Back to Portland

October 19 -
We were going to head back to Portland today and with rains in the forecast, were unsure of how to plan to day. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel. Since it wasnt raining yet, we decided to stop at Bonneville Dam and take a tour. This is a US Government facility - entry is free and very educational. The dam itself is quite small but looking at the fish ladder and understanding what the engineers are doing to sustain wildlife in the area is important. We saw only a couple of migrating salmon today but I enjoyed the visit. DH thought we should have skipped this and done a longer hike instead.

We did stop near Horsetail falls and go on the 1.2m trail towards Oneanta. You will be rewarded with a view of Ponytail falls (0.4m steep hike from the road), more stunning views of the river & gorge along the remaining 0.8m path to Oneanta. The falls at Oneanta is nothing to write home about but the hike is very enjoyable. Past the bridge at Oneanta, there is a fork where one can take a 1.1m trail to Triple Falls. We did not do this. One can also take a 1m hike down to the highway forming a loop to the Oneanta Falls trailhead. We decided to head back the way we came. We got some light showers on the way back.

View of the Columbia River during the hike to Oneanta Falls

Lan Su Chinese Garden

After a quick stop at the snack bar near Multnomah Falls, we headed into Portland. DH wanted to go shopping to the outlet stores in Woodburn (around 45 mins south of Portland). I nixed the plans in favor of walking the streets of downtown Portland. We were staying at the Marriot City Center which is in the heart of downtown and I could not justify heading out of town while we were going to be here only one night. So I dragged the family with me to the Lan Su Chinese garden in Chinatown. For nearly $10 per adult, this place is definitely not worth a visit. It might be a tranquil stop for a local Portlander but for a tourist, this is a waste of time and money unless you are really interested in Chinese tea and plants. We walked back in rain stopping at a couple of stores on the way. We eventually made our way to India House, an Indian restaurant on Morrison st. The food is decent - we had veg and seafood thalis. The portions are filling although the service was a little slow. No complaints after our last Indian meal experience!!! ;-) Nothing spectacular but good enough for satisfying an Indian food craving.

We called it an early night and unfortunately did not explore any of Portland's night life!

The scenic Columbia River Gorge

October 18 -
Today was our day in Hood River and surroundings; per plans dedicated to the Columbia River Gorge scenic drive. After a decent breakfast at the Riverside grill (included with our stay), we stopped at the Hood River visitor booth to get some maps of the area and look up the falls and nearby hikes. There was some good info to be had here since I didnt find anything similar online.

View of the Vista House from the Womens Forum Viewpoint

The best part of the scenic drive is between Portland and Hood River. We didnt explore the Washington side and did not venture out to The Dalles. We drove west on I-84 till exit 22 to state hwy -30. The first stop on this route going east from the town of Corbett is the Portland Women's Forum park. This scenic viewpoint offers spectacular views of the Columbia River, the vista house and the surrounding mountains. It was extremely windy when we stopped here and we could barely stand there to take even a few pics. In any case, its a definite stop on this route since the views are totally worth it. The next stop is the Vista house but the part of hwy-30 leading up to this spot was closed down for construction, so we had to skip it. A fork in the road (going right) leads up to Larch Mountain from where one can see the peaks of several mountains. We didnt go the 6-7 mile route, so cannot comment on the views but I am sure its stunning as well. We drove back the way we came, headed west on I-84 and took exit 28 to Bridal Veil falls. Once we got back on hwy-30, we headed east till we reached Latourell Falls. This was our first glimpse of a Columbia River Gorge Falls. I had my fill of photography from the lower vantage point. We then hiked up to the top of the falls - the hiking trail continues way past the falls but we we didnt venture out very far. From here we started out west - our next stop was Dell's Sheppard. This is a much smaller but more scenic waterfall. Its just a short climb from the highway and the bridge around the waterfall would probably offer a stunning picturesque photo if the light is right. I didnt quite get it since the Sun was in my face (and camera) and I couldnt quite avoid it no matter what angle I chose. An HDR might have worked but everyone was losing patience! :P

The "other" view near Bridal Veil Falls

Our next stop was Bridal Veil Falls. This is a bit of a hike down from the highway - so hike down to the falls, then hike back up. The location is very beautiful with a small wooden bridge amidst green forestry leading up to the actual falls. Lots of photo ops! :)



Wahkeena Falls is next (going east) and visible from the highway but we did not stop here. We headed on to the most famous of the falls along the route: Multonomah Falls. By this time the family was hungry. The result of not packing a picnic lunch was spending extra $$ on average food at the Multonomah Lodge restaurant at the falls. Its ok and a savior if you are starving since there isnt really anything else along the route unless you head out of the area. After doing to necessary "pet-pooja", we walked towards the falls. As cliched as the pics of these falls are, one cant resist getting that "money" shot with the same view/look. I got several one of which I am hoping will be hanging in a frame some day! :D

My money shot of Multnomah Falls!! :)

The climb up to Benson bridge is short - 0.2 m - worth it since the views from there are quite nice. The hike to the top is about 1.1 m - DH very enthusiastically climbed all the way up and pretty much sprinted down. He thought the climb was very much worth it as well. The falls is very pretty and even though I'd read it was over-rated, I would not recommend missing seeing it or hiking to the bridge/top.

Next on our drive east was Oneanta falls - which is a 1m hike from the road. We skipped this and went to the next one: horsetail falls - visible from the road. We got some pics here but take the trails to the several falls accessible from this location (including Oneanta Falls).

This little guy was actually posing for me!

We headed back on I-84 and took exit 44 to Bonneville Dam, with the intention of seeing the fish ladder and migrating salmon. Thought this might be interesting for DS. Unfortunately the place closes at 5pm. So we ended up strolling the fish hatchery and surrounding garden. Its nothing special but for a photo enthusiast, there are hidden treasures everywhere. We got to see some rather interesting fishes, ducks, flowers and fauna. Of course, I was wielding my camera everywhere! :P

By the time we reached Hood River it was time for dinner and DH found a hidden gem in the downtown. The 6th street Bistro is on 6th street off of Cascade Ave. We enjoyed our dinner here: coconut red curry, teriyaki stir fry, pear-walnut salad... the house soup - potato leek - was also excellent! So was the desert! We stayed with vegetarian options and everything was yummy. Definitely recommended.

Mt. Hood and Hood River

October 17 -

View from Drake Park

Once again we woke up to a beautiful day in Bend. After an early breakfast, we checked out of the Fairfield Inn and headed out to downtown Bend in search of a Post Office in order to mail DS's postcards to his friends. We didnt find a post office there but stopped at Drake Park right next to the Deschutes River in downtown Bend. The park offers stunning views of the surrounding foliage and the faraway Mt. Bachelor.

After getting our fill of fall pictures in the park, we headed out towards Hwy 97 and found a post-office right off the hwy. Our drive towards Mt. Hood took us through some scenic countryside, through the small town of Madras (where we stopped for food) and onto Timberline Lodge - listed as a historic landmark site. We spent some time here admiring the history of the lodge but most of its facilities like the Blue Ox Bar etc were closed. The bar upstairs was open and the view from there is pretty good. We spent some time playing shuffleboard in the game room.

DH in our rental car in front of Mt. Hood at Timberline Lodge

From Timberline Lodge, we drove to Hood River to our hotel for the night - Best Western Plus. The hotel is in a nice location right next to the Hood River bridge. Our room, the Oneanta Suite, is pretty nice too with a view of the Columbia River and the bridge.

After unloading our bags and freshening up, we drove north into Washington and then west on hwy 14 (also known as the Lewis and Clark Hwy) hoping to stop on the way to see the sunset. We started driving around 5pm and stopped at Drano Lake. Then continued on, thinking we would find lookout spots to catch the sunset. Unfortunately, there are no such points. We ended up back on the Oregon side after crossing over the Bridges of Gods past the town of Stevenson. On the Oregon side, we stopped by the river side and got some pics of the sky past sunset. We headed back to our hotel and had dinner at the Riverside Grill which is the restaurant in the Best Western. The restaurant is rated pretty high on Yelp but is nothing to write home about. It has typical American-Italian fare. The tomato soup and house garlic bread are pretty good. We also got a fairly good bottle of 2009 Merlot. But the main entrees were all lackluster.

Sunset sky at Hood River seen from the Oregon side near the Bridge Of Gods