Hood River and the Columbia River Gorge
This morning, as a special treat, we went out for breakfast. From the dock in Hood River we took a scenic six-mile drive up into the Hood River Valley to the Mount Hood Winery for a relaxing and delicious breakfast. After eating our fill (again!?), most of us chose to stroll through the vineyards of the winery to the orchards of the Gorge White House for our next visit. Here we enjoyed learning about this century-old working farm, seeing the original house, and tasting the pear and blueberry wines that are produced from fruits grown right there!
Keeping with our local produce theme, many of us chose to join hotel manager Erasmo on a short adventure to the nearby orchard to procure apples, pears, and local jams and butters to bring back to the ship for future sampling. While there we were treated to a fun celebration of fall with pumpkin people (portraying the Rasmussen Farms Olympics), pumpkin bowling, and all colors of fall in the local produce—pears, apples, squash, pumpkins, gourds, and corn.
After lunch we took a short ride to the 620-foot high Multnomah Falls, one of the scenic gems of the Columbia River Gorge. Although only 30 miles from Hood River, the landscape turned to lush coniferous forests that grow well with the abundant rainfall in this part of the Cascade Mountains. We each chose the view of the falls that best suited our walking needs—some of us were content to stand at the bottom and look up, others went to the bridge across the lower falls, while others continued on for a more aerobic uphill adventure. On the way back to the ship, some of us took a side trip to the Bonneville Dam to go to the fish hatchery to view and learn about some of the native Columbia River fish. The highlight of the stop was Herman the Sturgeon, a 10-foot long, 70-year-old white sturgeon. While salmon are the fish we hear most about in the Columbia, it was a good reminder that these prehistoric looking fish that are hidden from view on the bottom of the rivers are once again doing well in the lower parts of the Columbia River where they can migrate out to the Pacific.
