Day 8: Bend to the Columbia River Gorge - June 22

The parfait, chai oatmeal
and bowl all topped the same.

We started the day off right with a super healthy breakfast at Mother’s Juice before packing up and saying goodbye to Bend.  Before leaving the Sport Chalet, Julia left our mark on the big chalkboard wall and Rachel played more darts...it is a good thing they put up the corkboard...we needed every inch of it!

We spent much of the day driving north from Bend to our next stop, the Columbia River Gorge. Tina Fey reading aloud Bossypants kept us entertained for hours – I’m guessing that book is a fine read, but having her voice(s) read it to you really adds to the experience.  We stopped along the way at a ghost town named Shaniko “Where the West Still Lives”…an town established over 100 years ago for the wool trade.  In its heyday in 1910 almost 500 people lived there, but at the time of the 2010 census it was down to 30.  Many buildings (hotel, bank, school, etc.) are still standing but uninhabitable and there are a few shops still open. 

We chose to go into the one selling ice cream and antiques to poke around.  We hadn’t had lunch yet but felt badly walking out buying nothing as there aren’t many customers coming through so we all split a cone of orange sherbet.   The twenty-something man behind the counter told me that the current population was back up to 26, and he is not the youngest resident. Turns out that one woman who lives across the highway has 10 kids…so, the town is at 26, and at least 12 of them are from the same family!  And this isn’t like they are 26 living on the outskirts of something bigger, they are 26 living in the middle of nowhere.  Not a life I could begin to imagine.  I kicked myself later for not asking more questions.  I walked away wondering so much about their lives but it all sounded full of judgement in my head so I didn't ask… Finding a lunch spot along the way was a little challenging.  Unfortunately, our healthy start to the day was quickly reversed at Big Jim’s Drive-In outside The Dalles, OR.

We pulled into our campsite the Eagle Creek Campground in the Columbia River Gorge around 4 pm.  It is regarded as the first campground in the National Forest Service, built in 1915 in what must have been the middle of the wildnerness.  The Historic Highway (more on that on Day 9) was just being built around that time and didn’t stretch out as far as Eagle Creek.  Since it was established, however, the very busy Highway 84 and a train track were built just below the campground – not things you can see, but things you (even I) can definitely hear.  The campground itself is beautiful, very tropical and lush and so, so green, especially compared to the high desert of Bend.  You are surrounded by absolute beauty and are fully in nature, making the constant sound of traffic even more disconcerting and disappointing. 

We pitched our tent quickly to claim our campsite and then decided to find a place to watch the US Women play their World Cup match against Columbia at 5 pm.  

We called a place in the closest town, Cascade Locks, in search of a TV and they suggested a Mexican restaurant called El Rio – which turned out to be across the river in Stevenson, Washington.  We crossed the Bridge of the Gods into Washington and are so glad to have added that unexpected cute little town to our trip.  El Rio did have TVs but only in the bar area, and they wouldn’t let the girls stay.  They suggested two other places with TVs and we chose the Skamania Lodge, one of the most beautiful hotels I’ve ever been in.  We were total interlopers coming from a campsite, pretending to be lodge guests to watch TV.  But it was wonderful!  It was ideal because while Rachel and I sat inside watching, Julia got to sit outside and read her book, coming in periodically to check the score and have dinner.  Only one other person was interested in the game – a nice woman “from Vancouver, eh?” She had already seen a bunch of game live before coming out on her vacation.   Hopefully we can stumble upon an equally great place to watch the US play China on Friday!

We left the luxury of the lodge, stopping by a local grocery store to replenish s’mores supplies on the way back to our, no doubt, much, much cheaper accommodations for the night.  And, actually more beautiful as well, if it weren’t for the constant noise!