Today we had planned to ride over Chinook Pass (east of Mt Rainier) which I consider to be in the top five scenic roads in our country (the others being Beartooth Pass, Going To The Sun Highway, 504 to Mt St. Helens, and Northern Cascades Highway). Then we would drop south to Randle, and rid eup the backside of Mt. St. Helens, through the blast zone to Spirit Lake.
Alas that was not to be. When we got to Naches it was obvious the cloud cover was low and wet, which would defeat any attempts to go up there and take in the views. So we passed on that, and instead rode south on 97 to Goldendale.
That put us in a good position to ride some of my favorite local roads, which includes 142 to Glenwood and back down to SR14 on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge. So we did. it was pretty much as I remembered it: dry, with mostly smooth pavement, great views of Mt Adam's, very little traffic, and a great little canyon in the middle.
Sorry, I was enjoying the ride too much to get a photo of the canyon ... you know you've had a good canyon run when you pause at the end and can smell your tires burning ;-)
There were actually two disappointments. The first was that the new pavement on 142 was at times bumpy (the canyon had older, smoother pavement). The second was that the brand new pavement on the BZ Corners-Glenwood Road last year had been recently replaced with chip seal. Bummer .. we had to take it easy.
Once back on SR14 we stopped at the Dog Mountain trailhead with the intention of hiking, but with the $5 (each) fee, Chuck decided to head to Cascade Locks and get an annual pass instead, and then hike up the Eagle Creek to Punchbowl fulls. Wouldn't you know it .. the art studio in Cascade Locks that sells the passes was closed on Tuesdays. Bastards. So we got to hike and pay the fee anyway.
The Eagle Creek trail connects with the myriad other trails in the Gorge. It hugs the side of a lush canyon and one of it's features is Punchbowl Falls.
After the refreshing 5 miles hike we saddled up and heading into Portland with the hope that we would beat the worst of traffic. We did .. but te 4pm traffic wasn't pleasant either. But we survived, and arrived safely at our hotel.
After a shower and unpacking we set out to find some food and beer and then more beer. Food was satisfied by a trip to India House for an awesome Fish (halibut) Tandoori: big chunks of meaty halibut, marinated in a spicy red sauce and roasted in a tandoori oven. Yum! I discovered this dish in 2000 and it remains the best indian food ever.
On the way over to Rogue Ales, we stopped at Deschutes Brewing Co. and sampled a very good gluten-free brew, another with spelt instead of wheat, and enjoyed them both. The Presidential Inaugural brew was too sweet and nothing of substance really stood out (quite appropriate). Their hoppiest offering (Hop Henge) was awesome, the black IPA (Ocho Negro IPA) was very good and the chocolate malts complemented the hops very nicely. But the showstopper was the coffee obsidian stout on nitro .. this was an awesome brew. Oh yeah, the 'Twin Pillars' golden strong ranked up there with the stout too - light, effervescent, red-apple sourness and lots of hops melded the 9.6% abv perfectly.
Before we hit up Rogue we took a break over at Powell's. Ursula k. LeGuin is one of my favorite authors and Powell's always has a good selection of her works (perhaps because she lives in Portland?) and I was not disappointed.
Ok on to Rogue Ales. We were somewhat disappointed that they didn't have a very good selection of desserts, but we had our mouths full with beer anyway. We got a sampler of Imperials: I2PA (sweet hop nectar .. lots of tangerine flavors), Old Crusty barleywine (big bold caramel with hops to balance), Charley (think imperial amber) and their Imperial Stout (big roasty bittersweet with tart/chewy raisin and anise flavors). Those were chased with a Shakespeare stout - dry and roasty in the oatmeal style but with more body and bitterness than most. Definitely an awesome brew.
Wednesday morning was met with a headache and putting this blog together. Coffee, breakfast, etc.
The next couple days will be spent in Oregon area visiting friends and relatives, so posts will be slim until we head south again.
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