The Columbia River Highway is a National Historic Landmark.
It is also a multi-use recreational trail with our name written all over it.
At the time of Eric's grandparents and great grandparents, this road would have been used to get to Multnomah Falls, the Cascade Locks, or anything that connected Oregon's west and east.
Right now the Oregon Department of Transportation is working on restoring the entire 75 mile route so that bikers and walkers can enjoy all of the historic bridges, tunnels and guardrails. As of now there are just sections that are open.
We are going to ride from Hood River to Mosier, through the twin tunnels.
It is just a little over ten miles.
From 1913 to 1922 (when there were only 12,000 automobiles on the road in Oregon), engineers used cutting edge technology to complete this highway.
Blasting through basalt was no easy task.
This road was among the first of the nation's scenic highways.
It wasn't just used for transportation but for recreation.
It was also one of the first paved roads in the region, so that must have been somewhat of an attraction.
It was pretty windy on the road.
So windy that at one point we had to peddle to go downhill and didn't have to peddle at all to go up.
We are so appreciating the beauty of the Columbia Gorge as well as early 20th century civil engineering and design.
It is a great combination.
OH man, now I wish we brought bikes. That is beyond amazing though the video sounds a bit like a horror film. WOWZERS.
ReplyDeleteGreat, interesting history. I had no idea.
Bikes are the best! We are very happy to be on wheels.
DeleteI'm so glad they are restoring the old highway for bikers and hikers. When they first. Built the new highway they filled tunnels and destroyed road and some bridges.
ReplyDeleteWe are so grateful too! We are so loving multi-use (car-free) paths.
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