A road trip called 'gorge'ous... day two Saturday, June 8th

After yesterday's adventures we decided to sleep in a little longer than usual especially since we discovered breakfast was available until 10:00am! We only had a short drive planned for the day so that wasn't a concern. Ate our breakfast, filled the thermos with coffee, packed up and headed out to our first destination. 

Our route took us along the Washington side of the Columbia River on highway 14, a beautiful stretch of well maintained two lane highway.

The ever-present Mount Hood.

Mount Hood is a prominent fixture on the horizon. Coming in and out a view as we drove the twists and turns on Highway 14. First stop for the day was the Maryhill Museum of Art. This beautiful building was initially conceived as a private residence for Samuel Hill and his family. While it was under construction he decided it would better serve the community at large as an art museum. He and his family never did live in the place but it makes for a great museum. We spent a couple of hours admiring the exhibits.

At the Maryhill Museum of Art.

Samuel Hill - Road Builder and the visionary behind Maryhill Museum of Art

One of the exterior staircases

 The views from the grounds are incredible as the property is perched 400 feet above the northern shore of the Columbia River.

Sharon and I. If you look close you can see the bridge we would later take to cross the Columbia.

The Maryhill Museum from the access road.

Leaving Maryhill we backtracked just a bit and crossed the Columbia River over to the Oregon side. Between Kennewick, our first overnight, and Portland there are four hydroelectric dams across the Columbia River. Between them these four provide over 6000MW of power. 

The Dalles Dam, one of four between Kennewick WA and Portland OR.

Stopped in The Dalles for gas and then continued westward into Portland and a visit to the Architectural Heritage Center. The first of the two main exhibits was the history of Portland's street cars. Portland still has a streetcar to this day! The second exhibit was a collection of glass door knobs. A surprisingly interesting display showing the large variety of manufacturers, styles, types and different manufacturing methods. No automotive door knobs though.

A variety of door knobs from the past in a gorgeous cabinet.

Following our visit to see the door knobs we decided to head back to the hotel and check in then figure out what to do for supper. On the way we spotted a very odd looking van. We tried to get in front to take a couple of closer shots but were only able to snap this one...

Not something you see every day!

Did a bit of digging and discovered that this is the Never Never Van owned and created by one Scot Campbell of Portland. You can find a bit more info here.

Once back at the hotel we decided to try one of the local restaurants rather than the typical fast food places. Our choice was El Indio on NE Halsey Street. Here's the Urban Spoon write up. The food was great, service quick and the portions huge. Sharon was unable to finish hers so we boxed it up and shared it for lunch the next day. So if you're looking for Mexican we'd highly recommend El Indio.

So ends our second day. We've been blessed with great weather and no further mechanical issues. Looking forward to what tomorrow has in store! 

CLICK HERE FOR DAY THREE