Columbia River Gorge

We left Washington this morning and crossed the Columbia River on I-205, then stopped for fuel at the Flying J in Troutville, OR before heading up the Columbia River Gorge. The drive was very scenic as we passed waterfalls and several dams along the river. Unfortunately, our truck with trailer was too long to take the scenic route or even stop at some of the visitor spots along the way. There was not much room and they were limited to vehicles no more than 50 feet long. We are 65 feet long. We watched wind surfers on the river as the famous winds in the gorge blew from behind us. It was good for fuel economy and much more pleasant than a headwind would have been.

The scenery changed as we passed through the Cascades and the lush green changed to dry, barren and brown. We soon found ourselves in the great basin and country that looks very different from what we have been in for the past four months.

We drove about 200 miles today, which is a long day for us. We stopped in Hermiston, OR for the night. We are only about 30 miles from Pendleton, OR where we will pick up highway 395 and follow it down to Reno. We may stay here for another night and try to get the satellite internet set up again. I will probably have to spend some time on the phone with customer service so we will see.