July 19, 2020

For a long time I though this was Penn's Tavern & Cabins renamed, and who knows, maybe it is. I still haven't figured out the location and final fate of Penn's. [Actually, I just found Jeff's deep dive on this spot, so I'll defer to him, below.] Still, it's old and captures the style of a lost era of travel. Today, it looks sad and I am not sure how much longer it will remain. If you asked me before the hiatus five years ago if these buildings would still be around in 2020, I would have shook my head no.

I think it was in 2014 when someone bought the place and was going to renovate it, at least it looked that way for a bit, but don't quote me on that without a second source! Obviously, that plan, if it existed, fell through. There are still some folks living there today.

Pamela Hesgard Parzych, July 30, 2020

The Miller's Motor Court is just below the home that my Grandfather built...he owned the 6 lots behind him. No over highways and all wooded. Used to walk down through the Motor Ct and just enjoy the scenery. We went across the hwy and down to the housing still there on the loop up from the river. We had relatives who lived there...and the Graveyard is where we (my sister and I) placed our parents next to their parents... Lots of memories.

This is how we remember it. We are senior babyboomers born just after the WWII ended...so yes we were young then, but vivid memories still linger. We walked up and across the hwy up to Grandma's house through these pleasant cabins...loved the walk.

...we are grandchildren (now in our 70's) of [Cascade Locks] founding forefatherers. Gustav Nicholi Hesgard.

Check out Jeff's page for a lot more details and photos, but here are the major points...

Jeff, Scenic Winds Motel

The motel began life as "Miller's Motor Court" after being built in 1930 by Roland and Martha Miller. Located along the original alignment of the Columbia River Highway (US 30) in Cascade Locks, the Miller's ran the roadside motel as a 'Mom and Pop' operation living on site in the house with the attached motel office... In the mid 50's, the cabins were painted white with red shutters.

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Above the cabins was a 10-unit trailer park. This was accessed by a road between the #8 and #9 cabins. There was a bathroom with a shower and an on-site laundry room behind the house for the tenants of the trailer park.

Jeff, Scenic Winds Motel

In 1956, the Miller's sold the motel to John and Florence Bernet. [Jeff shares some stories from the Bernet's daughter. They owned the joint until 1973]

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In 1959, the Cascade Locks portion of the Columbia River Highway was bypassed with a new 4-lane water level freeway. This diverted the flow of traffic away from the town and decimated the business of many small tourists shops, stores, gas stations and motels in Cascade Locks. This signaled a change in business for both Cascade Locks and the motel.

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The motel closed in 1997... No trespassing signs are posted so please respect the signs.

"The Scenic Motel name was changed in 1985 to Scenic Winds Motel. This sign exists today."

Past and Present Views Along the Columbia River Highway

Kirk J. Poole, July 22, 2020

We need to give the rock next to the motel a name. It's prominent enough to have a name; yet, I've never seen it's name. Does it have an official name?

Cathy Wagner Warhol, July 22, 2020

Kirk J. Poole not that I know of but all of us kids played up there. The tall skinny one we called Tooth Rock (i know there's another one west), the one large one had the noon whistle on it (also the whistle to notify the volunteer ambulance and fire dept) we called Whistle Rock with Devil's Stairs on the west face which I climbed once! One was dinosaur rock. Plenty of poison oak. I spent the summers covered in calamine lotion!

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