The Dalles, Hood River & Columbia River Gorge
“The country on each side begins to be thicker timbered with pine and low white oak; very rocky and broken . . . These people gave us high bush cranberries, bread made of roots, and roots; . . . we smoked with the men, all much pleased with the violin.” William Clark, October 29, 1805, Columbia River.
Before breakfast, we emerged from The Dalles lock to see Mount Hood, covered in snow, in the distance and anticipated our continued progress toward the Pacific. After a short bus ride, we explored the geological and cultural history of this area at the Columbia George Discovery Center, with special attention to the exhibits featuring Lewis and Clark and the 58,000 pounds of cargo they took with them.
We continued our drive along the Historic Columbia River Highway with lovely views of the cliffs and the river. This remarkable road, the first scenic highway in the US, was built in 1913-1922 with the vision of Sam Hill and the engineering skill of Sam Lancaster, and has been restored for vehicular traffic in some parts and pedestrian/bicycle use in others. Some of us elected to travel 4.5 miles along the highway by bicycle or foot while others walked only to and from the Mosier Tunnels; all of us delighted in the muted, late-fall colors and sought the largest specimens of leaves of the big leaf maple.
We gathered in the town of Hood River for brief walks before boarding the National Geographic Sea Lion and heading off down river. We were especially interested in the 40-mile stretch that comprises the Columbia Gorge, where the river has pushed its way through the Cascade Range. Upstream, we noted the rain-shadow effect of the mountains and the bare basalt cliffs while downstream we marveled at the lush temperate rain forest where the mountains have trapped the rain.
At the end of the Gorge, we passed through the Bonneville Lock (our 16th and final lock passage – no more bumps in the night!) and began to notice a tidal influence. At the end of the day, we had no violin to help us celebrate but we shared Lewis and Clark’s eagerness to proceed on to the mouth of the mighty river at the Pacific shore.
“The country on each side begins to be thicker timbered with pine and low white oak; very rocky and broken . . . These people gave us high bush cranberries, bread made of roots, and roots; . . . we smoked with the men, all much pleased with the violin.” William Clark, October 29, 1805, Columbia River.
Before breakfast, we emerged from The Dalles lock to see Mount Hood, covered in snow, in the distance and anticipated our continued progress toward the Pacific. After a short bus ride, we explored the geological and cultural history of this area at the Columbia George Discovery Center, with special attention to the exhibits featuring Lewis and Clark and the 58,000 pounds of cargo they took with them.
We continued our drive along the Historic Columbia River Highway with lovely views of the cliffs and the river. This remarkable road, the first scenic highway in the US, was built in 1913-1922 with the vision of Sam Hill and the engineering skill of Sam Lancaster, and has been restored for vehicular traffic in some parts and pedestrian/bicycle use in others. Some of us elected to travel 4.5 miles along the highway by bicycle or foot while others walked only to and from the Mosier Tunnels; all of us delighted in the muted, late-fall colors and sought the largest specimens of leaves of the big leaf maple.
We gathered in the town of Hood River for brief walks before boarding the National Geographic Sea Lion and heading off down river. We were especially interested in the 40-mile stretch that comprises the Columbia Gorge, where the river has pushed its way through the Cascade Range. Upstream, we noted the rain-shadow effect of the mountains and the bare basalt cliffs while downstream we marveled at the lush temperate rain forest where the mountains have trapped the rain.
At the end of the Gorge, we passed through the Bonneville Lock (our 16th and final lock passage – no more bumps in the night!) and began to notice a tidal influence. At the end of the day, we had no violin to help us celebrate but we shared Lewis and Clark’s eagerness to proceed on to the mouth of the mighty river at the Pacific shore.
