The Columbia River gave us a breathtaking view on our drive on highway US 730 west of Walla Walla, Washington. Barren high mountains on both the Washington and Oregon sides are like no other place on earth. An added event was getting our motorhome weighed free in Oregon. The state leaves their scales open when not weighing trucks and they encourage RVers to weigh their rigs. We drove on the scales and weighed each axle then circled around and weighed the right side tires. By doing simple math we now know the weights of each wheel and once again we found we are under load capacity on each wheel.

With paved roads and traveling in a motorhome we had an easier time traveling along the Columbia River than Lewis and Clark in 1805 and 1806. Their expedition traveled down the river in dugout canoes crossing many falls and rapids. Indians had lived in the river area 10,000 years living off fish that were so abundant they could be scooped out of the river. Indian villages lined the river and where present-day The Dalles is located, was in Lewis and Clark's time a trading hub for Indian tribes from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The Corps of Discovery did not like eating fish so they traded with the Indians to obtain dogs for their meat supply.

After driving beside the Columbia River we crossed into Washington and pulled into Maryhill State Park, a campground we used in 2001. But the campground was full due to a nearby music festival. In rain we scouted the area and found free camping just feet from the river and near John Day Dam on Corps of Engineering property. It was a beautiful place to stay a few days with views of the river, John Day Dam and vast barren mountains in both states. Why would anyone pay for a campground site when you can camp free right on the river?

Our first scenic drive took us to Stonehenge in Maryhill. This is the area that Sam Hill owned, developed and tried to turn into a farming community. Have you ever heard the term, "What in the Sam Hill are you doing?" Well, Sam Hill was an eccentric person but he is a legend there. On top of a hill above town he built Stonehenge, a replica of the one in England to honor the local boys killed in World War I. From Maryhill we drove up, up, up and over the mountain to high plains farming where wheat and cattle are raised. At Goldendale we drove back roads to the small community of Bickleton and turned south towards the small community of Roosevelt. There, in the middle of no-where we stopped at Whoop-N-Holler Museum on the farm of Lawrence and Ada Ruth Whitmore. They have a collection of old cars and trucks, pioneer antiques, a complete one-room schoolhouse and many other interesting objects. We were disappointed the Whitmores were not home but we toured the museum anyway. We had been there is 2001 and wrote a short story on the museum. Click here to see that story, then click back on your browser to return here.

Another scenic drive took us to Stevenson also on the Washington side. The entire downtown has free WiFi (wireless internet) and that is the first time we've found that. On the river there were many people wind surfing and kite boarding, sports too thrilling for us to attempt. Wind blows constantly up the river and it is a perfect place for those sports which we enjoyed watching.

Back on the Oregon side we stopped at Bonnieville Dam, a National Historic Landmark. The site consists of a lock and dam, two electric generating plants, a fish hatchery, fish ladders, two visitor centers with exhibits, movies and fish viewing areas. Between 700,000 and one million adult salmon and steelhead migrate up river each year while 30 to 50 million swim downstream. Fish ladders on both shores make it easier and safer for fish to swim up stream. Fish counters (people) watch the migrating fish and note the numbers and species. For security reasons the power generating plants and the lock are closed to visitors, but we were fortunate to get a private lock tour from Park Ranger Claudia Round. Bonnieville Dam, the first of eight dams on the Columbia-Snake Island Waterway, forms Lake Bonnieville, a 48 mile long reservoir. The lock is 86 feet wide, 675 feet long and has a vertical lift of 60 feet. While on our personal tour of the lock we got to see a small boat go through.

After leaving Bonneville we drove east looking for a place to eat and remembered friends Rich and Diane Emond had eaten Yak at a restaurant in The Dalles. We could not remember the name of the restaurant that served Yak so we stopped at Cousin's Restaurant and were pleasantly surprised we had accidently found the restaurant that served Yak burgers. Hey, they were pretty good - better than buffalo.

Moving west along the Columbia River Gorge the scenery suddenly changed from barren mountains and plains to lush green rain forest. We stopped for a few days at the KOA Kampground in Cascade Locks, Oregon. One of the best things about the campground was they had free WiFi. Our first scenic drive was along the Columbia River Scenic Highway (old highway US 30) along the Oregon coast. The highway was constructed between 1913 and 1922 and was the first paved road in the western United States. The route is high above the Columbia Gorge and goes through tunnels, across soaring concrete bridges and hugs the mountain cliffs. Much of the old road was destroyed when Interstate 84 was constructed and some of the road is in disrepair, but the section from Dodson to Sandy River is still open. This part of the road provides the opportunity to experience some of the most beautiful waterfalls in the United States. There are twelve falls, the best known are Horsetail Falls, Triple Falls, Multnomah Falls, Wahkeena Falls, Bridalveil Falls and Latourell Falls. We visited four of the falls. Multnomah Falls at 619 feet is the tallest falls in Oregon and the fifth highest in the United States. A steep path leads to Benson Bridge, midway up the falls, for a better view of the falls and pools. Horsetail Falls descends 176 feet into a pool where swimming is popular. Wahkeena Falls drops 242 feet and Latourell Falls plunges 249 feet.

Our last stop on the old scenic road was Vista House at Crown Point. It was built in 1918 as a rest stop and observatory for travelers. At 733 feet above the Columbia River it presents an inspiring view. Inside rare Tokeen Alaskan marble was used to surface the floors and stairs in the rotunda and also on basement walls. The inside of the dome and its supporting ribs were painted to simulate marble and bronze and attached to the walls are eight busts of Native Americans. The windows are stained glass while the roof is covered with glazed green tile. The original price to build Vista House was $100,000 and years of unprotected exposure to wind and rain caused much damage. The House was recently restored to the tune of more than $2 million. It again stands in its former glory but is not open to the public. The restrooms and gift shop are in the basement and the building is not handicapped accessible so the government will not allow it to be opened. The dilemma is to add handicapped features will destroy the original structure.

Our final scenic drive was the Mt. Hood loop and we drove it like no one else as explained later. South of Hood River we discovered pear trees everywhere and found it is the pear capital of the world. We proceeded around the east side of the mountain and at Timberlake Lodge we drove up the mountain to get a better view. Mt. Hood has an elevation of 11,239 feet and receives over 400 inches of snow annually. Skiing and snow boarding are twelve month sports at the upper elevations. As drawn on brochures the Mt. Hood scenic loop continues west to near Portland and then turns back east. That road would have taken us away from the mountain and many miles out of our way so we found a scenic back road. From the town of Zig Zag we took Lolo Pass Road that goes around the mountain on the west side. The road was narrow and paved part of the way, then turned into a gravel one lane road that often hugged the lower side of the mountain. About 15-mph was a fast as we could drive but the trip was scenic and we were not bothered by traffic.

If you have never visited the beautiful Columbia River Gorge we recommend you spend a couple of weeks in that area and take daily scenic drives on both sides of the river. There is no other place in the country like the Gorge area. Oh, make sure you stop at some of the many roadside vegetable and fruit stands and buy some fresh food. You can purchase cherries, pears, apples, peaches, plums, tomatoes, squash, watermelons and many other home grown foods.