Through the Columbia River Gorge
Mt. Hood’s hoary head greeted early risers even before the sun brightened its snowfields, then crept slowly down its flanks as the National Geographic Sea Bird milled around in the eddy above The Dalles Dam, waiting for a bevy of barges to clear the lock. We spotted Native American petroglyphs on the rocks, cormorants on the water, gulls soaring above, and a lone raven heading for the hills.
After visiting the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center, where some of us did a bit of botanizing, we bused to the Rowena Crest for a view up and down the Gorge: looking east, we saw the seared hills of eastern Oregon and Washington; looking west, the lush green of conifer forests along the river; looking north, we observed the wild-and-scenic Klickitat river and the town built on a Bretz Flood gravel bar.
Later we moved through the Gorge by bus to the town of Hood River where we had a brief walkabout. Ponderosa pine gave way to Douglas fir and western red cedar; Oregon white oak and big-leaf maple replaced sagebrush and irrigated vineyards and orchards. After lunch on the National Geographic Sea Bird, we continued our cruise to Cascade Locks where we again boarded the buses for a brief visit to Multnomah Falls and a good look at the Bridge of the Gods.
Passing between the muted snow-covered peaks of Mt. Hood, south in Oregon, and Mt. Adams, north in Washington, we headed west once more toward Bonneville Dam, which we breached by lock, our last of 16 on the cruise. Once more on river rather than reservoir, we resumed our trip west into the hot, bright sunshine of the last day of summer: autumnal equinox occurs at 9:43 tonight. Sunscreen, long sleeves, shorts, and sunhats marked the day’s fashion statement. It was hot, even late in the afternoon as we cruised west, ever west, toward the end of the river.
