Day 3, Portland to Hood River

Portland, OR is a very bicyclist friendly city. People bicycle all over the place and motorized traffic accommodates them very well. Funny moments happened several times. As we rode away from Portland, from time to time a local cyclist would come up to us and would want to know where we all were heading. We would say, Portland. And of course, the friendly cyclist would advise us that we should turn around as we were heading away from Portland, OR. We then, with a twinkle in our eyes, would say that we are headed to Portland, Maine. All the way across the country.

The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is indeed very scenic. The many waterfalls were a sight to behold. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multnomah_Falls

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vista_House

The Crown Point Vista House is "an observatory from which the view both up and down the Columbia could be viewed in silent communion with the infinite".

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. It flows northwest and then south into the US state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state of Oregon before emptying into the Pacific Ocean. The river is 1,243 miles (2,000 km) long, and its largest tributary is the Snake River. Its drainage basin is roughly the size of France and extends into seven U.S. states and a Canadian province.

And at the end of my day, I was reunited with Scott Woolums, my guide on Everest in 2013 who makes Hood River his home. Hood river has become world famous for windsurfing and kiteboarding. Also, for vegetarians, Tofurky is manufactured by Turtle Island Foods in Hood River.