Saturday, October 27, 2007

Portland Oregon Area



I'm leaving for the airport in about an hour. We had time yesterday to take a quick car ride up the Columbia River and around Mount Hood then back to Portland. The top picture is the approach to Mount Hood from the North after climbing out of the gorge. The mountain is totally unexpected. It is all alone. It must have been an impressive volcano when erupting.
There are so many waterfalls along the Oregon side of the Columbia. This is a smaller one, Bridal Veil. You have to hike along a winding hill to reach it. The trail circles around, crosses a bridge and then you see it. It's really worth seeing.

Some day I hope to have time to come back and hike some of the trails. There is so much more to see.
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Friday, October 26, 2007

New War and Peace


I have read the reviews of the new translation of War and Peace by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. I was planning to get around to reading it eventually. So, before leaving on a long airplane flight this past Tuesday I was browsing in a bookstore at the the airport and there it was. I couldn't resist the compulsion to get it.

This is a heavy book! It may not be the best for a flight. It is certainly great reading. I read War and Peace years ago. Now that I am older I am finding it even more interesting. The part where Prince Andrei says goodbye to his gruff old father, Prince Nilolai, certainly rings true. They don't say much, yet they understand each other completely. With the passing of my own father last year I very much get what Tolstoy was saying. I am looking forward to the adventure of this book.