Portland, Oregon is a town of bridges, like the Steele Bridge here spanning the Willamette River at dusk.
The theme of the post is bridges, as inspired by Ailsa’s blog. Check that out for many more bridge posts and pictures. I live in a city with the nickname (among others) of Bridgetown: Portland, Oregon. Most bridges span the Willamette River as it runs through the center of town. But a couple cross the much larger Columbia just north of town heading into Vancouver, Washington.
The view south from central eastside Portland takes in the Hawthorne and Marquam Bridges.
The Morrison Bridge in Portland, Oregon opens for a pleasure boat.
When I go hiking out in the nearby Columbia River Gorge, there is a very interesting bridge I often cross in order to access trails on the Washington side of the river. This is called Bridge of the Gods, named after the American Indian legend that tells of a natural span across the river at this point in ancient times. It’s fascinating that geologists have, at this precise point along the river, determined that a landslide hundreds of years ago may have temporarily dammed the river. In fact, if you climb up and view the area from above, you can see the remnants of this old landslide as plain as day.
The Bridge of the Gods crosses the Columbia River from Oregon to Washington.
The California Coast is the attraction to driving Highway 1, the Pacific Coastal Highway. The Bixby Bridge is near Big Sur.
Along with scenic bridges such as those along the Pacific coast (such as the Bixby Bridge in California above), my travels have taken me across some great examples of foot bridges. Take the suspension bridges along the trekking routes in the Himalayas, for example. They receive constant traffic, both human and yak, and are just as important as highway bridges where roads not trails connect communities. All of the supplies (not to mention the trekking tourists) that mountain villages rely upon must pass over them, so they are generally maintained. I love any foot bridge, especially of the suspension variety, since you can make them sway and bounce so easily. Strange that others on the bridge often get upset when I do this.
One of the main footbridges spanning a deep gorge on the way to Namche Bazaar in the Everest region of Nepal.
Mount Rainier’s Wonderland Trail crosses a high suspension bridge over Tacoma Creek.
I like how on some bridges the builders took some time to decorate the abutments, or bridge ends (as in the image below). Also the bridge itself is often decorated. I have seen and crossed many bridges that unfortunately I haven’t photographed well. The bridges over the Seine in Paris, Florence, the ones in Venice of course.
A bridge abutment in Thailand is carved into elephant heads.
I live in an area with many old covered bridges relatively close-by. It is sad that I have not spent the time to photograph them well. This challenge has given me a kick in the pants, and when I can get down there (hopefully very soon) I will post an addendum to this.
The red light of a stormy sunset illuminates the Willamette River as it flows under the Steele Bridge in Portland.
Really amazing shots!
Thanks a bunch!
Gorgeous bridges. Love the Portland ones best!!!
What a collection for bridges, from Portland, Big Sur, Nepal, WA, to Thailand. Thank you for the grand tour!! And, the red sunset…, WoW!
Thank you Amy.
Fantastic Photos !