April 10-14 April 15 April 16 April 17 April 18 April 19	Thursday, April 15 Tax day... We’ve already gotten our refund. I slept in a little, then had breakfast here at the hotel. I filled the gas tank and picked up a local map at Fred Meyers, then drove over the bridge (by The Dalles Dam) to the Washington side of the river, then west along the shore to White Salmon where a toll bridge returned me to Oregon side. I stopped at a rest area near Chamberlain Lake (Washington side). There was a good view of river from there. I took some photos there - the first of this trip. The three photos above were taken at this rest area. The one on the left shows the train tracks on the Washington side entering a tunnel. The center photo looks downstream along the Columbia River. The photo on the right is another view of the river from this rest area. After returning to the Oregon side, I started up state 35 towards Mt. Hood. The mountain was completely socked in and not visible. I turned around at the second warning to have chains or snow tires... The air coming into the car through vents was getting colder and the sky was getting blacker... At the lower elevations along that road, I saw many fruit trees in bloom, especially apple and some cherry. I found out later that some of the trees I thought were apple trees were pear trees, but the blossoms look the same from a distance, so I’ll take their word for it. The vineyards in this area are not yet leafing out. I could see they were all prepped for spring (trimmed back severely), but no green yet. I stopped at Panorama Point (almost back to Hood River) for some photos. The three photos above were taken from Panorama Point. The photo on the left shows some of the farmland visible across this lush valley. The other two photos zoom in on a pear orchard in bloom. Leaving Panorama Point, I wound up following some bicyclists back down to the river - they took the downhill curves faster than I did... On the drive back to The Dalles, I saw a stern wheeler on the river, but there was no place to pull over (safely) for a photo. So, I got back to the hotel for lunch - their fruit plate was much appreciated... I downloaded the photos I had taken this morning and labeled them. I had a quiet afternoon, which was a nice break between the drive down here and the shooting schedule for the rest of the week. Dinner was here - soup and salad. Julie and Terry, our leaders for this trip, arrived just after I’d ordered. We met in their room about 7 for intros and photos and an overview of our extended weekend. I hope the weather holds... It was a gorgeous day today. I talked with Carl after the meeting broke up, then went to bed early. I actually set the alarm for the first time this trip. Next...