| BNSF 6753 single pusher on westbound line of covered hoppers down the hill from Maryhill, Washington - and while I had some cleaner shots (not easy to do, as these were taken highway speed on the Oregon side of the river), for anyone not familiar with railroading through the Columbia River Gorge, this is a relatively prototypical shot: the basalt right down against the Columbia River, the covered hoppers with less power than youd expect since theres very little elevation change (and westbound is downhill), plus the vineyards in the little crevice of harvestable land before the basalt hills rise up quickly. The only major non-typical thing is usually thered be white caps on the water, because the wind blows almost non-stop (theres a reason the Columbia River Gorge is world renowned for windsurfing and kite-boarding: they use Montana wind gauges (hang a logging chain from the fence: swaying chain = breeze, hanging out horizontal to the fence = wind, links popping off the end when the wind starts blowing hard). |