Long but eventful day, I'm pooped

June 18 – It was certainly a busy day!  We were up and out by 9 so see and do everything we had planned.  We didn’t get home until 7, good thing we had some leftovers and a TV dinner on hand!

Rainbow trout

Bill had mapped out the day as to not backtrack and wait time so we started by going to the Bonneville Fish Hatchery.  It was awesome!  We got to see rainbow trout and sturgeons.  There were a few tanks of tiny babies but the best was the outdoor pond with an area you walk down and watch the fish through the glass like they’re in a tank.  Those sturgeons were some big boys!  Then we went to

Sturgeon from top

another pond there they sold fish food and there were ducks as well.  The ducks were aggressive as soon as they knew you were buying food and we tried to be fair and pitch some to the trout.  I always enjoy fish hatcheries, so we try to see them when we get the chance.  We stopped in the gift shop but didn’t buy anything!

Sturgeon under water

The Bonneville Dam is at the same exit as the hatchery.  We watched a movie on the building of the dam but the most interesting was you can watch through the glass and was the fish going up the fish ladders.   They have an employee whose job it is to count the fish.  I think it

Eels going up the ladder

would be boring and I’d doze off but apparently they find the right people to count.  They track which breeds climb as well.  Through the glass you can see nasty eels as well.  We walked out and could see parts of the locks from the outside and the ladders.

Next we drove into the town of Cascade Locks where we stopped and bought a bag of Bing cherries and started on them right away.  We had over half to bring home but snacked on them quite a bit.  Bill had checked on places there to eat and it’s small with not a lot to offer but they have a Native American owned seafood place, the Brigham Fish Market.  It’s small and they sell fresh catch as well as a number of menu items.  Bill, not being a fish person, had a cheese quesadilla.  I had one of the daily specials, Smoked Salmon nachos.  It was really good  instead of lettuce they used a sweet cole slaw.  It was way too many chips so I left a pile and Bill started eating them with my salsa.  It was a great a choice for lunch.

Sacajawea

Where the tour boat docks the other side is a small county campground, Marine Park Campground, it’s right on the river.  The problem is vehicles must be under 12 feet to go under the archway to get there.  We went down to the small boat ramp area where quite few Native Americans were fishing.  They set their poles and sit in the car!  There’s a statue of Sacajawea and an small train engine that Bill wanted a photo of but it’s in an enclosed building and no matter what side I tried, the glare was too bad to get a photo. 

We needed to eat when we did because we booked a 2 hours boat cruise and had to check

Wind sufers

in at 1:15 for our 1:30 sailing.  It was a sternwheeler boat with 3 decks.  The wind was strong and we were very glad that we took jackets.  We went to the top deck and pretty much stayed for the trip east.  We watched wind surfers and kite surfers as well as watching Native Americans fishing along the shore.  They had designated areas on the Columbia River as well as days they can fish.  It’s all based on the count they do at the locks to know how the breeding is going. 

Bridge of the Gods

The scenery was beautiful as expected and the crowd on the boat was small.  I was disappointed as I thought once we turned around and went west we were going in the lock and experience it.  Nadda!  Oh well, we did get a great view of the Bridge of the Gods that crosses the river to Washington.  It was colder, or so it appeared, as the wind was way worse during the second hour.

Once we landed we crossed the Bridge of the Gods over to Stevenson, WA and checked out the town.  There was a big Interpretive Center but it was getting late and there were a few other places we wanted to get to so we had to pass.  There’s a $2 toll each way across the bridge but the view is fabulous. 



Vista House

We got back on I-84 west and exited on to visit The Vista House at Crown Point.  It began construction in 1916 and was completed in 1918.  It was built strictly for people to go to and see the magnificent views of the river and mountains.  If you drive back west ½ mile you can go to the Portland Womens Forum and park and look down on the Vista House.  Amazing!  These places are on Historic

View of Vista House from Forum

Route 30 so we got back on it and took it east, the way they did before Interstate.  Along the way back to our campground, we passed Latourell Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Wahkeena Falls, Multnomah Falls and Horsetail Falls.  Since we’d already been to Bridal Veil and Multnomah we stopped at the others.  Latourell and Wahkeena were relatively easy to get to and see BUT Horsetail was a challenge.  It was not

Horsetail Falls

visible from the road like the others and we had to do a trail walk uphill and down hill to get there and then go up about 20 man made stairs but it was quite a site.  The falls were beautiful but what really set it off was there was a family perched on the huge bolder in the valley and they were just enjoying the beauty and tranquility of nature.  We had to stop at the 3 benches scattered along the route on our way back to the car.  It was worth the walk and the exercise was to our benefit as well.

The RV was not far away so once we got there Bill washed the front window after he had his dinner and I eventually had mine.  I was way too tired to think of typing it all out!