Oregon Gold Wing Adventure
Exploring the Columbia Gorge Loop
For two-up, long-distance traveling, Honda's Gold Wing is a luxury liner.
Multi-colored sails of a dozen windsurfers dot the Columbia River close to shore at the popular windsurfing spot called The Hatchery.
The combination of cool Pacific winds to the west and warm desert air to the east team with the high walls of the Gorge to create world-class windboarding conditions.
The Columbia River Gorge is full of majestic waterfalls. The day was hot and the mist coming off the falls was refreshing.
Oregon is full of wonderful remote mountain roads ready to explore.
Our destination for the day, Oregon's highest peak, Mt. Hood.
Timberline is a grand Northwest lodge built in the Alpine tradition.
There's 77 waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge on the Oregon side alone.
Multnomah Falls is the most popular waterfall in the Gorge.
Riding on the Mount Hood Railroad is like taking a trip back in time.
The Alpine Slide is the closest you can come to experiencing the rush of an Olympic bobsledder.
Rasmussen's Fruit and Flower Farm, one of 36 fruit stands along the Fruit Loop in Oregon's Hood Valley, lets you pick 'em right off the vine.
The beginning of the 22-mile long Columbia Gorge Highway.
The Willamette River plunges over a fall with Mt. Hood looming in the background.
It's easy to find Timberline Lodge - just follow the signs.
Timberline Lodge is a romantic getaway destination.
A turbulent wall of whitewater rushes under the tremendous gates of Bonneville Dam.
The view of the Columbia River Gorge from the Vista House is breathtaking.
The 2008 Honda Gold Wing is loaded with techno-goodies like ABS, GPS, an airbag and more.
The Vista House is a must-see stopping point, with an interpretive center and educational exhibits inside the octagon-shaped building.
Chanticleer Point offers up the first glimpes of the Gorge.
The 2008 Honda Gold Wing easily transported my wife and I as we made the 6000-foot climb up the back of Mt. Hood.
Mt. Hood was constantly on the horizon and grew bigger with every turn.