Willow Grove

July 7, 2018

The day gets off to a poor start, as we both wake up before 6 after a short, fitful night’s sleep. When we checked in late last night, Rachael panicked when she couldn’t find her medications. We thought we had brought everything relevant in from the car, and went to bed with the unhappy prospect of driving back to Portland in the morning to retrieve them from storage.

As we groggily lay in bed this morning, we talked (quarreled) through the unappealing options and considerations: should I drive down on my own and come back while Rachael sleeps longer? How could we have missed packing something so essential? If I go down alone, where should I be looking? Is life just going to be like this now, with us aging memory failures with increasing frequency?

Finally, exhasperated, I get dressed and take the obvious first step - I look in the car, and find them. It’s a relief obviously, but it takes us awhile to unwind ourselves and start over. Once we get our act together though, we enjoy a surprisingly great ride to Willow Grove, a place I’d never heard of before this trip - I found it just staring at the map looking for anything reasonable near our motel.

Our planned ride is a 47 mile figure eight: west along the Columbia to Willow Grove and back, and then north along the Cowlitz to Castle Rock and back. The ride begins right from our Kelso motel, and starts by crossing the Cowlitz into neighboring Longview.

Crossing to Longview over the Cowlitz River

We have only biked through Longview a couple of times before, and it surprises me what an attractive place it is, with a nice small town urban core and distinguished architecture. It’s an important industrial town on the Columbia at a major bridge across the Columbia, and I’m sure there’s been some significant money here in the past. Today, the historical core is blocked off and it’s streets are lined with a dazzling display of immaculate vintage cars and pickups. They all look pretty amazing, but we just allow ourselves a few minutes of ogle time since we’re off to a late start already.

About a mile later we leave Longview behind us and bike west along the Washington side of the Columbia. At first we’re cut off from the river by the sprawling Weyerhaeuser mill, but once past that we leave the highway on a minor road bound for Willow Grove, a small riverside community.

Willow Grove is a delightful surprise. It’s nearly an island, nearly cut off from the mainland by narrow Coal Creek. It is very quiet, and an ideal spot to visit by bike. The seven mile perimeter road goes by too quickly, so we change our plans for the day: we scrap the extension to Castle Rock and instead decide to loop this island a second time. We split up, with me dawdling along with the camera and Rachael racing ahead without me. Once she completes the second loop she doubles back to pick me up again, racking up about four more miles than I do for the day. It’s a good solution for accommodating our different interests, when circumstances permit.

Some rural shelter, courtesy of Union Pacific

The carrot lady stops by for her daily chat with the highland cattle and donkeys.

Looking down the Columbia from Willow Grove Park

Looking across to Oregon from Willow Grove Park

After leaving Willow Grove we bike north on Dike Road for as long as we can. The road continues on as far as the Weyerhaeuser plant, but we can only bike about halfway there before encountering a barrier. Perhaps someday Weyerhaeuser will relax and open the road up for bikers and hikers, but not today.

On Dike Road. Rachael bikes ahead to see if it’s blocked to the public, returning a few minutes later with some bad news.

We ride back to Longview on Pacific Way, a quiet gentle roller that I’d be happy to see again someday. When we arrive in town we find that the car show is still going strong, and decide on grabbing sandwiches at a Main Street cafe where we can sit in the sun and watch the action.

When we’re done, Rachael heads off for the restroom. I’m headed that way next myself, so she helpfully gives me directions: down through the main hall until the door at the end, and then pass through the church and turn right. I figure this is some sort of joke that goes over my head, but it’s precise - the door actually does open into a church, where a wedding rehearsal is underway. I feel just a bit conspicuous, walking through to the men’s room in my bike clothes. Once there, I find the wall above the urinal papered with messages of spiritual encouragement instead of the usual simple-minded smut.

So, that’s the ride but not the day. We still have a couple of hours of drive ahead of us, and a birthday dinner to arrive at on time. We’re running a bit behind schedule, so when we get to mom and dad’s tiny condo we take showers and change there, keeping our distance until we’ve cleaned up our acts.