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The Dalles Mountain Ranch was an expansive original settler cattle ranch located on the unique textured grasslands of the Columbia Hills, the south facing slope of the Washington State shore of the Columbia River Gorge from The Dalles Dam eastward to route 97. From 3000 feet elevation to near sea level on The Columbia River, the descending, desert, windswept grasslands command constant view down into the river, the Oregon shore, and the high desert, dry-land wheat farming ecosystem of Wheatlandia stretching south into the Oregon half of the basalt Columbia Plateau. And Mt Hood, to the west, oversees it all. The ranch was recently deeded to the state of Washington as The Columbia Hills Historical State Park. In the spring, the wildflowers, mostly Lupine and Arrowleaf Balsamroot color the whole system in pastel purple and yellow as seen from 50 miles away.
The United States is one of the most diverse countries on earth, jam packed full of amazing sights from St. Patrick's cathedral in New York to Mount Hollywood California.The Northeast region is where it all started. Thirteen British colonies fought the American Revolution from here and won their independence in the first successful colonial rebellion in history. Take a look at these rolling hills carpeted with foliage along the Hudson river here, north of New York City.The American south is known for its polite people and slow pace of life. Probably they move slowly because it's so hot. Southerners tend not to trust people from "up north" because they talk too fast. Here's a cemetery in Georgia where you can find graves of soldiers from the Civil War.The West Coast is sort of like another country that exists to make the east coast jealous. California is full of nothing but grizzly old miners digging for gold, a few gangster rappers, and then actors. That is to say, the West Coast functions as the imagination of the US, like a weird little brother who teases everybody then gets famous for making freaky art.The central part of the country is flat farmland all the way over to the Rocky Mountains. Up in the northwest corner you can find creative people in places like Portland and Seattle, along with awesome snowboarding and good beer. Text by Steve Smith.
