Off the Tracks - Portland, OR - 5562 Miles

Our first three day's in Portland were governed by the the rail system routes. It reminded me our our houseboat trip on a Canadian canal system The usual concern of where roads went didn't apply. Only what was on the river mattered. We were 10 miles away, by road, from a town that was two days away by water. Since we didn't have a car the river was all that was important. It is similar here. I have no idea where roads go, but I'm getting good at advising people on which train and stop will get them to their destination.

For the last two days we switched grids back to roads. One day was a work/laundry day that included driving to a restaurant on the Columbia River for lunch and a trip to Wal-Mart to restock breakfast pastries, razor blades, and dental floss. The other, and more interesting day, we drove along the river through the Columbia Gorge and then turned south toward Mt. Hood. On the way a sign said the next exit was for the "Historic Columbia River Road". Since I have a hard time passing things labeled "historic" and the sign also said it rejoins the highway in seven miles, we took the exit. The road itself was not special and actually afforded worse views of the river, but we did pass three separate 250 foot waterfalls and stopped at two.
























In Hood River we turned south away from the river and toward Mt. Hood. What makes Mt. Hood and several other area mountains so striking is not being part of an obvious mountain range. The surrounding area could be described as "hilly" but suddenly, all by itself, is a giant mountain. Usually you see what happens to be the highest point in a chain of mountains, but seeing a solitary mountain makes it look that much more impressive.

Portland doesn't have a terribly good location for getting a city photo. The best I could do was a shot from an overhead tram running from the riverfront to a hospital complex on a hilltop.

Today was back to the rail system. I can now say I've traveled every mile of light rail track in the Portland transit system. It's not likely to get me in the Guinness Book of Records, but that's about all the excitement I can handle.