One thing I love about the cold weather is the ice formations on the waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge. It is just absolutely an amazing sight to see.

Although my digital SLR camera apparently did not like the cold when I photographed some of the waterfalls. The battery was draining a lot quicker than if I had photographed on milder days.

If you head out to the Columbia River Gorge during the frigid temperature, be sure to check out “nature’s ice sculptures.” There are several falls to choose from, but the most popular of them all is Multnomah Falls.

If you do go, be careful of the ice on the road and the pathways!

You can read more and see the photos of this amazing display from nature on my exclusive story for KATU.com “Nature’s ice sculptures form in the Gorge.”

There is an aerial perspective of the icy Mulnomah Falls from KATU’s Jet Ranger 2 (their helicopter) at KATU.com. It is also very cool!

Horsetail Fall was the subject of my post “Cool Ice,” yet the “bowl” did significantly increase in size overnight.

Meanwhile, crews have been working on restoring the Oneonta tunnel. Apparently they are installing the timber interior liner, similar to that of the Mosier Twin Tunnels.

Having this frigid weather really brings out the best in nature when it comes to waterfalls. The trail to Benson Bridge is open for the time being then it will close if the trail becomes icy and unsafe. This is great having blue sky and sunshine, and the wind did die off quite a bit.

Moving right along…

Latourell Falls is icing. The trail to the overlook is closed but the trail to the base of the falls is open and icy near the fall’s base.

It didn’t go boom! Satsop Cooling Tower 3 and the unfinished Reactor Axillary Building 5 near Elma, Washington.

I was curious. I didn’t know a thing about the defunct nuclear power plant sitting near Elma, Washington, just west of Olympia. Even around the time Trojan was being demolished.

I came across it by accident in a Google search. Satsop was the name (a name that sounds like a military term for satellite standard operating procedures).

Anyhow I dove towards Aberdeen today. It was foggy for the most part, but the fog broke for a bit to get a view of the twin 497-foot concrete towers. I wanted to see what one looked like inside. Tower 5 was filled with earth. Tower 3 had the diffuser and the basin completed, but the perimeter fencing was out a bit too far.

This plant was a project that began in 1972 by Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS, pronounced “Whoops”). In 1982 the project funding ran out and, as evident by Cooling Tower 5 and the re-bar laden Reactor Auxiliary Building 5, the plant was never completed.

Unlike Trojan, the cooling tower may not be demolished.

The cool thing was having some fun driving both my Labs insane by shouting their names into Tower 5 (it still works when shouting from outside the fence). I took the cue they had enough when they mucked me up with paw prints.

And my camera didn’t malfunction. Check out more photos.

Some assembly required: A crane hoists a wind turbine tower segment into place at a wind farm southeast of Wasco, Ore. Dec. 3, 2008.

I could never understand why I always had an interest for central and eastern Oregon. Maybe it’s the solitude. Maybe its the remnants of the early days of ranching. Maybe it’s because its nice and dry unlike the sponge-like conditions west of the Cascades.

I took a trip east on Interstate 84 and exited at Blalock Canyon Road. I was curious to see what was up this road. I never been on it. The road twisted its way up a grassy canyon before opening up to a vast plain. I found an abandoned ranch homestead and shots some photos of it.

There is one thing that I noticed from the last time I have been to Condon and that is the number of wind turbines. My gut feeling is the wind turbines will become the new forest for central Oregon.

As I drove northwest from Condon to Wasco past the 400-foot wind turbines, I stopped at one lonely rusted 30-foot high windmill with “Aermotor” fading away on the fin. I shot a photo of it. Farmers back then depended on wind power to pump water. Today, we use wind power to create electricity, which in return can run irrigation pumps.

I also noted some new Scenic Byways. Oregon 19 happens to be “Journey Through Time.” I’ll have to check out some of the scenic byways in Oregon later on.

North Silver Falls.

Apparently there is more than one waterfall at Silver Falls State Park. There are a good half dozen waterfalls. I’ve never been to this park before. The one waterfall I checked out today was the 136-foot North Silver Falls, which is about one-half mile from the North Trailhead at Oregon 214.

I could not help noticing the trailhead sign upstream indicating “NO KAYAKING.” It’s there for a good reason: the 136-foot waterfall plunges directly on to a wedge-shaped rock. I’ll have to revisit in the spring or summer when the days are longer.

Dogs are not permitted on the Canyon Trail. Lucky for me since I left my two dogs at home primarily to photograph the Silverton mayor-elect demonstration.

A foundation remains from where a building once stood until the Detroit Dam reservoir filled with water.

I was curious about Detroit Lake, a reservoir about 110 driving miles south of Milwaukie. At the end of October I drove to McKenzie Pass. Along the way I noticed Detroit Lake’s water level was incredibly low. So I headed down to Detroit Lake today to check it out.

I’m no fan of driving Interstate 5, so I drove on Oregon 213 through Molalla and Silverton to connect with Oregon 22. I tend to find more interesting things along the backroads (although those two towns are “interesting” in a different way). I also passed through a town called Liberal.

Detroit is a nice, quiet mountain town straddling the Cascade Mountains east of Salem. Boaters flock to the lake in the summer. Several docks and moors that are frequently used by the boaters are now dangling from the hillsides.

Many parks and campgrounds are closed. One Oregon State Park, Mongold, was still open. I stopped there to check out the reservoir.

I found several foundations and footing remains scattered at the low water boat ramp. Looking at the remains has me wondering what used to be here. The North Santiam Chamber of Commerce website said the foundations were the remains of the Detroit Dam construction camp.

Another attraction that got my attention was Piety Island, an island in the middle of the lake that is accessible by boat only. Well I walked to it, passing a sign that read CAUTION-LOW WATER posted about 50 feet above the water level. The island has 12 U. S. Forest Service campgrounds.

It’s amazing of the things you can find when these reservoir water levels do lower. At Lake Shasta in California, an old railroad bridge truss still standing and tunnel were discovered when the water level receded well over 170 feet.

Here is my first “Destination” video production. This is a tour of McKenzie Pass and the Dee Wright Observatory in the central Oregon Cascades.

The former Roslyn Lake now becoming a meadow.

In May, Portland General Electric drained Roslyn Lake. Four months later I saw the lake bed turned into a meadow. The construction crew are smoothing out the dikes. The Bull Run lake filler and the turbine intake towers are gone. The entire lake perimeter is fenced off with orange construction fencing and “No Trespassing: Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted” signage posted along Ten Eyck Road. The transformation is moving so amazingly fast.