StayCation Grand Finale - Maryhill Winery Concert with Best Friends

It's a picnic, it's a concert, and it's a scenic overlook all in one.  

The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic area starts just east of the Portland Metro area and extends to about Maryhill, Washington.  The contrast in climate and scenery is stunning.  In the west, waterfalls spill through Douglas Firs.  In the middle, mixed conifers, snow-capped volcanoes and kite boarders catch the eye.  Out east, golden, treeless rolling hills stretch forever.  

Randi, Dale, Tim and Michelle met us at Maryhill Winery for food, wine, The Wallflowers, and The Counting Crows. The amphitheater offers a welcoming, lush lawn to spread a blanket and share food.  Because it is such a laid back atmosphere, people feel free to talk, like at a baseball game.

We left before the encores, a concession to work the next day.  So, we enjoyed recorded hits of the Counting Crows as we sped back after sunset but before total blackness.  The last light of day created the silhouettes of the rocky cliffs diving into the wide Columbia.  Above, stars and a crescent moon shown in the midnight blue.  Washington Highway 14 is curvy and hundreds of feet above the river out there.  It's the kind of road ad agencies use to sell BMWs.  As Tim once said during daylight hours, "It's like driving in a painting."

Sometimes, ya just gotta be grateful.  

Jackson Browne Concert

August 22, 2009

We're pleased that a new Brew Pub with good food opened on the Washington side of the river, in White Salmon. It saved us from cooking before driving, east, up river, to Maryhill Winery for the Jackson Browne concert.

Another gorgeous night in the Columbia River Gorge: perfect temperature, pastel sky and dramatic scenery that changes every few miles: from fir covered slopes, to rocky outcrops and oaks, to no trees and golden grassy hills. The Maryhill venue is terrific, and we plan to go next summer, too.

Photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39474118@N06/sets/72157621998795737/

Friends Tim and Michelle and their neighbors had tickets for the general admission grassy amphitheater, so we hung out with them before the concert and during the break. It's always a pleasure to spend time with them. They work hard and smart and are enjoying the fruits of their labor, including a private airplane to transport them without hassles to the great parks of the Western United States and Canada.

Jackson Browne and his band performed without a warm up act. (Thank goodness, because warm up bands can be tepid, and we don't seem to stay awake past 10:00.) The band cosists of talented professionals, who put on a great show lasting nearly three hours. Jackson Browne mixed his ballads with some high-energy favorites that got the crowd going. His backup singers can knock out some great lyrics with power and beauty. Too bad they were featured less this concert than the one in September. I suppose that JB knows people at summer concerts want old-time favorites, and the women have more to sing in his newer songs.

Unlike last month's Counting Crows concert, the reserved-seat crowd took a long time to get out of their seats and dance in front of the stage. I attribute that to the artist, music and crowd all being more mellow. It's hard to videotape unless there is a crowd for cover. Fortunately, the timing was right for me to capture "Cuba", (link below) and a couple other good ones.

Video at: http://www.youtube.com/user/merrick792#play/all/uploads-all/0/ZY2zLUCOYzI