Originally Posted by
Tanya934
The reason we're taking the train to Portland is because we want to explore the Columbia River Gorge area. We're booked in at the BW in Troutdale for a few nights. We're then driving up to the Olympic Penninsula for 3 nights before spending a night in Seattle & taking the train back to Chicago.
We've been to Seattle on the train before & fancied trying it another way.
We managed to drive up to Johnson Ridge on our last trip in excellent weather so are not fussed about doing Mount St. Helens this time.
Is there a site where I can compare rental prices in the Portland area?
Originally Posted by
PIONEER
Troutdale may be most famous in our world as the place that a big jet landed by mistake, thinking it was PDX. I think this was in the 70's and maybe UA. It might be a good central location for trips to Timberline and Multnomah Falls etc. but I'm not sure that there is anything in Troutdale itself that is of interest. Olympic peninsula is a good call as would be Mt. Rainier. The weather at this point could be problematic though.
Let me (strongly) suggest that you ditch the BW at Troutdale and stay at
McMenamin's Edgefield instead. It's away from the freeway (unlike the BW) and is a superb place to relax and overcome jetlag, as well as being very well located for visiting the Gorge and for an ultimate getaway to Seattle. Brewery, distillery, winery, golf, cinema all on site, beautiful gardens (which ought to be grand in May) and funky, wonderful art. Decent food, too.
Let me also suggest a wrinkle to your itinerary, one that might reduce your time in the Gorge by a day, but add a lot - that's
a lot - of interest to the trip.
From Troutdale, head east through the Gorge to Cascade Locks, then cross over the river and continue east on the Washington side of the Columbia as far as Maryhill. Visit the
Maryhill Museum and nearby
Stonehenge, then drive north on US 97 through Goldendale and over Satus Pass and through the Yakama Indian reservation to Yakima. Turn west on US 12 at Yakima and cross over White Pass (detour to Mt. Rainier if you're interested) and continue on US 12 out to the coast for a clockwise loop around the Olympic Peninsula.
The scenery on the Gorge past Hood River, and especially along US 97 is fabulous "old west" stuff - buttes, sagebrush, etc. - and in May the views of Mt. Adams from US 97 are amazing. From Troutdale to Seattle via US 97 adds only around 3 or 4 hours to the straight (and boooor-ing) drive up I-5, but really delivers the goods in terms of interest and diversity. Highly, highly recommended.
Oh, it was a UA DC-8 that landed in Troutdale in 1962. IIRC they had to take off the wings and truck it out.
Edited to add: I see you list BW on your profile, so might I assume you're using points for some/part of the stay? If so, I'd still recommend spending at least one night at the Edgefield (you say you're in the area for several nights) just to get a feel for this great (and unusual) chain of lodgings, pubs and event venues.