Hat Rock Oregon
Today has been a wonderful fall day on the Columbia River of Eastern Oregon and Washington. We had temperatures in the lower 80s with a slight breeze. T-shirts and shorts weather for sure—a real surprise for a number of us that had decided not to pack shorts or light summer clothes. The fall can be the most pleasant season in the Columbia Basin. We woke up this morning to an incredible sunrise of pinks, yellows and reds as we passed into the John Day Dam lock. The dam has the largest single lift lock in the world. We have passed through 4 of the 8 locks as we navigate up the river following the 1805 route of Lewis and Clark. Our historian, Harry Fritz, gave an entertaining and informative talk about Lewis and Clark, tracing Lewis from Washington D.C to the entire Corp of Discovery at Camp Dubois and on to the crest of the Rocky Mountain. We lounged on the bow and looked at wildlife and plants along the river.
We also found that the Columbia River is truly a river of transportation. Being the only “sea level” passage thorough the Cascade Mountains makes it a natural transportation route. The Burlington Northern/Santa Fante railroad and Washington Hwy 14 runs on the north bank of the river while the Union Pacific Railroad and I 84 runs on the southern bank and barge traffic, as well as the Sea Bird, goes right up and down the middle. We saw wood chips loading, gravel loading and grain loading facilities along the river. We saw a variety of agricultural commodities being grown along the river including the wine grapes of Columbia Crest/Chalet St Michel winery. After passing McNary Dam and Lock we explored the Hat Rock area, looked at birds and plants on a great walk before re-boarding the Sea Bird. We proceeded on upriver in the Wake of Lewis and Clark sampling the local wines and culinary delights of the Pacific Northwest as we travel. It is interesting that we can be in the middle of all this civilization and still feel the wildness and pull of nature.
Today has been a wonderful fall day on the Columbia River of Eastern Oregon and Washington. We had temperatures in the lower 80s with a slight breeze. T-shirts and shorts weather for sure—a real surprise for a number of us that had decided not to pack shorts or light summer clothes. The fall can be the most pleasant season in the Columbia Basin. We woke up this morning to an incredible sunrise of pinks, yellows and reds as we passed into the John Day Dam lock. The dam has the largest single lift lock in the world. We have passed through 4 of the 8 locks as we navigate up the river following the 1805 route of Lewis and Clark. Our historian, Harry Fritz, gave an entertaining and informative talk about Lewis and Clark, tracing Lewis from Washington D.C to the entire Corp of Discovery at Camp Dubois and on to the crest of the Rocky Mountain. We lounged on the bow and looked at wildlife and plants along the river.
We also found that the Columbia River is truly a river of transportation. Being the only “sea level” passage thorough the Cascade Mountains makes it a natural transportation route. The Burlington Northern/Santa Fante railroad and Washington Hwy 14 runs on the north bank of the river while the Union Pacific Railroad and I 84 runs on the southern bank and barge traffic, as well as the Sea Bird, goes right up and down the middle. We saw wood chips loading, gravel loading and grain loading facilities along the river. We saw a variety of agricultural commodities being grown along the river including the wine grapes of Columbia Crest/Chalet St Michel winery. After passing McNary Dam and Lock we explored the Hat Rock area, looked at birds and plants on a great walk before re-boarding the Sea Bird. We proceeded on upriver in the Wake of Lewis and Clark sampling the local wines and culinary delights of the Pacific Northwest as we travel. It is interesting that we can be in the middle of all this civilization and still feel the wildness and pull of nature.
