The Dalles and Hood River, Oregon
As the pictures illustrates, today was a day of reflections. Visiting the Wasco County Museum and Columbia Gorge Discovery Center, we contemplated the people and historic events that have made the spectacular Columbia Gorge what it is today. This extraordinary interpretive center invites visitors to explore the past in order to discover the present. A large entry hall divides the building in two; one half houses a museum dedicated to the native peoples and pioneers from centuries past, while the other half concentrates on the influence of Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery. Walking through the exhibits, we were drawn further and further into the past – each display begging us to touch, smell, listen or watch. Two of our younger guests, Gary and Eric, even became so engrossed as to don replicas of the clothes the Corpsmen had worn on their explorations. We considered the difficulty of hiking then in hot, heavy wool jackets as opposed to the ease of hiking today wearing lightweight fleece.
After the visit to the Discovery Center, we were faced with a tough choice: to continue on to the town of Hood River for sightseeing and shopping, or walking along a section of the historic Scenic Highway, through the Mosier tunnels. Whether window shopping in town, or enjoying the scenic views afforded us from the restored highway, our morning passed enjoyably, and soon we boarded the Sea Lion, headed for our afternoon destination: majestic Multnomah Falls.
As we cruised through the scenic Gorge, the sun broke through the clouds, turning the fall foliage to brilliant gold in the afternoon light. Historian Tom presented the second half of his talk on the Corps of Discovery, bringing the members to life for us with his familiar descriptions and minute details.
Late afternoon had us boarding our motor coaches again, once more traveling along a section of the historic Scenic Highway, our destination this time: the second highest waterfall in North America. Multnomah Falls pours and roars over 620’ of basaltic cliff. The oncoming twilight cast a soft hue over this spectacular niche in the Gorge. While the majority of us admired the awesome sight from the concrete bridge just above the pool, several hearty guests, staff, and crew made the one-mile hike to the top of the falls.
Re-boarding the Sea Lion, filled with the activities of the day, we learned our day was not over yet! Raising glasses of bartender Kevin’s “Hood River Hooch” or cups of hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps, we gathered on deck and toasted Boatswain Kendra as she made the final lock toss of the season! Lights from Bonneville Lock and Dam twinkled all around us as we descended 70 feet in the lock chamber. Tom McAllister played his harmonica, leading us in singing Woody Guthrie’s classic “Roll On, Columbia.” As an encore, we serenaded Captain Scott Martin, singing him enthusiastic wishes for a happy birthday!
As the pictures illustrates, today was a day of reflections. Visiting the Wasco County Museum and Columbia Gorge Discovery Center, we contemplated the people and historic events that have made the spectacular Columbia Gorge what it is today. This extraordinary interpretive center invites visitors to explore the past in order to discover the present. A large entry hall divides the building in two; one half houses a museum dedicated to the native peoples and pioneers from centuries past, while the other half concentrates on the influence of Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery. Walking through the exhibits, we were drawn further and further into the past – each display begging us to touch, smell, listen or watch. Two of our younger guests, Gary and Eric, even became so engrossed as to don replicas of the clothes the Corpsmen had worn on their explorations. We considered the difficulty of hiking then in hot, heavy wool jackets as opposed to the ease of hiking today wearing lightweight fleece.
After the visit to the Discovery Center, we were faced with a tough choice: to continue on to the town of Hood River for sightseeing and shopping, or walking along a section of the historic Scenic Highway, through the Mosier tunnels. Whether window shopping in town, or enjoying the scenic views afforded us from the restored highway, our morning passed enjoyably, and soon we boarded the Sea Lion, headed for our afternoon destination: majestic Multnomah Falls.
As we cruised through the scenic Gorge, the sun broke through the clouds, turning the fall foliage to brilliant gold in the afternoon light. Historian Tom presented the second half of his talk on the Corps of Discovery, bringing the members to life for us with his familiar descriptions and minute details.
Late afternoon had us boarding our motor coaches again, once more traveling along a section of the historic Scenic Highway, our destination this time: the second highest waterfall in North America. Multnomah Falls pours and roars over 620’ of basaltic cliff. The oncoming twilight cast a soft hue over this spectacular niche in the Gorge. While the majority of us admired the awesome sight from the concrete bridge just above the pool, several hearty guests, staff, and crew made the one-mile hike to the top of the falls.
Re-boarding the Sea Lion, filled with the activities of the day, we learned our day was not over yet! Raising glasses of bartender Kevin’s “Hood River Hooch” or cups of hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps, we gathered on deck and toasted Boatswain Kendra as she made the final lock toss of the season! Lights from Bonneville Lock and Dam twinkled all around us as we descended 70 feet in the lock chamber. Tom McAllister played his harmonica, leading us in singing Woody Guthrie’s classic “Roll On, Columbia.” As an encore, we serenaded Captain Scott Martin, singing him enthusiastic wishes for a happy birthday!
