Today we witnessed first hand the strong, steady winds that the Columbia River Gorge is famous for. We went ashore just upstream of The Dalles Dam, after watching Captain Graves bring the Sea Lion in to the Klickitat dock in 30 mile per hour winds. We boarded our coaches and began the hour-long trip up the Hood River to the town of Parkdale, Oregon. There, we were treated to homemade pies, made by the ladies of the Parkdale Grange. A train ride back down through the orchard country of the Hood River valley, brought us back to the ship in time to weave our way through a windsurfing competition on our way to Bonneville Dam. After a stop to examine the powerhouse, spillways and fish ladders at Bonneville, we pulled in to our final lock and began our descent to the free-flowing Columbia River. Here in the late afternoon sun, we cruised past the beautiful waterfalls for which the Gorge is famous -- including the 640-ft. high Multnomah Falls.