Today is a short drive distance day – only about 90 miles but with tons of stops, it will take most of the day. We lolly gag a bit this morning, so we’re not so early out on the road. Go to breakfast at the Denny’s next door (nice –included!) then finally hit the road. The beginning of our drive takes us up I-5 toward Portland and through Nursery Central. Everywhere you look, on each side of the highway, acres and acres of nurseries. Every type of tree, bush, flowering plants and tulips imaginable – for miles. Talk about an agricultural heaven here. Makes the miles fly by watching everything along the side of the road.
We also have to stop for rather long-winded Association conference call – so we sit in a McDonald’s parking lot for way too long listening to the meeting – then finally just take off toward the Gorge while I’m still listening to the blather. Ed quickly stops at a TI in the cute little town of Troutdale while I stay in the car to finish up the conference call…
..then off we go to the Historic Columbia River Highway. Begun in 1913, the road was a vision of entrepreneur Sam Hill who wanted to create a highway from Portland to the Dalles, where the most beautiful things along the road could be seen and easily accessed. Together with Samuel Lancaster, the highway engineer, and with the backing of Portland civic leaders, the first scenic highway in the U.S. was completed in 1922 and still remains 75 miles of the most scenic road you’ll find in the States today. Over the years, some sections have been replaced by modern highway, tunnels filled and bridges destroyed. But today, advocates are restoring the road to its original grandeur, while keeping the once abandoned sections open and restored as the Historic Highway State Trail for walkers and bikers.
We’re excited to explore the highway, and have planned for many stops along the way. Even though the weather seems to be against us – the first real rain we’ve had all trip – we’ll make the best of it and just enjoy the drive and the scenery. Our first stop is the Portland Women’s Forum outlook. A beautiful stop at the beginning of the scenic River, you can get long views of both the Oregon and Washington banks of the Columbia. The rain has let up and the sun is beginning to shine when we arrive at the viewpoint. We are all alone – peaceful and serene. In the distance you can see the Crown Point Vista House – our next stop on the journey.
We snap pictures of ourselves, and as we are trying in vain to get the shutterball to work with Ed’s camera, another visitor shows up who is a photographer at heart. He takes our cell phone and proceeds to snap a ton of pictures of the 2 of us – each one trying for the best angle. It’s great! We ask him if he will follow us to all our destinations. LOL.
Lovely. We head off for the Vista House, and run into another helpful tourist who actually climbs into his car and through his sunroof to take our picture overlooking the river. And they say the South is friendly – the South’s got nothing on the Pac West!
The view here is fabulous, from a promontory Vista House is spectacular all on its own. We wandered inside the house to find that today is the 97th anniversary of the place. Docents dressed up in period costumes answer questions and they are serving a birthday cake (I’m a happy sugar addict!). We learn all about the house which was designed as an “observatory,” to see up and down the Columbia river. It was also used as a “comfort” station for those traveling up and the down the length of the historic highway. A doorway from the lower roadway allowed entrance for travelers to use the facilities.
The inside of the house is just as stunning as the outside – all marble with columns and winding staircases and stone floors. Photos didn’t come out, but the place is really lovely.
From the Vista House, we start our journey into the winding, forested area that makes the Columbia River Gorge Highway so majestic. There are 77 waterfalls along this road, and we won’t see all of them, but we are planning to see as many as we feasibly can – without hiking (because its been raining and we’re not up to slogging through mud).
The first stop is the Latourell Falls, which are off the road toward the River. Unfortunately, it’s a hike through the forest to the falls, so nix that one. Next on the highway are the Shepperd’s Dell falls. Better viewing from the road – at least there is a parking lot and a pretty dry trail. We hike down to the falls, negotiating all the people (there are an awful lot of people for a weekday), and finally jockey our way to a good viewing point. Pretty cool, and good close up photos,, not to mention a perfect opportunity to stretch our legs a bit.
Next are Bridal Veil Falls – more remote – even though you can see them from the road. Not hiking up here either. We’re trying to save our sneakers – they are the only shoes we have and can’t afford to have them muddied up for the rest of the trip!
We skip a couple other stops, and head straight to Multnomah Falls – the big Magillah of the falls on this road. Multnomah is the tallest waterfall in Oregon, and the 2nd tallest year round waterfall in the U.S. It doesn’t disappoint. We’ve seen pictures, and the reality is just a spectacular, even if our pictures aren't!
On the way back to the car, we stop to watch a little chipmunk attack the trash by the bin. He seems to be curious about us too, so we have a little bit of a stare-off. So cute. Reminds me of home – I love those little critters (as opposed to their nasty squirrel cousins).
On down the road we wind – through gorgeous forest, with little peeks of the Columbia Gorge to our left. This part of the road reminds us of a mini version of the Road to Hana – all twists and turns and woods and water. Not quite the same hard driving, but reminiscent for certain. The weather is different too - cloudy with rain on and off, but it no torrential downpours, so it doesn’t really affect the drive or the scenery.
We decide to make one last waterfall stop at the Horsetail Falls. Once again, there is a parking area and it is an easy stroll to view the falls right off the road.
We are close to then end of our drive for the day, it’s not been a long one – straight driving would have been about an hour and a half – but with so many picture stops, and of course the obligatory conference call – it has taken us over 5 hours to reach this point of the highway. So, we make an executive decision to forgo any more sightseeing and head straight to the hotel in Cascade Locks and relax for the rest of the afternoon.
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