The photo above is of the Columbia in our neck of the woods.
When we travel from Colville to the Westside of the Cascade mountain range we cross the Columbia River on the Vantage Bridge. This is the place we text our loved ones with the words, ‘Roll On’, and they know exactly how far we’ve come in our journey. This river runs from British Columbia down through the state of Washington and along the border of Washington and Oregon and into the Pacific ocean.
Roll On Columbia
Words by Woody Guthrie, Music based on “Goodnight, Irene” (Huddie Ledbetter and John Lomax)
Green Douglas firs where the waters cut through.
Down her wild mountains and canyons she flew.
Canadian Northwest to the ocean so blue,
Roll on, Columbia, roll on!
CHORUS: Roll on, Columbia, roll on.
Roll on, Columbia, roll on.
Your power is turning our darkness to dawn,
Roll on, Columbia, roll on.
Other great rivers add power to you,
Yakima, Snake and the Klickitat, too,
Sandy Willamette and Hood River, too;
Roll on, Columbia, roll on.
Tom Jefferson’s vision would not let him rest,
An empire he saw in the Pacific Northwest.
Sent Lewis and Clark and they did the rest;
Roll on, Columbia, roll on.
It’s there on your bank that we fought many a fight,
Sheridan’s boys in the blockhouse that night,
They saw us in death but never in flight,
Roll on, Columbia, roll on.
At Bonneville now there are ships in the locks,
The waters have risen and cleared all the rocks,
Shiploads of plenty will steam past the docks,
Roll on, Columbia, roll on.
And on up the river is Grand Coulee Dam,
The mightiest thing ever built by a man,
To run these great factories and water the land,
It’s roll on, Columbia, roll on.
These might men labored by day and by night,
Matching their strength ‘gainst the river’s wild flight,
Through rapids and falls they won the hard fight,
Roll on, Columbia, roll on.
Roll on, Columbia, roll on.
Roll on, Columbia, roll on.
Your power is turning our darkness to dawn,
Roll on, Columbia, roll on.
We are enjoying a few days on the Westside with our ‘Coast Kids’. Our travels were uneventful with easy roads but a lot of wind. We stopped at our old Mexican Restaurant haunt in Kirkland for a afternoon meal and catch up time with our friends before we continued on to our kids’ home.
Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.
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The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 