In couple of my earlier posts, I'd explored the majestic mountain ranges of the Central Rockies. And, in one of those posts, I'd alluded to the Epic adventures of Lewis & Clark Expedition, where there are significant references to the Bitterroot Mountains of the Central Rockies, at the Idaho–Montana border, through which, in the fall of 1805, the Expedition had struggled for passage, on foot, for eleven grueling days, to eventually cross the formidable Rockies barrier over to the other side of the Continental Divide...! It is generally agreed that this segment was the most arduous and dangerous of their entire journey.

Here’s Meriweather Lewis, describing what it felt like to leave the Rockies behind:

“...the pleasure I now felt in having triumphed over the Rocky Mountains and descending once more to a level and fertile country where there was every rational hope of finding a comfortable subsistence for myself and party can be more readily conceived than expressed, nor was the flattering prospect of the final success of the expedition less pleasing...” 

The team had very rapidly coursed a great distance down the Clearwater/Snake/Columbia River system, and, on October 16, 1805, they had reached the confluence of the Snake and Columbia rivers...at present-day Pasco, WA, beginning the final leg of their 4,000-mile journey of exploration. Thereafter, ~120 miles (further west) down the Columbia River (see pictures below), they would arrive at the spectacular Columbia River Gorge, which sits between (present-day) Gresham (OR) and The Dalles (OR). The total length of the Gorge is about 90 miles. This is the stretch that is the subject of my (virtual) flight, in this post. The Columbia Gorge, up to 4,000 feet deep, stretches westward as the mighty river snakes through the canyon and mountains, forming the boundary between the states of Washington and Oregon. The Expedition explorers, with great difficulty, had to navigate on and around the turbulent rapids, falls, and cliffs of Columbia River, using canoes and horses... (the serene and flat pictures of Columbia River and the Gorge, seen in my pictures below, are merely symbolic (and feeble) representations of the RW entities...)

Another ~100 miles westward from the terminal point of the Gorge, at the mouth of the Columbia River, on November 15, 1805, the Expedition would finally catch glimpse of the vast blue expanse of the Pacific Ocean...! 

In their own words:

"Great joy in camp we are in view of the Ocean, (in the morning when fog cleared off just below last village (first on leaving this village) ...) this great Pacific Ocean which we been so long anxious to see..."

In this post, here, below, my Cessna 404 Titan, is overflying the Columbia River Gorge, from KDLS (Columbia Gorge Regional Airport - also known as The Dalles Municipal Airport) to KTTD (Portland–Troutdale Airport), located ~11 miles east of Portland, OR. My choice of livery, here, collected today from the library, highlights a little-known (i.e., little-known, outside AU, of course) Charter Airline, Hardy Aviation, headquartered in Darwin, Australia. The airline operates 7 Cessna 404 Titans.

The a/c of my choice, the Cessna 404 Titan, is one of my favorite Cessna Piston Twins, that I recall flying during/since the earliest days of my simming, thanks to the availability of Freeware models.

Hope you enjoy this sample (and hopefully evocative) collection of images, of this remarkable (geographical) region, and also of this classic Cessna Twin, that was the largest Cessna Twin, at the time of its production, and, even now, regarded by Cessna lovers as "Nothing Else Quite Like It"...! 

Thanks for viewing...!

[Alabeo (C404), Orbx (CRM/PNW), HA repaint (by Matt Levi)]

***Gorgeous***

Beautiful shots, and a great narrative. Both interesting and informative. Adds a lot to the images. I have frequented that area over the past 50 years, with numerous relatives in the Willamette valley and also in Yachats, and Richland, Wa. 

Great shots from my neck of the world .

Excellent shots! 🙂

Excellent !

cheers 😉

Nice - I do miss some of those old props from my P3D days.

Patrick, Frank, johnb, Alaska, pmplayer, Ryan et al.:

Many thanks for the comments and responses...!!

 

Frank: In contrast to your close familiarity of that region, my exposure to WA/OR includes 2 visits to Seattle (1 week each), and a few days' worth of visit to Portland, OR...hope to have more, someday, in future...

johnb: "...from my neck of the world...."....and, still, glad you could find some resemblance in these pictures...

Ryan: Yes, some of these noisy Pistons never fade away from memory...🙂...In fact, I was checking a bit today, in the library...the freeware file for the C404 Titan is still available there, from 2006, when I'd flown this the first time, virtually...