As we passed through the heart of the Cascades today on the Columbia River, we experienced some of the effects of the rain shadow. The morning was fairly drizzly, but the further east we traveled the more dry it became. Lucky us! Under gray skies we entered the locks of the Bonneville dam. Everyone was out on deck, anxious to witness our ship tying off, the lock doors closing, and water rising. A few short moments later we sailed free upstream, accompanied by the notes of "Roll on Columbia."
We boarded buses at Cascade Locks and headed to Multnomah Falls. Wow! The falls are always at their best. Motivated hikers hit the trail at lightning speed, blazing their way up to the top of the falls in record time. Nature walkers puttered along in the lower levels, learning about the ecosystem and species along the way.
Following a delightful lunch, we sailed east to the town of Hood River. Here our buses scooped us up and took us to a variety of wonderful destinations. Some folks headed to a farm filled with autumn harvest – apples, pumpkins, jams, syrups, pears etc. We also fed the baby goats, who happily leapt into wheelbarrows to get closer to their adoring fans lining their pen, and photographed the copious quantities of flowers. The Western Antique Airplane and Automobile Museum hosted many of our folk as well, where they saw hundreds of beautiful and still-operational planes and cars. There was also an option to wander the streets of Hood River and hit the many breweries and galleries lining the old town. Late in the afternoon we hit the Cathedral Ridge Winery for wine tasting and finally returned to the ship.
This evening was spent enjoying the culinary delicacies prepared by our galley and a presentation by our naturalist Ivan on the geology of the Columbia River gorge.
