We spent the day in the western half of the Columbia River Gorge. This notch in the Cascade Range links rain forest and desert through a remarkable zone of transition, and is incredibly scenic – it has the greatest concentration of waterfalls on the continent! Dawn found us passing the grandest of all of them – Multnomah Falls, a pair totaling 620 feet!
Fog hid our surroundings as we approached Bonneville Dam. This dam is both oldest and newest on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The dam was brought about by Roosevelt and finished in the 1930s, but a second set of turbines and a larger lock have modernized the system. As the lock lifted us about seventy feet, we heard about the workings of the lock and something of its history.
Proceeding upstream, we heard why the first major dam was located here. A huge prehistoric landslide blocked the river. Though it eventually surmounted this natural dam, the river is jammed up against the Oregon shore. The Cascades of the Columbia, a formidable set of rapids, and Hanson Island are the remains of this landslide. Bonneville Dam was situated to flood the former and lie cross the latter. We stopped at the town of Cascade Locks and bussed back to Multnomah Falls. Many were content to photograph the falls from below, but others walked up the bridge between the paired falls, and a few hiked up to a fine overlook about halfway to the falls’ summit.
Back on the ship, we headed upstream. By now the fog had lifted, and the day was fine and hot. The scenery was superb, with cliffs towering all around us. Unlike many of the wild places we see from National Geographic Sea Lion, the Gorge is busy and well-inhabited. Trucks rumbled by on a major interstate, and trains wound along the river’s flanks. For millions of years, the Columbia River has been a major thoroughfare. The scene was enlivened by windsurfers and kiteboarders, who flock to the Gorge to enjoy its steady winds.
We docked at Hood River and bussed into the valley. At Rasmussen Farms, we photographed zinnias and a pumpkin patch, and sampled pears and pepper preserves. Many then went on to the Cathedral Ridge Winery to sample more of the region’s produce. Most took some time to wander the shops of Hood River before returning to the ship.
It was fun to use all of our senses to enjoy the many sweet offerings of the Columbia River Gorge.
