I spent a couple of days in the Columbia River Gorge area just east of Portland. What a magical place! The Columbia River runs fast and deep as it separates the jutting jagged volcanic rock of Oregon from the rolling gentle slopes of Washington.
One the south side of the river there are huge volcanic cliffs covered in hemlock forests clinging to the rock hoping the wind doesn't blow too hard. The guidebooks describe the area as a "waterfall corridor", as if they migrated through seasonally - well, I supposed they do to some extent.
This is Multnomah Falls. It flows year-round. It was quite a scramble to get to the top, but what a view! My Dad says I was here when I was 3, but I didn't climb to the top that time.
Just downriver from Multnomah the river is dammed to create Bonneville generation facility, which supplies electricity to 500,000 homes in Portland. The dam was built by the Army Corp of Engineers in 1935. But before they could build the dam, they built fish ladders first and then had to hold classes to teach the fish how to climb the ladders before they could dam the river.
I went into the Federal facility - that was a first. A very stern young man asked me lots of questions about what I had in RosieVan and then asked for an inside tour before I was allowed in the gate. For the record, guns and drones are forbidden. Floridians are on a case-by-case basis.
The visitor center was huge, the staff was lovely and very helpful. I went into the basement to watch the fish on the ladders, they made it look easy. There are fish counters watching the ladders. People who sit in a dark room, watch the water and count the fish/species and tally the count every 24 hours. On Wednesday 1,898 Chinook salmon used the ladders. In 2 weeks it will be about 35,000 a day (that explains all the people on the island fishing). Who knew you could have a career counting fish?
After Bonneville I went up river to Hood River where the Hood joins the Columbia. This area is home to Oregon's wine country - with spectacular views of Mt Hood and Mt Adams. The weather was picture perfect, it was easy to see why the locals all looked so happy. Somewhere under that cloud is Mt Hood - my picture really doesn't do the views justice - you should book a trip there yourself. Let me know when, I'll happily come and join you.
Next stop Seattle area.
I posted it in full, since it's the only way I'll get the earworm out of my head. Grand Coulee and all.
Roll On Columbia Song by Woody Guthrie (1941)
Roll on, Columbia, roll on Roll on, Columbia, roll on Your power is turning our darkness to dawn So roll on, Columbia, roll on
Green Douglas firs where the waters cut through Down her wild mountains and canyons she flew Canadian Northwest to the oceans so blue Roll on Columbia, roll on
Other great rivers add power to you Yakima, Snake, and the Klickitat, too Sandy Willamette and Hood River too So roll on, Columbia, roll on
Tom Jefferson's vision would not let him rest An empire he saw in the Pacific Northwest Sent Lewis and Clark and they did the rest So roll on, Columbia, roll on
It's there on your banks that we fought many a fight Sheridan's boys in the blockhouse that night They…