Few weeks ago, still in California, already knowing we want to get to Seattle, we looked at the map and we saw Oregon. Oh well, it’s there, it looks we have to cross it no matter what - we thought and we started going through our guide books to find out what is there in Oregon. Cause, we have to admit, we had no idea. And as we wrote before Oregon surprised us in the best possible way. But then, we thought, we’ll just stop in Portland, take a look at waterfalls many people recommended, and then, we’ll take an interstate and we’ll go straight to Idaho. After all, how long you can drive among green trees. We were conviced that when it comes to Oregon we already saw it all.
Oh gods of ignorant travelers, how wrong we were! The best proof of the beauty of eastern Oregon is that we told our Idaho friends we’d get there on Friday, maybe Saturday. We finally got there on Tuesday feeling we had not seen enough. We will be back!
We left Portland driving by beautiful Columbia River. The interstate itself is already a scenic byway, and that’s just the beginning! As we were saying goodbye to civilization for a few days we took this last opportunity to do some quick 0-sales-tax shopping in Troutdale outlet. After all the kids keep growing and beautiful landscape is not enough to get them dressed …
Going east from Portland Troutdale (just by the outlet) is the best place to leave the interstate and take the old highway along Columbia River, "30". It goes on above the new one, sometimes few hundred feet higher, sometimes just next to it, sometimes they become one road. There are enough views and attractions for all day. We of course didn’t have all day, especially after couple hours in the outlet. But we still hoped we would see everything.
Interstate 84 and its older neighbor follow steps of old explorers. Lewis and Clark expedition went this way in the beginning of 19th century, tens of thousands of Oregon pioneers followed, not as many gold seekers though, as Seattle won this race with Portland so they would choose other paths too. Until now, most of trails are the same as 150 years ago, as Idaho and central Oregon are more difficult to reach.
We got to the first viewpoint easily. The name of it is quite difficult to remember as it’s called Portland Women’s Forum State Scenic Viewpoint. We don’t know why and we don’t know if there is any less official name of it. If there is it’s probably something like: amazing views to Columbia River from up high. And, as we don’t get paid by word, we’ll just show you the picture:
Next there was a disappointment waiting for us. Both now at this viewpoint, and before when we did Mt Hood Loop, we could see a picturesque building on a cliff. It was Vista House, one of the most famous places on this route. Unfortunately "30" including Vista House was closed this week due to some road work. Oh well, next time. We went back to the interstate to go back to the old route by the waterfalls.
That’s what we did. And for some reason (we got overwhelmed by fantastic views? We thought we couldn’t go there with a trailer?) we skipped three waterfalls: Latourell, Shepperd’s Dell and Bridal Veil. Don’t do that. If they are even a little bit as beautiful as the next ones, you’ll lose a lot. The first one we saw was Wahkeena. It’s a good appetizer before Multonomah. Wahkeena doesn’t look that great from the bottom. But after a few hundred feet of not really steep paved trail you can go on a little bridge and feel a cool breeze of the fall. It has also this adventage that many people decide not to go there focusing only on the most famous Multonomah, so it’s peaceful and quiet.
Multonomah on the other hand is like a beehive of tourists. Large parking, restaurant, gift shop. But still it’s worth it, as the waterfalls, both lower and upper, are simply amazing. Bridge, almost hundred years old, built of stone, green surroundings and 620 feet (over 300 meters) of water .It’s a must see in Oregon and we have to thank to all those people who said we have to see it.
As it was getting late we stopped at fish hatchery in Bonneville mostly to see another, after Seattle, fish ladder. But it was clearly not our day. The ladder was open until 5 pm and it was a few minutes past so we just let Maciek feed fish (you can get a handful of fish food for a quarter) and we went on.
Our next stop was Cascade Locks, one of the oldest towns in the area, home for a classical steamboat and first steam engine west of the Rockies. We stopped to see the Bridge of the Gods crossing Columbia River and connecting Oregon and Washington. We didn’t cross it as it is a toll bridge, but the view was nice. Maciek looked the other way and he saw a playground, and we had to spend there another hour. There were some other kids too, so he had a lot of fun. We enjoyed it too, park in Cascade Locks with a bridge view is a nice rest stop after a very busy day. Then we stopped for a burger and local beer and after dark we went by interstate to another free campsite, ran by Corps of Engineers by Bonneville Dam.
All day we drove surrounded by green - volcanic soil and water flowing down the mountains do their job. After dark we stopped by the river. Lots of RVs, few tents, some (as we found out later) Indians from Yakima, WA area sleeping in their cars. Loud, as there was not only a highway but also a railroad nearby. When we got up in the morning we realized that over those last 20 miles we drove after dark the landscape dramatically changed. We felt almost like in Arizona. But, as Oregon kept surprising us, there was still one attraction waiting ahead, almost as good as the Arizonian one.
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