Day 41-July 29, 2012-Columbia River Gorge
Yesterday we went west to Portland, today we went east to the Columbia River Gorge. It was cloudy in the morning but turned out to be another beautiful sunny day with temperatures around 80.
We started on I-84 which parallels the Columbia River on the Oregon side and you see across to Washington State. We got off for a while and drove on the Historical Columbia River Scenic Byway, past Bridal Veil Falls and then on to the 620’ Multnomah Falls where we stopped for a while. Back on the road we passed gorges, dams, the Horsetail Falls, Cascade locks and a salmon fish hatchery. We stopped at Mitchell outlook where we watched wind-surfers and got blown all over the mountain.
Went about 50 miles east to Hood River, OR (yes, it’s a city name too) where we drove part of the Hood River Fruit Loop, a 35-mile loop that has over 30 fruit stands, orchards, flower farms, lavender farms, vineyards, nut and berry farms and alpacas. We had a view of Mt. Hood (the tallest mountain in OR at 11,235) in the front window and Mt. Adams (12,276, but it’s in WA) in the rear. Found out they call these mountains "stand alone" mountains because there are no other peaks or mountains near them and they really are impressive on the skyline. They are both no only snow capped but covered in snow as far down as you can see. Stopped at a few vineyards and at one we ate the lunch we packed on their patio and they brought the tastings out to us. Great time!
Drove into the town of Hood River to “the event site” where there were a lot of wind-surfers, kite flyers, swimmers and people having a good time. You can rent a kayak, surfboard or wind-surfer thingy, take lessons or join a group right there. Very windy!!!!! There was a town up on the hill with all kinds of shops. Enjoyed the trip back with different views of the river because of the sun.
Stopped for some groceries and gas for the trip tomorrow. We have a 10AM appointment to get the brakes checked and then we’re off to someplace, probably south. How far we get will probably depend on what time we leave here. Did some laundry while we have the chance. Ate dinner while the dryers were working. Nice big laundry at this campground so we got it done quickly. It’s like a resort here, lots of activities, a heated pool, spa, clubhouse, two laundry rooms. Quite a few people are here for months, most of them from Texas, a few from Florida. I can see why, the weather, scenery and area is beautiful (this time of year, anyway). Even though we didn't plan on coming here this year it turned out to be one of my favorite places so far.
Really busy week-end, we're both tired. Maybe watch some Olympics, maybe just hit the sack.