"A Mighty Gorge"
[Verse 1]
Between basalt escarpments high
Where glacial waters carved
Past verdant veils that pierce the sky
In symphonies unscathed
While thermals lift on canyon winds
Through mist-enshrouded ways
The river's serpentine descent
Through emerald-mantled days
While wind surfers dance with western gales
Under the eagles’ watchful gaze
[Chorus]
From cascade peaks to desert's edge
The gorge reveals a tortured tale
Through corridors of time unleashed
Where maritime winds prevail
Each waterfall a silver thread
In nature's monumental trail
Past oxbow bends that trace the path
Of cataclysms old
[Verse 2]
At Vista House's crown of stone
The panorama sweeps
Through Multnomah's gossamer veil
Where ferned grottos sleep
Past petroglyphs on weathered walls
Where native stories dwell
And autumn chills ignite the hills
In orange, red and yellow
While gentle winter snows sublime
Beckon Portlanders to follow
[Verse 3]
Hood River's orchards drink in the sun
In terraced slopes of green
While windsurfers weave their spindrift dreams
Through whitecaps' silver sheen
Through shadowed shoals where stories drift
On evening's turning tide
Past rocky ramparts weather-worn
Where raptors wheel and glide
Over and under the Hood River Bridge
Where the river bends away
[Verse 4]
The Dalles commands its narrow realm
Where waters churn and braid
Through passages of memory deep
Where tribal rhythms played
While salmon surge through turbid depths
Toward ancient spawning grounds
Past maritime gates where currents merge
Toward Pacific’s raging far beyond
Through narrowed passages carved by flood
Where Lake Bonneville had gone
[Chorus]
From cascade peaks to desert's edge
The gorge reveals a tortured tale
Through corridors of time unleashed
Where lava rock could not prevail
Each waterfall a silver thread
Along nature's monumental trail
Past oxbow bends that trace a path
Where massive barges sail
And visitors stand in awe
Of wonders that never fail
