another lake!

I found a long spar shaped stone, narrow, knife like - with three sides that were as sharp as any knife.  With a handle - it would make one.  It went into my pack :-)  We slid back down to where the horses were waiting in the shade & saddled back up.

Heading down through the cut~

 The downhill that we were heading for - was extremely steep & rocky.  The basalt was loose & sharp.  Each horse seemed to understand that this took some extra skill to navigate & I was holding onto the front of my saddle with one hand - it was that steep!  I was relieved to reach the bottom!

Basalt outcrop~

This basalt outcropping certainly looked like it had been molten at some point in time!

Our Route

It wasn't long until we were back under the huge power lines & almost back to camp.  The day had gone by so fast!  Scott was already tempting us with tales of the ride we'd do tomorrow!