Were on the sight seeing trail again. Heading down the Colombia river on I-84 towards Portland on a warm and sunny day.
The Columbia is a busy river as barges ply the waters taking supplies back and forth from the Pacific to the inland cities.
The scenery along the river goes from high desert brown at the park to lush forests of deep green about 25 miles west.
Our first stop is at Bonneville Dam and the "Cascade Locks" on the Columbia. We pulled in to the Bradford island visitor center to check it out. Here you can see how they use the river for many things. First and foremost for power. There is a series of dams on the Columbia that provide power to all of the northwest but the Bonneville has two separate power plants at the dam. Each churning out over a half a million kilowatts of power. The whole structure stretches all the way across the Columbia all connected by three tiny islands.
Standing at the viewing area, you can feel the rumble of the rushing water as it flows out of the dam to the river below. We almost needed an umbrella as the mist was very damp, but what a fascinating sight it was!
Watching the Barges on the river at Deschutes, I wondered "how do they get up and down stream past the dams ?" "do they jump over the dam like fish?" "Maybe a big crane lifts them over the dam?"NO, The dams all have "locks" something this "Arizona boy" didn't know!
Its a chamber at the dam where the ship enters and water is pumped in or out which either lifts or lowers the ship depending on which way it is traveling.A ship traveling downstream enters the lock and is lowered 60 ft to the river below at Bonneville.
In edition to producing power and getting ships through the dam, Bonneville also helps the fish navigate through the dam with a series of "fish ladders." Salmon, Steel head, and Sturgeon are just a few of the species that travel the Columbia.
In the "Visitors Center", you can view the "fish ladder" and watch the fish on their travels. When I took the picture,only a few smaller ones passed by but earlier there were some" THIS BIG'.(typical fish story)
We were very impressed with the visitors Center. The "Corp Of Engineers"has put our tax dollars to good use here.(for once!)
Well it wouldn't be Oregon with out Waterfalls so we hunted some more up.
On historic hwy. 30 just off the 84,there is Ainsworth State Park and a series of falls along the 30.
The first is "Horsetail Falls.
Horsetail Falls,right on hwy.30, cascades down about 100ft. A nice day use area and picnic area is just below it.I wish we would have brought "Subway". This would be a nice place to enjoy lunch.
Next up,2 miles west, we stopped at Multnomah falls. now this place knows how to "gather a crowd". On I-84 they have an exit just for the falls. You park and walk under the freeway alongside a creek and come to a visitor center, snack bar,restaurant,gift shop,coffee kiosk,restrooms and "the falls". The National Forest Service runs this little "tourist trap money maker!" There is a parking area on hwy-30 also which is where we parked.
The falls were spectacular and fell over 200ft. We hiked up 1/4 mile to the bridge you see to get a closer look. It was assume!
After that "gruelling"1/4 mile hike in the blistering heat(74 degrees!),........ We had Ice cream at the snack bar!
All in all,it was a great day. We got on the 84 and headed east back to the park. Between Cascade lock(Bonneville dam) and the Dalles,we saw a sign for another loop for Hwy-30 so we took it. It rose above the Columbia for some fantastic views and little towns that we encountered took you back in time to a slower pace where farming was the way of life. "a fantastic Day!"
We had a nice surprise the other day when our "camp hosting Friends" Stan and Diane stopped in to see us at the park. They are visiting their Daughter,son in law, and NEW Grandson in Trout Lake Wash. Which is only about 50 miles away. We had a great visit with them and we visited all afternoon. And yes ,Jeni got to play cards with Diane. I owe Diane "big time!"Our afternoon continued into dinner at the Dalles at a little Mexican food place.Good food, Great Friends.We sure enjoyed seeing them again.
We sure love the RV lifestyle. "good friends,good food,good scenery,and More Waterfalls!
