Hood River and Columbia River Gorge
We awoke this morning to a beautiful view of the sunrise shining on the slopes of Mt. Hood as we passed through the locks of The Dalles Dam. Shortly after breakfast, the National Geographic Sea Bird docked at Hood River where we boarded motor coaches that carried us a short distance to the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center. We spent the first part of the morning exploring the richly detailed exhibits of the Discovery Center, learning more about the materials the Corps of Discovery carried with them on their journey to the Pacific and the history of the Columbia River Indians and the historic salmon fishery at Celilo Falls that now lies beneath the waters impounded behind The Dalles Dam.
We then traveled up to a secluded stretch of the Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway, the first paved road to connect the east and west sides of the Cascade Mountains along the river. We had a chance to walk or bike along a length of the highway which is closed to traffic up to the Mosier Tunnels, a series of stone tunnels cut through the mountain. While we worked up a sweat, we enjoyed stunning views of the Columbia River Gorge and the brilliant yellow leaves of the big leaf maples and Oregon white oaks.
We returned to the Sea Bird for lunch and set out down the Columbia again, making our way past the kite surfers who ply the wind-swept waters of the Columbia River Gorge and explain the preponderance of surf shops we passed in the town of Hood River.
As we cruised downriver, Harry Fritz treated us to another stimulating talk on Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery, explaining how the Corps passed the winter on the Pacific and made their way back through the Rocky Mountains. In the afternoon we were treated to a tour of the Bonneville Dam—the first hydroelectric dam completed on the Columbia River during the 1930s. We then boarded the Sea Bird and passed through the Bonneville Dam, making our last lock transit of the expedition. We were then treated to a decadent feast of Dungeness crab and ribs, before ending the evening with a view of Multnomah Falls, dramatically lit by the ship’s spotlight through a lightly falling rain.
