Falling in love with Rowena

More rain was forecast for today, and we got it. Are you finding all this stuff about rain tedious? Well, so is Chris. Wanda does not mind it so much but then she does not have to ride and concentrate on the road. A comment today by a lady we met in a car park about our motorcycling in the bad weather made us realise just how exposed we are. For six months we have no place to call home, nowhere to retreat from the weather. We possess nothing except our motorbike and what we can carry on it, and our only option is to keep riding. It's kind of scary, but it is also incredibly wonderful that we have the opportunity to live like this. We are seeing and experiencing so much (but missing a bit, too). Most people have been curious, friendly, informative, courteous and helpful.

Our plans today were to ride the roads around Mt Hood, south of the Columbia River valley. The clouds were low and rain was falling as we travelled west from The Dalles on Route 30, the historic and incredibly scenic road that is now largely bypassed by I-84. We soon found ourselves riding up an amazing road to the top of the escarpment overlooking the Columbia River at Rowena. This road was engineered in the 1920's when vehicles were less powerful than today, so the road has no gradient greater than 5% and no corner of radius less than 100 ft. The engineers spared no expense to build the greatest scenic road in the world. The beauty of this road is best seen from the Rowena Overlook. The Columbia River also never ceases to amaze.

From Mosier, Route 30 merges with I-84. We got off the freeway at Hood River and stopped in the funky Dog River Cafe for our first hit of caffeine for the day. It works really well as a community centre with old lounge seating at the back, tables and chairs in the middle with Internet access. Both old and young (including children) people chatted and even a friendly, almost human, dog tried to join in. A few local papers were available for everyone to read, everyone except the owners that is, who were furiously working to keep up with the demand.

Low cloud meant that there was little prospect that we would see Mt Hood even if we were standing on it, so as we got back on our bike in the rain we continued west on Route 30 instead of turning south. About 20 miles further west we reached Cascade Locks, the town at the southern end of the Bridge of the Gods that we crossed a couple of days ago. A fascinating stop full of romantic Indian and white man history. A lovely area to visit. We took time to photograph the bridge and inspect the now defunct lock.

Ten miles further on, Route 30 broke away from I-84. Often it was only a stone's throw from I-84, but it was a world apart as the road wound through verdant, mossy forests, especially spectacular in the sun showers. Along the way were 4 major waterfalls. At least one good thing has come from all the rain: the waterfalls are flowing strongly and at their most spectacular.

Further along Route 30 the road again climbed to the top of the escarpment, this time to the beautiful Vista House built in 1918.

By the time Route 30 rejoined I-84 we had reached the outskirts of Portland. We travelled into the city centre and after cruising around for a while, sought out a motel in the downtown area. We went out walking to buy a bottle of wine to have with dinner. We found a liquor store a half a mile away only to be told they don't sell wine - we would have to go to a grocery or convenience store for that. During our walk the city surprised us. If you drive around a block you see tall buildings. It was difficult to find a store. Through the centre of the block however, were walkways lined with trees, a park with a large fountain and a shopping centre. In some places a tram-line went through the centre but no cars. All the flats facing the internal courtyard had this lovely view. Many sets of flats had an enclosed pool at ground level. This has given us a totally different view of Portland. This concept makes the city far more livable than many others.

We ate last night's leftovers in our room before taking in a movie at a nearby cinema. The night city was quiet, clean and glistened after the rain.