The Severed Cortex

Scenery, scenery, scenery. Today was jam packed with lovely Oregon scenery.

We started off this morning with coffee and coffeecake at the Dragonfly Coffee House which is two blocks from the hotel at 24th and Thurman. I didn't have the heart to tell the proprietor that dragonfly is not the correct name and that it should be called the Snake Doctor Coffee House.

After coffee we head east out of town towards Mt. Hood and Columbia Gorge. It's very foggy this morning so we don't get the full effect of scenery. The first stop is Multnomah Falls, a massive 600+ foot double waterfall. Because of the fog it seems like the waterfall is just dropping out of the sky. We hike halfway to the top of the falls before we decide that it's way too much hiking so early in the morning. Although Multnomah Falls is the most spectacular, there are a dozen or so falls like it along the Columbia River Scenic Highway.

Our next stop is the Bonneville Dam and Fish Hatchery. We walk around checking out the rainbow trout, sturgeon, and coho. I've never seen rainbows so big in my life. They must weigh somewhere around 15 pounds. The sturgeon in this pic is named Herman and he is about 10 feet long. We head over to the visitor center at the dam where I engage the information guy on river traffic on the Columbia. We head downstairs and check out the fish ladder, but since this is the tail end of the spawning season we only see a couple of coho.

We mosey back out to I-84 stopping at Viento State Park for a wine and cheese picnic. We also take time to dip our toes in the Columbia River. Pretty cold water. After a short stop at the Mitchell Point Overlook to take a picture, we head back east towards the town of Hood River. While Mitchell Point is just another of the great scenic places along I-84, the information about the tunnel that used to be here is pretty interesting. It's a bit of an engineering marvel.

Next we travel to the town of Hood River and head south on Highway 35 towards Mt. Hood. I thought we would be able to travel to the top of Mt. Hood, but we are only able to barely get to the snow line (around 4500 feet). Still, it's a very scenic drive. In our Fodor's book there is an off the beaten track paragraph about a lake called Lost Lake. We drive back to Hood River to get gasoline and ask the local gas pump guy how to get there. He gives us excellent directions which, as it turns out, we would have never been able to figure out on our own. Lost Lake is about 25 miles from Hood River and provides today's pic of the day. The silence was deafening here and the giant red cedar trees provided excellent cover for the trail around the lake. I understand why this one of the most photographed spots in the western US.

The sun is starting to go down and we head back to Portland, jumping on the Columbia River Scenic Highway wherever we can. The car we rented has XM satellite and we are able to listen to the Cardinal game with John Rooney and Mike Shannon. It was like being at home.

After a quick stop at the hotel, we decide to walk down 23rd street to find dinner, settling on Papa Haydn's. The food is very good. Nancy has a salad to start off with and goat cheese and parsnip ravioli for her meal. I have a cup of the potato soup and follow up with a grilled pork chop atop a bed of potato, pancetta, onion, and swiss chard hash. The food was excellent, but the topper was dessert. Apparently this is the place for dessert in Portland. Nancy has a Mayan chocolate cake with mexican chocolate. I have a lemon curd tart with raspberry sauce.

On the walk back to the hotel we see a kid in a Cardinal hat. After commenting on it we find out that the Cardinals have won the World Series. It's a very nice ending for a very nice day.