I gorge on BECAN. 
 
Every chance I get.
 
Which is like everyday.
 
Sometimes twice.
 
Good times :-)

Unless you have other things to do first, I'd suggest taking the I205 to hit the I84.  That will save you several miles.
 
Once you get to I84, go east and enjoy the drive.  First, you'll want to stop at the Vista House (40700 E Historic Columbia River Hwy, 97019 - take a right on NE Corbett Hill Road off I84 - I think it's exit 28).  
 
Next you'll want to see the famous Multnomah Falls (620' drop) which is off of exit 31, but there are a couple of other cool falls to see before you get to exit 31 like Latourell Falls and Horsetail Falls so stay on Historic Columbia River Hwy (which you should still be on after the Vista House) and you'll run into these falls.  
 
Return to I84 after seeing the Multnomah falls if you'd like  (or not).  
 
Now keep going east and you'll hit Hood River, a nice little town and where some of the best wind surfing in the world takes place.
 
Next up, you'll definitely want to stop at the Rowena Point Overlook.  
 
Then feel free to continue east until you hit the Dalles. You can even cross the river there and return on the I14 in Washington for a different look (be sure to wave right before you pass exit 10 - I'm in one of the houses you'll see that looks out on the river  ).

I will say you sure picked a nice time to come out here!  The weather just dropped into the 70's and we even had a slight bit of rain this morning (just keeps things green and cleans things off).  Should be clear tomorrow but still nice temperature wise.  Good thing you missed the 107 degree day we had two weeks ago!  Yuck!

Thanks for the help.

We just arrived at Dallas from 97 / 197, a marvelous country road

What I am trying to figure out is if there is some place to get visitor info as we head west towards Portland.

So did you miss all those places or see them and then hit 97/197 (whatever that is)?

Just settling in at a Portland Airport hotel. We came up from Crater Lake through Bend/Madras/Maupin/Dalles on US highway 97 and US highway 197. The high desert scenery was a real treat.
 
We followed historic 30 west and only got on I84 when historic 30 was history.
 
It worked out great and we saw all the waterfalls that didn't require a hike up the slope. We also enjoyed the famous overlooks. I am a aficionado of the old style federal works civil engineering and the historic portions of 30 seemed really special.
 
FWIW, I was asking the latest questions from my phone after a few days with no internet connection at Crater Lake. It was hard to get much info on to my phone as we drove through the remote areas.
 
It all worked out great and I am glad to have squeezed in all (well, most all) the suggestion offered here. 
 
We went down the Oregon Coast to the Humboldt California Redwood Parks and the returned through Grants Pass while heading over to Crater Lake.
 
We saw the farmlands south west of Portland. The Coastal beach, dunes and cliffs. We saw the Redwoods and the Fir forests. We enjoyed the mountainous terrain and experiencing the unique textures of the Cascade geology. The high desert was a great bonus. The Gorge and the Waterfalls capped it off and left us with the impression that Oregon has an incredible variety of landscape. It was an awesome road trip.
 
We fly home tomorrow in the A.M.
 
Thanks again to everyone for the good suggestions.

So, next time you'll have to do the two "mountain" day trips:  One to Mt. Hood, eat at Timberline Lodge then go down the other side and return, the other to Mt. St. Helens to see what nature can do when she turns a tall mountain into a smoldering crater. 

"...to Mt. St. Helens to see what nature can do when she turns a tall mountain into a smoldering crater."
 
We experienced the Crater Lake area for 1/2 day a full day and another half day. The geology exhibits explained that the Crater is the remnant of the former Mt. Mazama, which is thought to have been approximately 12,000 feet tall before it blew it's top off. We found the surrounding landscape fascinating. The creeks that cut through the ash fall seemed unique to an eye accustomed to the creeks of the Appalachians. The vast area of flat ash plains, that are now used as cow pasture were also visually fascinating to someone expecting to see the foot hills of mountains. The scattered pumice deserts are something to wonder at as well.
 
Additionally, US highway 97 and the river town of Maupin seemed like a history lesson as we drove through the layers of lava that were exposed by the cut made when the Deschutes river made it's way north to the Columbia.
 
 
edit to fix spelling

Roll on Columbia, roll on
http://en.m.wikipedia.org..._On,_Columbia,_Roll_On

:-)
 
Just before we came out I had a chance to read a book, written by Washington Irving, about the founding of Astoria, and the development of the peltry industry based upon the Columbia.