The Oregon daily journal., October 26, 1919, Page 53, Image 53

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' PORTLAND, OREGON. SUNDAY MORNING. OCTOBER 26, .1919. ' V V '
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By Hirsch H. Brombcrg
iORK on the. Columbia river.fiighway, between Cas
cade Locks and Hood River.'on the Oregon side,
and that going forward on the North Bank high
way, between White Salmon and Stevenson, has
been the cause for many inquiries on the part ol
motoring rparties On pleasure, bent, and -from
business men desirous "of passing along those
routes.
While the roads along, the t upper river are
known best for their scenic value, and; while
there are manv teoDle -the-maioritv in. fact -
who. travel them solely for the pleasure of being m surroundings
of natural charm, the value of the highways as a commercial con
venience cannot be lost sight of.
The paying of the Columbia river highway has done more to
bring the: upper river towns in close cbntactwith Portland than
any other one. thing. To the man in business a slight roughness of
the road doe hot deter him from taking it 'as a means of travel
.should his affairs call for it, but men with the most important rea
sons for getting to Hood River and The Dalles have shown the
greatest solicitude for those who wish to make the trip for pleas
ure, and have, been the first.to ask for information concerning its
v condition when contemplating business trips. ' Pavine as a time-
. saver is the great thing in their minds rather than the element of
comfort.- k ' ;
THE JOURNAL, scout party, in a. Mitchell Six find that the
TTi. J T: ' if..i. t i. c i tt-t ? i - i
nouv Aivcimuiuiuniiui sctuun 01 uic uoiuniDia over nign
wav is fast reaching comnletion. It is onen arA fls51tr nr.
gotiated on Sundays ; on week days it is closed to traffic during
daytime.
The construction work in theviclnitv
of the lock city. ana around Shell Rock
has been the greatest deterrent to tours
or trips up the river, and many people
will be glad to know that one of the
detours has been eliminated entirely,
and that now it is only necessary to
make one side trip around construction
work, at a point three miles west of
Hood River, and is over smooth road.
The Herman creek detour is a thing
of the past, ; the contractors In charge
of the improvement beyond that point
allowing cars to pass through all day
on Sunday and before 7 a. m.. . between
4f:30 "and" 12 :30 noon; and after 5:30
p. m. on week days. 'Accordingly, much
of .the trouble in reaching Hood River
is o longer experienced, and the time
required for the trip has been mate
rially shortened. -
It was for the purpose of ascertain
ing: the exact condition of affairs that
The - Journal scout party took Port
land's favorite trip ... last ' Sunday. A
Mitchell Six,-1 furnished through the
courtesy of the Mitchell.' Iwis A Staver
compupr'aad.iiUpte4.by.,cH.sWerten-
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berger, salesman for the. Mitchell, dis
tributors, was the car of the trip, pull
ing away from The Journal building
near 9:30 in the morning, and taking
the well-known route out over the
Broadway bridge.
Travel was light on the highway that
early in the morning, for owing to the
fact that the froet was just beginning
to have the notion . of getting on the
pumpkin, the chill winds and damp
mists were scarcely to be matched
aralnst the nrivlleare of Bleenln? an ex
tra hour or two. True to form the
mist soon changed to a struggling ray
or two of sunlight, and then the full
glow of old friend Sol burst forth, and
by the time the Vista House was reached
the whole panorama visible from that
lofty point was bathed In yellow light.
The green of summer, that for the past
months has colored the soft carpet of
the valley, has been retouched, and now
the river slips between banks, where the
leaves are. reflected in the -water in a
myriad of colors. The railroad and the
winding stretches of the tain cieeks In
cliffs appear of no'consequence from the
great height, and an engine pulling a
string of freight cars is almost toy-like.
PAVIXG GOIStt QX RAPIDLY
From the Vista House down the turn
and away once more over' the paving,
the car slips around the "figure 8,"
and the ever-changing sights of the
highway are anticipated, enjoyed, and
passed for something else. The traveler
along the highway vwho knows of its
scenic possibilities seldom . pauses long
at a certain point, for. there Is generally
another view Just around the turn and
o on until the car runs off the pave
ment and wakes' him up. That sensa
tion may be experienced now at a
point much farther on than formerly.
The road crews have been doing some
good work beyond Eagle creek, and the
dui: . surface of the new paving now
stretches along into Cascade Locks, and
is creeping away from that town at the
rate of several hundred . feet each day.
The road where . the - new paving has
gone down has not yet been trimmed up
to a fine finish and - the - gravel has
lapped over the edges In several places.
On turns where machines., pass and
where there is not any too much .room
the chap who has the outside is not
S7 OWI
Rolling down the slope iiv a machine is
not the most comfortable way to reach
the river.
l,OT9 OF CRUSHED ROCK
Crushed reck and lots of it may be
found, just outside of Cascade Locks:
rather, one is certain to find It, there
being small chance of- any one passing
over that section ofUhe way and for
getting or neglecUng to note the fact
tna- some one has been busy there.
Road machines there are to faU over
in the dark, and a husky steam roller
seems . to be lording it over the rest of
the equipment. The pavement f starts
again or did last week at tj.. Times
change and so , does the condition of
roads from one day to another, v and
where one man, jolt his tail light off
on Thursday, another may ride over in
perfect comfort on Friday The second
stretch of pavement lasts for -about six
miles, and then there is some more
rough stuff, -then more paving, a longer
bit this time, -and after, that on, has
to be satisfied , merely with the old
fashioned dirt and gravel road into
Hood River. The multiplication of fruit
trees marks the approach' : to the town
of . apples, and soon a sign in the road
at mileage 4.3 announces -the fact that
the lowlands away.joca 4aa,Jfcotof-Xha I jprovidedyithsjn. joatjaucli. fltlnih. -pleasure, : pi -xeaching; Hxpd?IUvar
must, be delayed by the trifling Incon
venience of going around the hill de
tour over the Ruth ton grade. So turn
ing to the right, the road higher up is
taken, and the motorist slips into the
town from above instead of from below.
From Hood River the ferry may be
taken over to White Salmon,, and the
motorist may have a chance to see what
I Washington has to offer in the way of
shades in autumn leaves. The Journal
scout party elected to do Just that very
thing, and the tortuous and -sandy way
down to the ferry landing became a leg
of the journey. , Piling on the scow in
dose association with several other cars,
the Mitchell-was treated to a ride 'on
the smooth waters of the, river.
LAHDI5G PLACE CHAWGED
Approaching the Washington' side, it
was found that 4 the landing place at
White Salmon bad been changed, and
that there were new improvements for
the convenience of motorists. The dock
is higher, -broader, and easier of nego
tiation than formerly. But It was
found that the hill leading up to the
town is just as steep as It ever was.
The Mitchell made it In excellent shape,
leading the string of other machines up
the-' alpps - and - showlsg ihmhQir - it
should - be done. The view' from, the
road is excellent, but motoring parties
should be careful to warn the driver
that such sights are not for hlraor the
whole outfit, car and all, will be spread,
over a large section of that same. view.
The road is narrow, but straight, and
is in fair condition.
The 'automobile park at the entrance
of the town presents a deserted ap
pearance, but the worn turf tells of
many a camping party that has en
joyed'' the hospitality of its shelter
through the warm summer months.'. On
arriving on the. Washington side, the
attention shown tourists is at once In
evidence. Along oar own highway there
are several places where there have
been tables and picnicking conveniences
installed; but nowhere does the motorist
.find them so numerous as on the North
Bank route. 4 Every place where one
may stop' and have a good hour or two
has been made - attractive, and where
the point la far back' from the road,
signs have been put up directing atten
tion W thein.v The signs sre a great
help, another point where our northern
neighbors have it over us to a irreat
extent. ; The ; Columbia, river . highway
J Cosclude4.oa Pu,Tn, Thto BecUoa- ' ..
e4