The Columbia River Gorge – The Dalles to Multnomah Falls
This was a day of changes.
The first and most sustained was in the weather. The morning began cool and overcast, followed by a few light sprinkles punctuated by glorious bursts of sunshine, then a gentle overcast, with more sunshine to follow, then wind and light rain as evening approached. That, too, gave way to a bit of sun and clouds before darkness fell. It was, in other words, a typical day on the Pacific Northwest coast.
The biggest change, however, was in the scenery. By afternoon, it shifted from the spectacular vistas of the arid east side of the Cascade mountains to the dramatic scenery of the well-forested Columbia River gorge. Especially impressive on the west side of the Cascades were the famous Multnomah Falls, viewed in the blustery late afternoon from the deck of the National Geographic Sea Lion with a cup of warm apple cider in many of our hands.
Before then, we had an active day mostly spent on land. After our usual hearty breakfast, we went ashore on Zodiac boats to busses that took us to the Columbia River Discovery Center and Museum. While there, we took in impressive displays on the Corps of Discovery and the long history of the Columbia River Gorge. We also met various birds, including a Bald Eagle named Ferguson, who shared his habitat with a few understandably skittery quail.
After that, we distributed into four groups. The first two followed a four-and-a-half mile, up and down, stretch of the original Columbia River Gorge Highway in Oregon, a narrow road with several tunnels, now closed to motor vehicles. Some rode bicycles; some did an hour and forty-five minute power walk. All appreciated the rugged and lush scenery. A third group took a shorter, more leisurely scenic walk. The fourth continued by bus to the town of Hood River for a round of shopping or, as some put it, their own version of architectural power walking. The number of shopping bags indicated that the former may have trumped the latter.
Once back aboard the National Geographic Sea Lion, we had a leisurely lunch, discussed the history and flora and fauna we had seen, and passed a major landmark on our progress to Lewis and Clark’s most westward destination, the mouth of the Columbia River. We went through the main lock of the Bonneville Dam, the first major dam built on the Columbia River, dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt himself. That put us in tidal waters for the first time since Thursday night, with no more locks and dams ahead, and only a hundred miles or so between us and Fort Clatsop, where the Corps of Discovery spent a long winter, preparing for the equally challenging journey home.
This was a day of changes.
The first and most sustained was in the weather. The morning began cool and overcast, followed by a few light sprinkles punctuated by glorious bursts of sunshine, then a gentle overcast, with more sunshine to follow, then wind and light rain as evening approached. That, too, gave way to a bit of sun and clouds before darkness fell. It was, in other words, a typical day on the Pacific Northwest coast.
The biggest change, however, was in the scenery. By afternoon, it shifted from the spectacular vistas of the arid east side of the Cascade mountains to the dramatic scenery of the well-forested Columbia River gorge. Especially impressive on the west side of the Cascades were the famous Multnomah Falls, viewed in the blustery late afternoon from the deck of the National Geographic Sea Lion with a cup of warm apple cider in many of our hands.
Before then, we had an active day mostly spent on land. After our usual hearty breakfast, we went ashore on Zodiac boats to busses that took us to the Columbia River Discovery Center and Museum. While there, we took in impressive displays on the Corps of Discovery and the long history of the Columbia River Gorge. We also met various birds, including a Bald Eagle named Ferguson, who shared his habitat with a few understandably skittery quail.
After that, we distributed into four groups. The first two followed a four-and-a-half mile, up and down, stretch of the original Columbia River Gorge Highway in Oregon, a narrow road with several tunnels, now closed to motor vehicles. Some rode bicycles; some did an hour and forty-five minute power walk. All appreciated the rugged and lush scenery. A third group took a shorter, more leisurely scenic walk. The fourth continued by bus to the town of Hood River for a round of shopping or, as some put it, their own version of architectural power walking. The number of shopping bags indicated that the former may have trumped the latter.
Once back aboard the National Geographic Sea Lion, we had a leisurely lunch, discussed the history and flora and fauna we had seen, and passed a major landmark on our progress to Lewis and Clark’s most westward destination, the mouth of the Columbia River. We went through the main lock of the Bonneville Dam, the first major dam built on the Columbia River, dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt himself. That put us in tidal waters for the first time since Thursday night, with no more locks and dams ahead, and only a hundred miles or so between us and Fort Clatsop, where the Corps of Discovery spent a long winter, preparing for the equally challenging journey home.
