The Dalles, Hood River and the Columbia River Gorge
Our day started with the uncomfortable report from the captain that a railroad bridge that crossed the Columbia River in front of us at Celilo was out of order and could not be raised! After reflecting that National Geographic Sea Bird was sitting almost 60 feet directly above the famous, but now submerged, Celilo Falls; it didn’t seem all that bad. It did give us pause to consider: was the river possibly extracting a moment of payback?
Try as they may however, the repair team on the bridge couldn’t budge the non-lifting span in time for us to keep our original plan to get to the Discovery Center in The Dalles via ship transit. So in true expedition style, we donned a few extra layers, our life jackets, and took to the Zodiacs; got to shore to meet our redirected motor coaches; and set out to explore. What an adventure – particularly with morning temperatures hovering around 40°F!
The early morning travel adventure was rewarded by a wonderful learning experience as guests and staff viewed a series of exhibits on topics as diverse as the expedition of Lewis & Clark, the inundation of Celilo Falls by the dam at The Dalles; stories of settlers along the Oregon Trail and in this part of the northwest; and numerous others, too many to mention. Then we departed to enjoy the rest of the morning with guests and staff going in half-a-dozen different directions including biking, walking and photo-exploring on the Columbia River Scenic Highway; investigating the lovely town of Hood River; and visiting a nearby orchard to procure apples and pears for the head chef.
At lunch, we were joined by Hood River County Commissioner Maui Meyer who proved to be a willing and able source of information about the economic revitalization of his county and the city by the same name that he represents. The knowledgeable local flavor added a whole new dimension to our understanding and appreciation for this beautiful riverfront agricultural and tourism community.
We continued further west on along the Oregon bank of the Columbia River in the afternoon to marvel at nature’s glory at Multnomah Falls and man’s capability to harness her fury at the Bonneville Dam. Late-spawning salmon seen in their Multnomah stream habitat made their cousins at the Bonneville seem ‘captive’ when viewed through the windows of their man-made fish ladder conveyance.
Back to rejoin National Geographic Sea Bird at historic Cascade Locks completed our expedition’s day in the field. And then it was time to reflect on our day’s adventure, as we locked through Bonneville Dam going downstream on the great river to a rousing chorus of Woody Guthrie’s Roll On Columbia Roll On!
