Day 4 – Columbia River Gorge, Historic Highway and a drenching

Columbia River Gorge from the Women's Forum

The weather forecast for the day was not great, with rain and thunderstorms predicted for our ride along the Columbia River Historic Highway. 

We were picked up by our guide Christy and taken to a high point called the Women’s Forum which gave a spectacular view of the gorge. The forum is not a building but an area where many years ago woman met to discuss various important issues.  In the distance were the potential rain clouds.  After

Ready to go on our adventure

taking some photos, we freewheeled down to the Vista, a kilometre or so away, for another view of the same panorama.  It was then a long descent down a road that undulated alongside the river.  Although we shared the road with cars, the drivers were very courteous and when passing they gave us lots of room.  It was a beautiful ride with a number of waterfalls along the way, including the Bridal Veil falls and the Multnomah Falls which are the highest falls in Oregon and the second highest all year round falls in the U.S.

The section of road we were riding had been developed in the early days of the car to provide a scenic route for those who had one of the new fandangled means of transport (as described by the visionaries).  They constructed a paved road right from the beginning.

The falls - not that spectacular but pretty

After stopping for a photo at the Multnomah Falls, we carried on until the beginning of the State Trail which was a closed road and followed the old highway where it had not been destroyed during the creation of the interstate highway. Just as we arrived, the heavens opened so we stopped under shelter, while we waited for it to ease off.

Yep, it's bucketing rain

Christy gave us the option of continuing on the trail to the Cascade Locks (a village) or returning with her to the van.  I had really wanted to ride that portion of the trail so we opted for doing that.  In the meantime she hightailed it back to the van on her bike. 

I suspect, that freed from our slow pace, she went at some speed.  Some years prior, she had ridden from the West Coast on her own, starting at Portland and finishing at Baltimore.  She had done that unsupported and it took her 29 days.  As she said, she was very fit at end of that ride!

On the trail - no cars!

In the meantime, we continued along the bike trail, stopping to read information about the old road.  It was a marvel of engineering for its time.  It was narrow compared to the roads nowadays, but the cars were generally a bit smaller.  We had a bit of climbing to do and as we  approached Cascade Locks, we had a wonderful view of them and the Bonneville hydro dam which had been built many years ago.  It had been an area of rapids and initially locks were built to allow ships to navigate further upstream. Later the dam was built, new locks installed and the old ones drowned. 

By now, it had stopped raining.   

 

Autumn colours are starting to appear

We got to Cascade Locks at about the same time that Christy arrived back at our starting point.  It took her about half an hour to get back to us from there.  In the meantime, we had some lunch including a delicious Marionberry Pie made on the premises, with lashings of whipped cream.  The restaurant was under a bridge that spanned the Columbia River called the Bridge of the Gods.  It is a rather attractive steel bridge

After lunch I found a fruit stall where a lovely indigenous woman was selling her organic fruit, which tasted incredibly good.  It had lots of flavour and she was very informative and passionate about what she was growing.  It was so good to taste such food.

Bridge of the Gods

Christy arrived just as we were heading back to the agreed rendezvous point.

After we returned to our apartment, we went to get some dinner supplies.  (There is a supermarket a few hundred metres down the road).  I am always fascinated by different types of supermarkets.  This one seemed to have a focus on good nutrition.  The fruit and vegetables looked incredibly fresh and it included an organic section.  There was a statement about the meat not having growth hormones  or antibiotics and that it had been raised in healthy conditions. They even had a good wine section with a man who was reasonably knowledgeable about it.  A nice addition to the service was rewarding customers for bringing their own bags.  They could either get a small discount or nominate to donate the discount to a local good cause.

I chose a couple of bottles to taste over the next couple of nights.  Both the Pinot Gris and the Pinot Noir were from Oregon which were very nice and quite good value, meaning we may have indulged a little too much!

A tourist paddle boat at just before the locks

Bonneville Dam and Locks

Another view of the trail

Looking the other way. Concrete on left was constructed at the time of the road building

Postscript: Last year a teenager fired a rocket into dry forest in this area and it ravaged a huge area.  Where we rode if you didn't know fire had been through but you could see in parts the fire damage.  Looking up on the hills and mountains above the road it was all too apparent with skeletons of the trees stark against the sky and mountains.  Apparently the teenager had a huge fine and has to do a significant amount of community work.  It is something he will have to live with for a long time.