Motorists who mosey down Highway 14 glad they did

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Motorists who mosey down Highway 14 glad they did

By WILL SWARTS
Herald staff writer

Freeway driving is the fast food of car travel. Like the Big Macs and Whoppers that always taste the same, an interstate consistently serves up four, six or eight lanes of level roadway via the shortest practical distance between two points.

It's reliable, though that's not always the point.

The next time you're called to the Portland-Vancouver area, or beyond, take a risk and toss out the security of Interstate 84.

Take off your cruise control, figure to add about an hour's driving time to your trip and take

Highway 14 along Washington's southern border.

Sure, I-84 takes you by truck stops and the empty spaces east of The Dalles, through the haunting beauty of the Columbia Gorge and past the eastward sprawl of Portland's suburbs in about three-and-a-half hours.

But it deprives the traveler of the appealing attractions on the other side of the river.

Highway 14 is 170 miles of two-lane motoring, with curves and traffic and out-of-the way places, some of which are among the best-kept secrets of the Northwest.

However, few of them are found in the first 70 miles east of Highway 395 at Plymouth, though there are wineries on the southern edge of Benton County.

Once the empty quarter is past, you're high above the river, where you can observe the effects of the cataclysmic floods from Lake Missoula that carved out the Columbia River Gorge about 13,000 years ago. The other highway stays close to river level for most of its route and can't offer this view.

A different view can be found at Maryhill Museum and the Stonehenge replica, two bizarre reminders of the legacy of Sam Hill, the eccentric visionary whose legacy includes the huge Maryhill mansion on the bluffs, dubbed "Castle Nowhere."

Now a popular museum, Maryhill's hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily until Nov. 15.

The next stretch includes an excellent viewpoint for the site of Celilo Falls, once the most popular salmon fishing site on the river for Northwest American Indian tribes. Construction of The Dalles Dam flooded the falls in 1956, ending the centuries-old fishery.

About 20 miles west, the tiny town of Lyle's handful of windsurfing shops are the first indication the high-energy water sport has transformed the heart of the Columbia River Gorge during the past decade.

The change in the Gorge from logging and farm country to a windsurfing mecca has had its effects in southern Washington, as well as Hood River, the undisputed capital of the sport.

Bingen, once a tiny burg with a sleepy main street, now has restaurants, sports shops, even a brew pub to cater to the water-and-wind set.

Should you prefer recreation on land, Dog Mountain, about 14 miles west of Bingen, offers a stunning view, after a slightly challenging day hike. The remains of one of the last working log flumes, which routed cut logs to the river from hillside cutting sites, can be seen nearby.

Inland is the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, home to great hikes and views of Mount Adams. Floods may have damaged roads leading to Mount St. Helens, so be sure to check on access by calling the U.S. Forest Service in Vancouver, at 360-750-5001, or the Mount Adams Ranger Station in Trout Lake at 509-395-2501.

The more civilized pursuit of great food and luxury lodging can be investigated at Skamania Lodge near Stevenson. It offers one-night packages and dinner for two in spring and winter, starting at about $115. Summer rates are higher, at $149 for the same package. (Double rooms without dinner are $110 Fridays and Saturdays, $100 during the week.)

The lodge restaurant is a little pricey but well worth it, with dinners ranging from $15 to $19, and lunches from $7 to $13. It offers brunch and weekend buffet specials, as well as children's rates.

Call 800-221-7117 for lodging and dinner reservations.

The nearby Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center is a window to the area's natural and social history and surrounding plant and animal life.

Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for children age 6-12, $5 for seniors and free to children under age 6. For more information, call 509-427-8211.

Less than 10 miles west, the Fort Cascades Trail near the Bonneville Dam gives history buffs a chance to exercise while seeing the site of the 1856 compound and nearby American Indian petroglyphs along a 1.5-mile loop.

Beacon Rock State Park, just downriver from the dam, is another steep hike - but the amazing view is well worth the exertion.

Finally, as the Gorge area flattens out and the river is hidden behind trees and shoreline houses, the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is $2 per person, or $4 per family group.

Of course, one day isn't enough to try everything of interest along the southern border route offers.

But remember, Highway 14 offers more than scenery from the other side of the Columbia.

Those travelers rolling by in comfort may be passing the very things that make traveling worthwhile.

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