We woke to another beautiful morning…crisp and clear in lovely Hood River, windsurfing and kite boarding capital of the world. No water sports for us, though. Instead, we had two other options this morning. Some went to Draper Girls Country Farm to view their orchards and taste test the fruits their labor (pun intended) and become friends with their goats and pigs. Other guests made a trip to the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum, which opened in 2007. Here is a most remarkable and extensive collection of over 275 airplanes, automobiles, motorcycles, jeeps, and tractors.
Once back on board the National Geographic Sea Lion, naturalist Ivan Phillipsen gave a presentation about the fish of the Columbia River Basin. During his talk, the ship began to enter the stunning main section of the Columbia River Gorge. During lunch, the ship tied up at Cascade Lock, today just a dock but prior to the construction of the Bonneville Dam was the way boats navigated past the Cascade Rapids.
After lunch, we boarded buses to see one of the most popular attractions in Oregon - Multnomah Falls. Most the streams coming from the south into the Columbia River formerly entered at grade. But then came the Ice Age Floods, which significantly deepened the gorge so that the side streams now drop as waterfalls into the river. Multnomah Falls drops an impressive 620 feet, the highest in Oregon.
From the falls, we visited the Bonneville Dam. There we had a National Park Service ranger-led tour to learn about the powerhouse and the amazing fish ladder that allows salmon and other fish species to travel above the dam to their spawning areas.
Before recap, we were back on the ship and went through the Bonneville Lock, our last lock, and entered the free-flowing Columbia River. Tomorrow we are going to Astoria. Here we come!
