Washougal, WA – August 18, 2025
Anticipation. We have been planning this trip for almost a year and a half. It was delayed last August due to the original boat company going bankrupt (!) and now a year later (and lots of working with the tour company, the stress of filing out reimbursement forms to the bankruptcy court, and recent bike training rides) – we are now headed on to our next adventure.
An eight day cruise on the Columbia River – starting in Portland Oregon and ending in Lewiston, Idaho on the Snake river. It is mainly a Tandem Bike touring group – that also has single riders and those who don’t ride.
We have a special guest with us this time – Siri’s father, Bob. During one of the weekly ‘field trips’ that Siri has been on with her dad (and now I often tag along) he mentioned that he really wanted to go on a paddle wheeler boat on the Columbia River. When your father says they want to do something, you find a way to go. We liked the boat ride and found a bike/boat excursion through Santana Tours ( the same company that makes tandem bikes).
So, we are off!
The first day was a lot of hurry up and wait, getting the bikes to the embarkation place (Washougal, WA), dropping our car at our friends, putting our bags on, checking in (and off) and then into our room. Thank you to my sister Carolyn who lives in Portland and let us spend the night before at her place. That made these morning activities much easier. Whew!
The American Pride – a 5-story paddle wheeler – will be our home for the next 8 days. After recently travelling across the country for two months, we were used to packing up everyday. We are happy to unpack our bags once on this trip.
Our first day is all on the boat and we get into Portland on the Willamette River. We then head down to the mouth of the Columbia River and enjoy seeing a section of the river we normally don’t get to see while driving. It is also the section most like it was 200 years ago when Lewis and Clark ventured out here because it is still free flowing. Up stream there are now 8 dams and locks that we will pass through over the course of our week adventure.
We enjoy a wonderful dinner, evening entertainment and then head to sleep while the boat continues its journey. Tomorrow we will bike to the Pacific Ocean to Long Beach, WA and then head over a 4 mile bridge to end at Astoria, Oregon.
Good night!
Siri and David Adventures 