For this part of the Pacific Northwest, the weather has been hot the last few days, with temperatures in the low to mid 90's. We got a little break from the heat yesterday, when our group rode on the Cascade Locks Stern wheeler for a couple of hours. The breeze on the Columbia River was a little cooler, and the ride above the Bonneville Dam was quite scenic. This section of the river is called the Columbia Gorge, where a huge landslide, many gazillion years ago, actually blocked the river. When the river backed up enough to overflow the temporary dam, it carved out this section of the Columbia, which is quite narrow, relative to the rest of the river at this lower section, near the ocean.
Patty and I stayed on the top deck during the early part of the cruise down to the Bonneville Dam, but it got a little too hot, so later, we moved down to the second deck. Last summer, on our long trip around the country, we stopped at the Bonneville Dam Visitors Center on the north side of the river. Yesterday on the water, we saw the dam from the upstream side, and got a view of the Bonneville Ship Locks.
From the back of the boat, the huge paddle wheel was connected to the diesel engine by two large driveshafts. The old steam paddle wheelers were turned by piston driven, push/pull arms.
After our ride on the river, we drove back to the RV park by crossing over the Bridge of the Gods, pictured above, followed Hwy 14 west in Washington, then crossed back over the Columbia in Portland. The group met at McMenamins in Troutdale for dinner, and by the time we got back to the motor home, it was just about time to call it a day.
For this part of the Pacific Northwest, the weather has been hot the last few days, with temperatures in the low to mid 90's. We got a little break from the heat yesterday, when our group rode on the Cascade Locks Stern wheeler for a couple of hours. The breeze on the Columbia River was a little cooler, and the ride above the Bonneville Dam was quite scenic. This section of the river is called the Columbia Gorge, where a huge landslide, many gazillion years ago, actually blocked the river. When the river backed up enough to overflow the temporary dam, it carved out this section of the Columbia, which is quite narrow, relative to the rest of the river at this lower section, near the ocean.
Patty and I stayed on the top deck during the early part of the cruise down to the Bonneville Dam, but it got a little too hot, so later, we moved down to the second deck. Last summer, on our long trip around the country, we stopped at the Bonneville Dam Visitors Center on the north side of the river. Yesterday on the water, we saw the dam from the upstream side, and got a view of the Bonneville Ship Locks.
From the back of the boat, the huge paddle wheel was connected to the diesel engine by two large driveshafts. The old steam paddle wheelers were turned by piston driven, push/pull arms.
After our ride on the river, we drove back to the RV park by crossing over the Bridge of the Gods, pictured above, followed Hwy 14 west in Washington, then crossed back over the Columbia in Portland. The group met at McMenamins in Troutdale for dinner, and by the time we got back to the motor home, it was just about time to call it a day.
No comments:
Post a Comment