Spirit Lake or somewhere in North Cascades?

Harold on 15th July 2019 @ 9:07am

The Gifford book is titled "Artwork of Portland, Mt Hood and the Columbia" so I think it's someplace closer.

ArthurB on 15th July 2019 @ 9:31am

I would say north bank railroad.
Just before Drano??

L.E. on 15th July 2019 @ 9:38am

My guess also is just down stream of Drano- at the rock out cropping that still jets into the river. Occasionaly a tug is tied up in this area to this day. I’m glad you are enjoying the pics Arthur and sharing with everyone ! Thank you for scanning them for all.

Stever on 15th July 2019 @ 9:58am

Which reminds me, we should all thank Steve for the loan of the book which is the source for all these great Gifford photogravures.

ArthurB on 15th July 2019 @ 10:19am

Hmmm, methinks this is the outcrop immediately east of the Dog Mtn parking lot. Photo is looking downstream with Oregon on the left.

scott cook on 15th July 2019 @ 10:25am

I was assuming it was a lake due to the title. So folks think it's the Columbia?

Harold on 15th July 2019 @ 10:33am

I think Scott is correct. I've embedded a Google street view in the notes. The hills line up perfectly, though the Gifford image was taken a 100 yards or so south, from the river.

ArthurB on 15th July 2019 @ 10:59am

I don't see the match with the Google view. The scale is way different. The historic pic is the scale of an alpine lake basin, not the broad Columbia.

Harold on 15th July 2019 @ 3:05pm

Harold, it's always hard to match photographs because the focal length of the camera lens needs to be the same for it to look "right". I'm used to correcting for that in my head, and this is about as close a match as you can get. The simple check is to look at the shape of the curve formed by the top of the mountains on the opposite shore. The shape is the same, though the Google view is wider so you see more mountains. The "island" in the foreground is in the wrong place because Gifford was a little south when he took his shot, but the angle on the distant mountains convinces me we're within a very small distance of Gifford.

ArthurB on 15th July 2019 @ 4:43pm

I am making a guess that the title of the photo is in reference to the early efforts of the railroad to encourage industrious Europeans and the wealthy from the east coast to settle in the Pacific NW.
They hired agents to promote the idea. Perhaps that is what Gifford was doing.

https://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/Website/Classroom%20Materials/Pacific%20Northwest%20History/Lessons/Lesson%2014/14.html

Thanks Scott Cook for identifying the spot. I travel The Gorge every week and even though the view was familiar, I couldn’t place it. There is often times a patch of snow in the same spot as this photo.

L.E. on 16th July 2019 @ 5:26am

@AuthurB and all - Re: Gifford photogravures. - It is with great pleasure I share the pics with everyone in honor and in good memory of my late father WR Bus Gibson - Born in HR and raised in Odell - a true early GORGE lover of everything history and trails who passed onto his next journey on his own trail a year ago today - 08/01/18 - Love and miss you Dad ! Your son Steve-

Stever on 1st August 2019 @ 8:36pm

Sorry for your loss Steve. And not just you, but everyone, when one of the old timers passes on. They carried so much knowledge, so many memories, and so much experience.
We will never gain the amount of knowledge they gathered through their lives.

These photos help, if they contribute just a bit of what they remember.

L.E. on 1st August 2019 @ 8:46pm

Lakes don't generally have current in them.

David J on 7th August 2019 @ 12:14pm

Came across a statement or advertisement in the August 21, 1901 The Dalles Daily Chronicle. All it says is...
Gifford's Fotos Never Fade

L.E. on 20th August 2019 @ 8:55pm

Thanks Steve, I have many great memories of your father.

Kenn on 19th September 2019 @ 9:38am