I was mistaken in my last post.  We were docked Thursday night at The Dalles.

After being greeted by Foozies and Cowboys as we got off the boat (representing the early history of the town), we biked from The Dalles along the Riverfront Trail to the Oregon Museum of Discovery. In addition to lots of information about the Lewis & Clark expedition, we saw a Raptor Show, with a red-tailed hawk, a horned owl and an American kestrel.

Back on the bike we made our way up a 2-3 mile long uphill to Rowena Crest – beautiful view of the River but a slow, steady climb.

Continuing west again, we stopped in the town of Mosier for coffee and Porsches – a local has a collection in the building adjoining the coffee shop.  Definitely thought of my son-in-law Matt and his love for all things car-related.

Another climb back up to the cyclist/pedestrian Mark Hatfield Trail, a more gentle climb than the previous one to Rowena Crest.

From there we decided to try one of the “Fruit Loops” into the Hood River valley.  Another steep climb with an superb view of Mt. Hood to the south, as well at Mt. Adams to the north. We realized we were too tired to do the additional 20 miles (good choice as some of the roads turned to gravel we were told).  We found our own route back into Hood River, where we enjoyed a leisurely lunch at Celilo Restaurant in Hood River before riding to the Wal-Mart parking lot to drop off our bike and ride a bus for the remaining 20+ miles back to the boat.

The boat had back-tracked from The Dalles to Stevenson, WA, while we were also biking west. The boat set off promptly and will be cruising all night to dock at Umatilla for our Saturday ride.

35 miles, 2375 ft ascent.