This was one of the best days of the trip. It was drizzling rain most of the day, but that didn't make the gorge any less impressive. Geologist say that gigantic volcanoes laid down a five thousand foot layer of basalt over the whole area. During the last ice age, a series of sudden massive water flows, caused by melting glacial dams carved this 500 foot deep trench in the basalt. The exposed basalt columns are everywhere. The lush forest, nurtured by the rain formed by wet ocean air rising over the Cascades, was equally impressive.

The national scenic highway itself was built in 1914, by Samuel Lancaster, a highway engineering genius. He saw fit to make the road augment the natural beauty, rather than carve right through it. The stonework along the road is still impressive. And the motor traffic is slow, as people try to take in the sights. Which, I might add, is even more impressive when done at the slower pace with the wide open field of view of a bicycle.

And then there are the waterfalls and the Oneonta Gorge. All of which demonstrate the power of water etching into the cliffs over thousands of years. We biked slowly from site to site, taking our time and enjoying the day. Talking lots of pictures and buying lots of postcards.

We wanted to get out of the state today, and wondered if we could cross the Bonneville dam. We also wanted to see it. So we spent a good deal of time there, looking at the river, the fishlader, and at Beacon rock. Which so impressed Lewis and Clark back in 1805. It turns out that the rock is the remains of a volcano, much like Devil's tower. The time at the dam was time well spent, even if we couldn't cross it. We determined to stay another night in Oregon.

At the end of the highway we avoided getting onto I84 as much as we could by staying on whatever small roads and trails we could find. Most of which were remnants of the original highway, long since abandoned to I84. One segment, about 5 miles long was used only for bikes. We ignored the sign at the start that said, "three stairs at end of trail". We were surprised at the end to find three flights of steep stairs, about 30 feet high! Luckily by this time we were in shape enough to cart our bikes and equiptment, about 160 lbs at this point, down in shifts.

We did in the end have to get onto I84, but only for a mile or two. There was plenty of shoulder. We camped at Eagle Creek State Park. The night was cold and wet. We were drenched and sick of cold rain already. My $2 waterproof matches didn't work at all so I borrowed a lighter from the nearest camper. I had just enough fuel again to cook a dinner of ramen noodles and tea.