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Had a relatively free day, so I decided to go for a ride east from Gresham. General plan was to take I-84 east towards The Dalles, and then head south on 197 towards Maupin, 216 back west towards hiway 26 which would take me around Mt. Hood and back to Greshan:
I-84 is a major interstate with lots of east-west traffic, but it is spectacularly beautiful as it passes through the Columbia Gorge. My favorite part on the Oregon side is to exit at Mosier and take the Historic Columbia River hiway 30. I never grow tired of taking this 10 mile break from 84. I live on the wet (west) side of the Cascades, and the area just after Hood River before Mosier marks the beginning of the dry areas of Oregon.
The views along this curvy stretch are amazing with lots of lookout areas of the Columbia River.
I had left home just after 10:30 and after stopping for too many photos it was time for lunch in The Dalles. Found a nice roadside taco shop with tacos for $2.50 each. Wish I could remember the name--so much better today than a sit down restaurant.
I work about an hour from The Dalles, and it's a place that my wife and I are considering for the last few years of full-time work at our current jobs, and then retirement. She used to work in Portland, but with covid her IT area realized it no longer needed a physical location for the most part, and if/when they return, it may be only once a month or even once every three months. That means we can extend our possible retirement home search sooner rather than later. For me, I'd have to drive an hour each way, but only 2-3 days per week, but that would likely be for 3-4 more years only...do-able, I think. So the trip was to take in ideas for the future as well as stretch the CB legs.
It gets really dry after The Dalles...the dam in the back ground is one several along the Columbia.
I thought I got all of both horns in the photo, but missed it by a little. Mt. Hood in the back ground.
The bridge crossing the Columbia and looking north towards Washington. The terrain I'm standing on is actually a lot for sale...hmmm...build?
On 197 heading south, just a mile or two away from the river. Few trees...so different than the forrested Mt. Hood area.
The last time I was on this stretch of 197 was last summer and I was riding my KLR650, finishing a 4 day central / eastern OR camping trip. I happened upon a huge smoke plume from forest fires and it was bad. I actually had to break camp at 3am the last night because the ash from the fires caught up with me and was making it a bit difficult to breath. Today, a different story:
Descending into Maupin with the Deschutes River in the distance. If you like river rafting, Maupin is the place to be.
I wanted to make it all the way to Madras, but I was also curious about hiway 216, as it was the route I as going to take last summer but couldn't because it was closed due to the fire. Just a beautiful section heading back to the forests of Mt. Hood.
Ht. Hood in the distance
Soon I was back among the trees
It was a good plan because I was back in the cool of the forest as the heat increased throughout the day...
Made it back home before 5:00 and rode about 215 miles.
Does anybody else like their Honda CB1100?
I-84 is a major interstate with lots of east-west traffic, but it is spectacularly beautiful as it passes through the Columbia Gorge. My favorite part on the Oregon side is to exit at Mosier and take the Historic Columbia River hiway 30. I never grow tired of taking this 10 mile break from 84. I live on the wet (west) side of the Cascades, and the area just after Hood River before Mosier marks the beginning of the dry areas of Oregon.
The views along this curvy stretch are amazing with lots of lookout areas of the Columbia River.
I had left home just after 10:30 and after stopping for too many photos it was time for lunch in The Dalles. Found a nice roadside taco shop with tacos for $2.50 each. Wish I could remember the name--so much better today than a sit down restaurant.
I work about an hour from The Dalles, and it's a place that my wife and I are considering for the last few years of full-time work at our current jobs, and then retirement. She used to work in Portland, but with covid her IT area realized it no longer needed a physical location for the most part, and if/when they return, it may be only once a month or even once every three months. That means we can extend our possible retirement home search sooner rather than later. For me, I'd have to drive an hour each way, but only 2-3 days per week, but that would likely be for 3-4 more years only...do-able, I think. So the trip was to take in ideas for the future as well as stretch the CB legs.
It gets really dry after The Dalles...the dam in the back ground is one several along the Columbia.
I thought I got all of both horns in the photo, but missed it by a little. Mt. Hood in the back ground.
The bridge crossing the Columbia and looking north towards Washington. The terrain I'm standing on is actually a lot for sale...hmmm...build?
On 197 heading south, just a mile or two away from the river. Few trees...so different than the forrested Mt. Hood area.
The last time I was on this stretch of 197 was last summer and I was riding my KLR650, finishing a 4 day central / eastern OR camping trip. I happened upon a huge smoke plume from forest fires and it was bad. I actually had to break camp at 3am the last night because the ash from the fires caught up with me and was making it a bit difficult to breath. Today, a different story:
Descending into Maupin with the Deschutes River in the distance. If you like river rafting, Maupin is the place to be.
I wanted to make it all the way to Madras, but I was also curious about hiway 216, as it was the route I as going to take last summer but couldn't because it was closed due to the fire. Just a beautiful section heading back to the forests of Mt. Hood.
Ht. Hood in the distance
Soon I was back among the trees
It was a good plan because I was back in the cool of the forest as the heat increased throughout the day...
Made it back home before 5:00 and rode about 215 miles.
Does anybody else like their Honda CB1100?
