Oregon - Columbia River Gorge

We drove from the Oregon coast north to I 84 and west along the Columbia River to Memaloose State Park. We chose this campground because it was in the center of the area that we wanted to investigate. The drive along the Columbia River was gorgeous. We began our exploration at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Museum. It gave us a good overview of the history, geology, and transportation of the area including the Native Americans, Lewis & Clark, and the Oregon Trail. A nearby city, The Dalles, was our next stop where we looked around the city and enjoyed a picnic by the river. It was the first end of the Oregon Trail. We drove to The Dalles Dam but the visitor center was not open. The dam was an impressive sight.

Instead of taking I 84 east we drove along the Historic Columbia River Highway, the original route 30 constructed in 1922 that connected Portland to The Dalles. We thought the view from the interstate was amazing, but the scenes from this two lane road were spectacular. Here's a picture looking up to one viewpoint. It's hard to see but there are people at the very top looking down. That's where we were headed.

Once we got to the top we had a panoramic view of the area. Once again the pictures can't capture how truly beautiful it was.

This is the S curve in the road that we took to the top.

Here are a few more shots of what we saw.

After our drive along the scenic highway we headed west to Hood River, the windsurfing capital of North America. We didn't see any windsurfing going on while we were there. We drove south to an area called the Fruit Loop. It consists of orchards, fruit stands, vineyards, lavender fields, and nut and berry farms. We discovered that 1/3 of the nation's pears are produced there. We chose to stop at the Gorge White House because it is a century old working farm and listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. In the main house a variety of wines were available for tasting and purchase. In a building beside the house produce and flowers were sold. As we looked in the back yard we could see areas where customers can pick their own flowers and fruit.

The pears that we bought were scrumptious. We were amazed at all the orchards in the area.

On the way back we saw a spot on the map called Panoramic Point and decided to investigate. We wove our way up to the top of the hill to see what we could see. We were a bit underwhelmed. Mostly what we saw were fruit orchards.

As we looked to the south we could vaguely see Mt. Hood, the 11,235 mountain in the distance. Look carefully in the center of the picture and you may see it too.

The following day we planned to cross the river and travel west along the river in Washington to Camas to tour the Pendleton Woolen Mills factory. After that we were going to cross back over to Oregon and drive along more of the Historic Columbia River Highway. There were several waterfalls and another dam that we wanted to see. Instead of that fun day of exploration we spent the day in the RV because I got hit with a stomach virus. We tried to extend our stay another day, but all the sites were taken. So we accepted the fact that we couldn't see everything anyway and appreciated all the wonderful sights of Oregon that we did get to see. After a summer of adventures it was time to head back east.