Around the Mountain

I had a great morning at work. While I may work anywhere from 2-18 hours in a workday, I have never had a project last only six hours before. Our projects are designed to last a minimum of 8.5 hours, and they can last 40 hours or longer. It was a fast project with minimal staff and minimal production, but the people we encountered were kind, glad to work with us, overly accommodating, understanding of our need for the project, and in general very helpful and qualified.

Because of the short duration of the project, we had some free time afterwards. Being from a flat section of the county, we decided to take the opportunity to drive around a nearby mountain, which, because of the clouds, we never saw outside of our sunrise commute to work. What a beautiful, incredible sunrise it was. Our drive around the mountain was no less spectacular. It had just snowed recently, which completely changed the steep scenery from evergreen to dusty white. A shining, white pile of snow rested on each green branch. The snow created snow sculptures on bushes, froze bare branches into an icy translucence, and populated rooftops with hundreds of wintery, foot-long icicles. Throughout the drive, ice froze waterfalls in time on the mountainous slopes.




To punctuate our journey, we stopped at the Bridge of the Gods and Multnomah Falls. The Bridge of the Gods is a steel bridge over the Columbia River that was originally a natural stone bridge across the river. (http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/2141/places/12113/) Multnomah Falls had been completely transformed in the below-freezing temperatures. The gal I was with had been there earlier in the week, and we compared her pictures of a lush, green landscape with today’s ice-bound falls. The water falling was diminished while the surrounding cliffs gathered accumulating designs of snow and ice collecting on the bright green moss clinging to the mountain walls. It was as if winter descended onto a summer scene. While I was in awe of the beautiful ice sculptures, I was also rejuvenated near the end of a long, brown and white winter, as I saw such vibrant greens unhindered by the freezing temperatures.




To top the night off, I wandered the city with an old, faithful friend. It was a wonderful day, a refreshing escape from the recent monotony of flat lands, flat demands, and a flat spirit.