The rest of Washington Hwy 14 and on to Baker City

In the soft morning light among the cherrie blossoms I idled the big Mothership out to Washington Hwy 14 and headed east. Highway 14 ends east from Vancouver Washington for 180 miles to end out by Plymouth Washington at Interstate I-82. There you cross over the Columbia on I-82 to get on I-84 either east or west. The traffic was pretty light and there are nice sections of curves. Out toward Hood River and then The Dalles a lot of  people were parking on the Washington side to go hiking or at boat ramps to go fishing. It was a sunny day and a Sunday.
      Hwy 14 is a nice two lane that takes you gradually out of the forests into treeless grasslands with the occasional vineyard. The temperature for most of the ride today stayed in the high 50's to the 60's.
     As I started up the road I passed the Bridge of the Gods at Cascade Locks. When the Bonneville Dam was finished the resulting pool upstream was deep enough that they don't need those locks anymore and it is a park now. The Bridge is a toll bridge over to the I-84 side of the river or back and has a metal deck that I didn't try on the Mothership.

      Once on I-84 at the rest stops were I paused there were displays giving information about the Oregon Trail.  Hwy 14 was the Lewis & Clark Hwy and now I-84 is the Oregon Trail, though sone older highways were before I-84.
    When you pass Pendleton the interstate climbs a 6% grade with many hairpins called Cabbage Hill up to the Blue Mtn summit at 4100 ft, almost a 3000 ft climb from the columbian basin. Then it is down the other side into La Grande Oregon home of Eastern Oregon University. This is a farming area and the road is fairly level except at Powder where the road curves through some foothills.
     At Baker City Oregon there are two exits into town and the first heads east up toward Hell's Canyon and is a favorite motorcycle ride in the summer. I didn't ask it the snow was off that road but I did go up a ways to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. In this picture from the parking area you can see the fresh snow on the Blue Mountains. Mt Hood was very white this morning with fresh snow.
     The Interpretive Center is a large facility up on the top of a hill, where you can see history presentation and maps of the Oregon trail. Still visible are wagon tracks of the Oregon Trail.
      Tonight I am staying at the Geiser Grand Hotel in downtown Baker City a restored Victorian Hotel that is featured in just about any information on Baker City. It nice and the wifi works  which it hasn't always been that way for me on this trip. It is reported as haunted, I'll let you know if I talk to any ghosts tonight.
    Tomorrow I hope to be in the Salt Lake Area and ride this bubble of good weather back to Salida Colorado by Wednesday.

Will away from the river