Portland and the Columbia river gorge

Oregon (and Portland) is famous for breweries so of course we had to taste some of their beers. Portland claims to have the biggest bookshop in the world, and yes, it is huge!! Also in Portland we went to the Japanese American museum where we learnt in detail about what happened to many Japanese American people during WWII. Not to be forgotten, the world's smallest park is in Portland.
After we were done in Portland we moved on up the Columbia river to do what we came for, which is kitesurfing in the gorge. The Columbia river is known for some strong winds through the gorge that makes for great kitesurfing on several spots like Hood River. The mornings are for sightseeing (great views of snowcapped mt Hood and mt Rainier) and hiking, and the afternoons for kitesurfing and chilling at the waterside.
Unfortunately the weather Gods were not with us and some depression elsewhere led to lower than normal winds, meaning I could still kitesurf but it was definitely not the fun I expected to have 😬. But well, other people are in the office and I was on the water, so I still did better I guess. It did mean that after three days we decided to leave the gorge and head to our next very exciting destination which will be... Yellowstone!!!Read more