The Road Not Taken

I use a line for a Robert Frost poem as the title for this column, because it fits so well with what we all do from time to time. That is, we choose a path and it might or might not be the right one to take, but we never know what the alternative may have produced. In this instance, as you’ll see, I took both paths, and I was pleasantly surprised by what I would have missed had I not done so.

I flew to Portland, Oregon last week to complete the sightseeing I missed on my auto trip last year. My main objective was to visit Hells Canyon, which straddles the Oregon-Idaho border. That entailed my driving clear across Oregon from Portland to the town of La Grande, a 250-mile trip via I-84. My hotel for the first night was in La Grande, and much of the driving was after sunset. However, the most scenic part along the Columbia River Gorge was during daylight hours, and the scenery was gorgeous (if you’ll pardon the pun).

Driving along I-84, you hug the Columbia River most of the way, and you see towering cliffs alongside the highway on the Oregon side, while the Washington side has huge hills topped by lots of wind generators. There is traffic visible on the Washington side, but it is mostly up on the hillsides away from the river.

I decided to drive back from my eastern Oregon visit on the opposite side of the gorge to see what the Oregon side would look like from there. Since the drive would be all in the daylight, I determined to cross well upriver from Portland to see as much as possible.

Crossing at the town of Umatilla, I started along Highway 14. It isn’t an interstate road, and has only two lanes and opposing traffic all the way, but the speed limit is 65, and there isn’t nearly as much traffic. Especially lacking are the huge 18-wheelers, though there are some of them. I was able to maintain a good pace, and the scenery from the elevated roadway was impressive.

What I didn’t even suspect was the sights that would be visible on the Washington side. There are several large wineries where you can stop and sample wines, and some have full service restaurants as well. The vineyards are huge and dot the hillsides, though none of this was visible from I-84.

Further along Highway 14, there was a sign pointing to the left that said, “Stonehenge.” I had to investigate that, and it turns out that there is a full-sized replica of that famous old stone monument in England. This one was built by a early 1900’s millionaire named Sam Hill as a monument to the men of Klickitat County who gave their lives in WW I. This Stonehenge isn’t all crumbling like the original. It is made of concrete and it has the same calendar aspect of its namesake. It also has plaques with the names and dates of the 13 men who are immortalized there. Sam Hill is buried down the hill from Stonehenge, but the gravesite isn’t easily accessible, and is nothing to look at.

Stonehenge wasn’t the only thing Sam Hill built above the Columbia Gorge. He built an entire town, which he named Maryhill in honor of his daughter, a loop road that is said to be the first paved road in America, and a mansion called (appropriately) Maryhill. That building is still preserved today as a museum of art, and is well worth a visit. It sits on the bluffs about two miles from Stonehenge and overlooks the river. On clear days, you can also get a wonderful view of Mount Hood from both landmarks, too.

My GPS system wanted to route me down the hill from Stonehenge to the Sam Hill Memorial Bridge and across to I-84, but I would have missed the Maryhill Museum and a lot more of the road and tunnels along the Washington side, so I turned off the GPS and followed my own course. I’m glad I did, too, because I was afforded great views of those cliffs over on the Oregon side of the Columbia River, which are also topped by some hills that sport the wind generators as well.

All in all, I could have spent the entire day and then some just exploring the sights along Highway 14 on the north side of the Columbia River Gorge. It was an experience and I’m certainly glad that I took that road as well as the interstate highway.