Day 81 - July 23 - Troutdale, OR to Scappoose, OR - Two Old Guys Take On A Continent

July 23, 2023

Day 81 - July 23 - Troutdale, OR to Scappoose, OR

We’ll Be Back

Ed’s Story

Decided not to set an alarm this morning as we knew we only had a short ride and have no problem waking up. We were up by 6:30. Breakfast was a banana, a Clif Bar, and an OJ in the room. We already had our coffee stop picked out.

We headed NW from the hotel passing the Troutdale Airport (not very big). We followed the Columbia River alternating between dedicated bike paths and marked bike routes on the road.

Our route took us past the Portland Airport. As we passed it I said, you guessed it…”I’ll be back”.

Portland Airport - see you next Saturday!

A load of something being pushed up the river.

We modified our route today to avoid going through downtown Portland. We found another bridge in St. Johns (to the north west of downtown) that we could cross.

This route took us past Cathedral Coffee where we stopped. I had an almond milk cappuccino and some type of vegetarian pastry.

We hung a left after leaving the coffee shop and crossed the Willamette River on the St. Johns Bridge. I tried to get a picture of the river itself but didn’t want to press my luck with the traffic as we were riding on the road.

We got back on US 30 north after leaving the bridge. Our ride from there to Scappoose was uneventful. For the most part the highway had a nice wide berm.

We picked up some lunch and other essentials at a Fred Meyer in Scappoose and then went to the Veterans Park to eat and wait for Dorothy and John to show up.

We moved the picnic table to keep it in the shade.

We decided to head to a local bar for a beer while waiting for John and Dorothy. We were told John S wanted a beer so we waited until they got here and had a second one ourselves.

Met up with John and Dorothy and headed to the RV park. Camper all set up. John and I flipped a coin to see who got the bed 3 out of 5 nights…I won.

Tomorrow we are headed to Hudson Parcher County Park near Ranier, OR. The ride will be around 35 miles but with some hills.

Until then, happy biking!

John’s Story

I left a lasting impression in Troutdale by somehow breaking the thin, brittle plastic lampshade next to my bed as I got up. Normally a small nightstand would have prevented me from getting that close, but we rearranged things somewhat to fit our bikes in the room. I wonder if they’ll charge something for the damage. I’m sure that shade is worth at least $5. 😬

I didn’t even realize I’d done it until Ed pointed it out.

Sunrise over the Columbia River. Look! We’re gorge-less!

The route along the river looked pretty much like it does here. There was a path below the road for several miles but there were concrete barriers across it at intervals.

There were large growths of this yellow flowering plant along the path. In some places it formed a more or less continuous hedge several feet tall and wide.

More evidence we’re getting closer to the ocean.

We are in the upper reaches of the Columbia River estuary, which is regarded as extending all the way to the Bonneville Dam, many miles behind us near Cascade Locks, which we passed on Friday.

We passed about 35 miles north of Mount Hood on Friday, although we couldn’t see it because we were at the base of the southern side of the gorge. We are now about 80 miles west northwest of Mount Hood. I turned around to take a picture near the Portland airport and caught sight of it this morning.

Mount Hood doesn’t look as imposing seen through the air over metro Portland.

Once we turned south near the Portland Airport towards downtown I saw more than one bus stop with piles of boots arranged nearby. At this stop some boots were in disarray, and a woman was loading them into a shopping cart to take them to a camper parked nearby. At another stop all the boots were arranged in neat rows, but there was no one there tending them. Anyone have a clue what’s going on here?

After we left our coffee stop it was a mile to the bridge across the Willamette River. We passed two breweries near the east end of the bridge. 9:15 Sunday morning. Wrong time and place. Rats!

Along US 30 on our way to Scappoose we passed the old Addams Family homestead.

We arrived in Scappoose at about 11:00 AM. We found a little park where we could sit in the shade while we waited for my sister Dorothy and her husband John to arrive from Northern California with their camper. We eventually ended up in a local bar for a beer, where John joined us when they arrived. Then we went on to Scappoose RV Park where we are now.

We ate real food for dinner that we didn’t have to forage for or cook ourselves. We will be sleeping in the camper these next five nights, which is especially good because it will rain tomorrow almost certainly. No more wet tents to pack up. We will be able to ride unloaded the next four days, leaving our panniers with Dorothy and John to carry in the vehicle. We are in the lap of luxury!!

Ed took Ruger’s picture, so I didn’t want Otto to feel left out. Closest thing to a mountain lion we’ve seen on our trip.

Today's ride: 39 miles (63 km)
Total: 281 miles (452 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	4
Comment on this entry	Comment	0