When you live 30 minutes from one of the most beautifully scenic drives in America, you do it often, and you pack a picnic because you're gonna be out for a while.
On this particular outing we drove on the Washington side of the Gorge, stopping at the St. Cloud Day Use Area just a short ways up Hwy 14 for lunch and in Stevenson to check out the pier, making our way towards Hood River where we crossed over into Oregon (have a dollar handy) to drive back home on the opposite side of the Gorge.
We took a little detour this time, leaving the 14 and driving up and over the Gorge on the Cook-Underwood Hwy which offered some incredible views of the river with Mt. Hood in the distance. I would definitely recommend taking this farm-lined road, if not the whole way through from Cook, at least just up from Underwood, Washington to the view point at the top. It's well worth it.
Happy Driving!
