I left Wenatchee to the southeast and flew the Columbia a river for a little while until I climbed to 8500 feet. - again - and then crossed over the Wenatchee Mountains to the southwest. The forecast on the west side of the Cascades was calling for overcast at 5000 feet MSL, so I wasn't expecting to have great views of all the well known mountains. I was wrong. The clouds were already breaking up by the time I reached the Cascades, and the views are absolutely breathtaking. That's the only way to describe the Cascades. I was able to see Rainier as soon as I was above the ridge of the Wenatchee Mountains. The skies were apparently hazy by western standards but clear for us Midwestern folks The route I took was to the southwest and would take me right between Mount Rainer and Mount Adams. There are numerous valleys and small lakes nestled between these two giants. At one point I had Mount Adams on my left wing and Mount Rainier on my right wing as I pointed my nose at Mount St Helens. In the background of Mount Adams, Mount Hood stood well to the south, but very clear on the horizon. After passing between Adams and Rainier on this smooth day, I turned south keeping Mount Adams in my left window for probably a good 30-45 minutes, and then had Mount St Helens off my right wing as I flew between these two structures. There were still a few clouds between myself and Portland even though it had cleared up where I was, and it gave me perfect excuse to descend out of 8500 feet to 3500 feet and fly the Columbia River Gorge to and through Portland into Scappoose, Oregon where the Scappoose Creek Inn was to be my overnight stay. The Gorge is awesome with the mountains rising up on either side of the Columbia River. I flew into the Gorge and got clearance from Portland Approach to fly the river all the way to Scappoose. The view continued to be great as Portland International Airport which is built right on the river sat off to my left. I landed behind a Cessna practicing touch and goes in Scappoose and made a call to the Bed and Breakfast. The owner came over with a car so I didn't have to walk the 200 yards with my bag and laptop. The owner is a great guy, and a fellow pilot, who remembered me from a phone conversation we had when I cancelled this trip in June. We talked for a while and he asked if I was hungry and I said yes, and he gave me the keys to his car and told me about a place called Mike's On The Channel. Oh my. The food there is all made from scratch, and it was probably one of the best meals I had in the last 10 years. If you ever get to Portland eat there. And if you ever end up flying in the west the Scappoose Creek in is a must stop for you pilots as an over night. Total flight time today: A very scenic... 2 hours 0 minutes