Oregon Trip Day 3

April 25, 2009 - Day 3 Twin Falls to Hood River

written by Mary Dawn (with all of the "fluffy words" : )

Link to Photo Map





The day began after our complimentary breakfast from the Shilo Inn at Perkins. Came back to our room, and Valentino helped me write the previous day’s adventures for our Blog. Arf! How fun was that : )

On the way out of town, we passed a giant balloon dog…probably the town Mascot - DID YOU KNOW, that Twin Falls is ranked the #3 ranked Pet Friendly town in Idaho?!? WOOF!

We then drove north west on I-84 along the relative route of the historical Oregon Trail, where thousands of Pioneers travelled out west to establish a new life in the “Wild West”.

We stopped for a break in the historical town of Glenns Ferry, where the Pioneers had to cross the Snake River. We saw some real Pioneer wagons, and Valentino got to see his first Tumble Weed and chew on his first Sage Brush stick! Both Smokie and Valentino had a great time stretching their legs at this scenic spot.

We were also surprised by the beautiful Winery that we passed on our way to Glenns Ferry. Did you know that Idaho has some very nice wines? We treated ourselves to a couple of bottles of Cabernet 2005 “Idaho” to try later on from a winery called St Chappelle .

Back on the road…and eventually we came to the Oregon Border. Yippeee! We felt like the Pioneer travelers, reaching another milestone and so we took a break to celebrate at a very nice rest stop where the pups had their “lunch” and where we met our first other Bernese on his way to the Specialty show in Portland. It turned out that this Berner was related to Smokie Bear! What a small world!

Still many more hours to drive, so back in the car…we continued our journey. Eventually I-84 met up with the Columbia river which would accompany us for many miles for the rest of the way to Hood River. The landscape became more rolling and hilly and what we remember from this stretch of the way was the wind. Powerful winds made driving a concentrated effort and we saw more windmill power generators than we had ever seen before.

A couple of hours later…we arrived eventually at the beautiful Columbia Cliff Villas , next to the historical Columbia Cliff Hotel, which would be our home for the next couple of days. After feeding and walking the pups, we went for dinner at the best restaurant thus far on our trip, Brian’s Pour House. . I had an amazing “Ahi Tuna Tower” and Michael had a wild “Morel” mushroom pasta dish. Yum!

We were both so knackered after our extremely long drive, that we did not last long…so early into bed that night zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

As always check out the MAP at http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelmowerymedia/sets/72157617304372835/map/