In my elementary school there were 4 grades to a classroom. Often when the teacher needed a break from the chaos he declared it was time for Heimatkunde – local history and geography – a subject that allowed him to entrust the first grade to some aide, and take the rest of us for a walk.  We would visit the old water tower, left over from Roman occupation, or the poplar-lined roads, planted for shade by the occupying French, or a windmill from the time the Dutch governed the region. We were then asked if we had already visited these sites on the practically obligatory Sunday afternoon family stroll, and all but one said yes.

“I take it, young Friderike, your family does not like to walk in the countryside?””No Sir, it’s just that my father has no legs.” “This time, Missie, you are going to far even for someone known to have a rich fantasy life – I will inform your parents.” Inform he did, only to walk away with tail between his legs, since I had spoken the truth. To this day I do not understand why he, a veteran himself, so shortly after the war, did not put the pieces together.

In any case, I have made up for the missing walks ever since, and will document some of the most delightful places in the Pacific Northwest this week.

We begin with the Klickitat river, which flows into the Columbia at Lyle, WA. There is a 9 mile trail following the stream, with beautiful vistas, and enough width to allow you to avoid the rampant poison ivy on each side. Native Americans have restored the salmon population, and when I hiked there some government agency was trying to get cables with antennas across the river to help count the fish. I saw salmon fishing with nets – it requires unbelievable strength and agility to hoist those huge fish out of the water, on platforms or the rocks; the law now requires safety lines for the fishermen, since too many lost their lives on the slippery granite. And here is the perfect book to learn tribal history from:http://pharoseditions.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Naked-Against-the-Rain-Front-Cover.jpg

The fall color was beautiful,the moon visible and for a few short hours one could forget about the election.